Our History

It all started over 50 years ago in Abingdon, Illinois with the opening of Dean and Bob's Chevrolet. Bob Shottenkirk took over sole ownership four years later and served the communities of western Illinois for 20 years before moving the dealership to downtown Fort Madison, Iowa in November 1984 and adding Oldsmobile line to the dealership's offerings.
Shottenkirk Chevrolet/Oldsmobile grew quickly in southeast Iowa, raising the level of service and competition and spurring considerable growth in automotive and service sales. Shottenkirk became a "magnet" for regional car and truck shoppers. Less than 2 years later, Bob Shottenkirk moved the dealership to its current location as well as adding the remaining GM product lines.
With the move, The GM GIANT, continued to dominate the car market as well as draw regional customers from a 100 mile radius. In 1987, in response to consumer demands, a "budget lot" was opened in the original downtown location. The following year, major expansion and remodeling of the Service, Parts and body Shop departments was completed in order to better handle the increasing traffic generated by the company's record setting sales growth. In the fall of 1989, following the untimely death of Bob Shottenkirk, his son, Greg, assumed the primary leadership role in the dealership.
Based on the success of the GM GIANT, Greg Shottenkirk expanded his auto dealer operations into Pensacola, Florida opening Shottenkirk Honda in June 1992. Two years later he acquired the Ford, Mercury, Chrysler/Plymouth and Dodge franchises in nearby Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Shottenkirk Ford/Chrysler opened its doors in June 1994. In March of 1996, the company converted its downtown Fort Madison location to "Car Smart" Auto outlet, erecting a new building, expanding and repaving the sales lots.
The company's expansion into the southeastern United States continued in 1997 with the opening of two Shottenkirk Auto Advantage stores, featuring pre-owned and program vehicles. A third "Auto Advantage" opened in Asheville, North Carolina in 1998.
In the spring of 1997, Fort Madison and Mount Pleasant combined their wholesale auto parts forces to create Shottenkirk Parts Express, using existing route sales people to cover a wider geographical area and allowing wholesale customers to purchase GM/Goodwrench, Ford/Motorcraft and Chrysler/Mopar parts from one source with next day delivery.
In 1998, Shottenkirk Mount Pleasant added the Shottenkirk Certified Used Vehicles Center. Also in 1998, Shottenkirk acquired NAPA Auto Parts of Burlington, Iowa thereby adding the NAPA line to the repertoire of Shottenkirk Parts Express.
In 1999, Shottenkirk acquired the Chrysler/Toyota franchises in Quincy, Illinois and the Lincoln/Mercury franchises in West Burlington, Iowa. As the year 2000 began, Shottenkirk also took over the Ford/Jeep dealership in West Burlington with plans to merge it with Lincoln/Mercury.
Ground was broken in the spring of 2001 for a new Shottenkirk Superstore in West Burlington making it the first Shottenkirk store to be built from the ground up. Later that year, ground was also broken for another new facility for the Shottenkirk Mount Pleasant operations.
In the summer of 2002, the Shottenkirk Superstore opened its doors. The dealership houses a full service restaurant, NAPA Auto parts, Quicklane and houses the corporate offices for the Shottenkirk Automotive Group. In 2003, Shottenkirk Mount Pleasant opened its doors with the same customer-friendly, energized "feel" as the Superstore.
In August of 2003, the Shottenkirk Automotive Group purchased Buford Ward Chevrolet in Quincy, Illinois. In December of the same year, The Shottenkirk "Budget Lot" was opened.
In 2003 Greg expanded in Quincy, purchasing a successful Chevrolet dealership. The following year, he added another Chevrolet dealership in Waukee, Iowa; a rapidly growing suburb of Des Moines. A new facility opened there late in 2007. In that same year Greg added the Kia franchise at his West Burlington location. A year later, Greg opened a new Kia dealership in Quincy, IL. Greg also acquired the full-line of General Motors franchises and incorporated them into the Mount Pleasant operation in 2006. In 2008, Greg purchased a Honda dealership in Conyers, Georgia. In 2011 Shottenkirk Superstore picked up the Chrysler, Dodge Ram lines. Shottenkirk purchased North Fulton KIA in Roswell, Georgia in May 2013 and in 2014 purchased Shottenkirk Honda of Cartersville, Georgia and Shottenkirk Ford in Jasper, Georgia. In 2015 Shottenkirk added Shottenkirk Chevrolet in Creedmoor, North Carolina and Shottenkirk Chrysler, Dodge, Ram, Jeep in Canton, Georgia. North Fulton KIA has since been sold as has Shottenkirk Chevrolet in Creedmoor and Honda of Conyers. In mid-January 2017 Shottenkirk purchased Noble Ford in Indianola, Iowa. In June 2017 Shottenkirk purchased Desert Lexus in Cathedral City, California. In August 2018 Shottenkirk purchased University Honda in Davis, California. In February 2019 Shottenkirk purchased 2 Durant Toyota dealerships in Weatherford and Granbury, Texas.
The Shottenkirk Automotive Group continues to grow and plans for future growth are well underway with dealerships sprouting up across the country. With rapid growth plans and no plans of slowing down, opportunities are limitless for current employees as well as new employees.