Dealer Profile

Palmetto Ford Lincoln Mercury

1625 Savannah Highway

843-571-3673

www.palmettoford.com

Graham Eubank

President, Palmetto Car and Truck Group

Employees: 150 (100 at Palmetto Ford Lincoln Mercury).

Age: 40.

Family: Wife Becky, daughter Terrill, 12; son Gray, 9.

Hobbies: Coaching youth football and basketball, deep sea fishing, golfing.

It was 19 years ago that recent Clemson graduate Graham Eubank chose to join the family business.

Palmetto Ford was founded in 1969 by his father Manly Eubank, who partnered with Hugh Cannon to build what's become an automotive staple on the Savannah Highway.

Since going to work with his father, the junior Eubank hasn't looked back. Today, he is president of Palmetto Car and Truck Group. Graham Eubank sat down recently for an interview on the auto business, the dealership and who has impacted him over the years.

Q. When did you know you wanted to be in the car business?

A. I kind of grew up in the business, and worked in the business in high school. I went to Clemson and got a bachelor of science in administration and management, (then to) the National Auto Dealers Association Dealer Candidate Academy. I enjoy the business.

Q. Who are your mentors?

A. First, I would say my Dad. He taught me mainly about business-related items. The most important thing is to try to be a student of the business. Don't be scared to try new things: Some are going to work, some are not going to work. We have had different franchises over the years, Mazda, Kia, Yugo, DeLorean, Renault. Hyundai (added last year) is a great product. The products we have, every one is good quality right now.

Q. Other mentors?

A. Will Elliott. He's passed now (but) he was parts and service director for 30 years. The main thing he taught me was to listen to the customers first, then try to help them.

Q. Is there a special significance to working in a family business?

A. I just think it's really rewarding to work with your father every day and feed off each others' ideas. My sister (Burnam Eubank, head of Palmetto Jaguar), father and I have a meeting every 9:30 a.m. in his office. We have a powwow. We are a close family. I think it's more rewarding to have success with a family (business). You can share those stories."

Q. Do you remember your first car?

A. Yes. I was 15. It was a 1966 Ford Bronco. My Dad had pulled it out of a pond and had it restored. It was great for me, pretty much bullet proof. It got me from point A to point B. It was a "3 on the tree" - three-speed on the column.

Q. How do you best serve the customer?

A. Just saying what you are going to do, standing behind your product. That is important. Ford (Motor) has not backed off on production. The new F-150 is debuting this month. There is a new Lincoln MKS, 2009 (Ford) Flex, 2009 Fusion, 2010 Ford Mustang and 2010 Ford Taurus.

Q. What are customers looking for most in terms of options?

A. I think people, especially the younger generation, are tech savvy. They're looking at any type of connectivity such as the Sync (communications and voice activation) system by Microsoft (on Ford cars), the Sirius Travellink. Nowadays everyone wants everything in real time. It's a safety feature as well; You are not having to hold the phone.

Q. What is the impact of the Internet on the car selling business?

A. I think the Internet definitely has changed how people shop, pricing, information. We do use the Internet by way of e-mail advertising, which is not a new market but we do a monthly newsletter just to keep our name in front of customers. On our used car side, it definitely opened up a new group of buyers. You really are seeing so many more buyers than (from) this area, around 30 added sales a month.