ADAMS, Mass. — The town's GMC dealership has a new name: Haddad GMC.

 

McAndrews-King became part of Pittsfield's Haddad Auto Group on July 31 but the new and old owners say there won't be any radical changes outside of the name change.

 

"We are all staying there, all our employees, myself included," said Daniel Maloney, who started in the service department 50 years ago, said recently. "If you look at it as a simple sign change, that's kind of what's going to happen."

 

George Haddad said they'd wanted to put together a deal that worked for everyone — including keeping the Adams dealership open. 

 

"I want to keep what was successful and then let's figure out a way to add to it," he said on Thursday, a few hours after the new name was added. "And everybody so far has been very receptive. They know that it's going to come with trials and tribulations because we have to switch to different things."

 

Haddad said the group has also purchased Berkshire GMC in Sheffield, which will close as GMC only wants one dealership in Berkshire County. He did caution that GMC could make future decisions regarding locations. Both McAndrews-King and Berkshire GMC survived a rough patch back in 2009 when GMC entered bankruptcy and targeted more than 1,000 dealerships for closure. 

 

McAndrews-King also survived a number of consolidations and dealership closures in North County over the years. 

 

"We've withstood the test of time," said Maloney. "And we're still very successful." 

 

The franchise was opened as McAndrews-King Pontiac Buick in 1973 by 27-year-old Richard King and Owen McAndrews, who had both operated car lots. By the end of the '70s, McAndrews was retired and GMC had been added. General Motors is now the only franchise on the lot. 

 

King died in 2022 at age 77, leaving a legacy of community involvement and the dealership in the hands of his partner Maloney.

 

But that left Maloney wondering about the business's future.

 

"This conversation came up and it just seemed like a great fit for all of us," he said. "And one of the things that I looked at was one, I wanted to make sure everybody stayed together here. ... George and I talked, that's what was his priority as well."

 

Maloney wanted to do right by a great group of employees, he said. "I wouldn't be here without them. They're really, really good folks."

 

Second, Maloney wasn't ready to retire and have someone possibly from the outside take over — someone who didn't know the market, or the Berkshires or the loyal customer base McAndrews-King had built up over the past half-century. 

 

He'll stay on "doing a little bit of this, a little bit of that," pretty much what he does now, Maloney said. 

 

Haddad said he's not much into titles. 

 

"We just get stuff done," he said. "I just want to have fun. If I can walk in and be happy, and the employees are happy, and you have people that have been here for a long time they get to know the customers, the customers are going to be happy."

 

Haddad said he was looking to add GMC to his portfolio because it will give him a domestic vehicle manufacturer with trucks, sport utility vehicles and vans. He has four stores and three franchises but they're all foreign — Subaru, Toyota and Hyundai. 

 

"Toyota makes what they call a pretty sturdy heavy half-ton (pickup truck) but they don't make a three-quarter ton. They don't make a one ton," he said. "So this added to the portfolio and added nicely to it."

 

Haddad will also bring organizational support and resources that the standalone McAndrews-King was lacking and add a couple more workers. On Thursday, Haddad GMC was having a new computer system installed ahead of the rest of the auto group. 

 

Both men said the dealerships in the area have had a friendly competition for years and know each other well. And there was enough business back in the day for everybody, Maloney said with smile. "Once in a while we'd take a little bit of pride in saying I got one of George's customers."

 

"The one thing about our area for the most part, that people may not understand it, but there's been a lot of good dealings," Haddad agreed, recalling golf games and dinners with other dealers, and even watching out for their kids.

 

Maloney and John Buxton, Haddad's chief operating officer, appeared before the Selectmen in July for the change in license and assured officials then that the transition would not be disruptive.

 

"Haddad has been around for 90 years in Pittsfield and George is a third-generation owner," Buxton told the board. "So we're excited to have the opportunity to carry on the legacy of McAndrews-King."

 

Selectman Joseph Nowak had thanked Maloney and the late King for their many years serving the community.

 

"It's another institution here in Adams that I hope that Haddad Motors stays there and makes it a home for a long period of time," he said. "I think in town, it's part of the town fiber to have a new-car dealership. ... I'm hoping that Haddad stays a good neighbor like McAndrews-King did for so many years."