ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603110038
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-16 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: PULASKI
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
The partners in a new motor vehicle dealership in Pulaski are Rocky Akers and Lynn White. Thus: WhiteRock Motors Inc.
"Our wives came up with that name," said Akers, who is president of the corporation.
The partners became friends when White was an officer at what was then Sovran Bank and Akers was at Pulaski Motors. Both had been associated with automobile dealerships for years.
"We both just decided we were tired of working for everybody else, so we were going to do our own thing," Akers said.
Their own thing was to launch a used car and light truck dealership in the midst of larger, prestigious Pulaski companies such as Pulaski Motor Co., Hudson, and Heritage.
Akers says WhiteRock is trying to corner a different market: lower-priced, late model used cars and trucks rather than "the high-priced stuff." And, based on their first full months of operation, they may have found their niche. WhiteRock moved more than 20 vehicles in December, and about 40 in January.
Pre-owned vehicles are not exclusive to WhiteRock lot or show room, of course. "We all sell used cars," Hudson Vice President Robbie Hudson said. "We sell to any type clientele. It doesn't matter ... We all have used cars."
"We're daily increasing our inventory," Akers said. "The community has accepted this ... They're totally supporting this operation."
He credits his company's success with being able to keep monthly payments lower with more modest vehicles. "We have the means of getting any kind of vehicle a customer wants," he said. WhiteRock buys its stock from other dealers in the Roanoke and New River Valleys, at auctions, and car rental agencies.
Akers' interest in cars goes back to his teen years in Giles County. "That's all I fooled with ... Used to drag race 'em and all that kind of stuff," he said. "Worked on 'em and was always enticed with cars and trucks."
WhiteRock Motors has five board members: Akers and White, who is vice president; their wives, and one of the corporation's nine employees. They furnished some cash and got financing from the First National Bank of Christiansburg for their 3,650-square-foot office and show room on Bob White Boulevard.
WhiteRock is getting ready to construct its second building, a 30-by-40-foot detail and cleanup shop. Akers said working without that kind of facility is like working with one hand tied behind you. He anticipates adding a few employees when it is complete.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: PAUL DELLINGER/Staff. Lynn White (left) and Rocky Akersby CNBrun WhiteRock Motors in Pulaski< president.