A West Chevrolet History
All things begin with a choice, and for West Chevrolet that first choice was made by C. Eckles West way back in the 1920s. Eckles West first ventured into the automotive business with his "West Garage" in the mid-1920's - a gas station with mechanic stalls. A few years later, a desire for growth fueled his decision to invest in a Chevrolet and Oldsmobile dealership - the Davis Motor Company. This decision would provide future opportunities for the West family to make more choices on how they grow within the automotive industry. The following are West family decisions that led to the evolution of West Chevrolet as you know it today.
1. After World War II, Charles T. West, the son of Eckles West, returned from the war and continued his auto career. By the mid 1950's, Charles T. West and Jud Murphy decided to buy out all other investors and change the name of the former Davis Motor Company to Murphy-West Chevrolet Olds.
2. In 1968, Murphy and Charles decided to split the two brands into two stores; Charles took the Chevy brand and Murphy took the Oldsmobile name. Soon after that split, in 1974, Steve West, Charles T. West's son, took over as dealer principal.
3. In 1984, Steve West made the decision to move the business to a new facility on Alcoa Highway, across from Knoxville Airport; this move propelled sales and West Chevrolet became a top Chevy store within the state.
Since the big move, Steve West became Mayor of Maryville in 1999 while Charles E. West took on the Dealer Principal role in 2004. 2006 marked 75 years in the Chevy business.
While owner decisions played a part in our growth, we'd like to remind all our employees that it is all your hard work that has grown our business. Without all of you, our ability to grow and make major choices would not exist.