Spotlight: Rudy Luther's Hopkins Honda
by Nora m. Davis (HBCA)—MAY 2010
Kyle Allison, General Manager
It was relatively quiet in the Hopkins Honda showroom the day I stopped, quite different from my visit last July in the midst of “Cash for Clunkers”! I’ll never forget that day: customers were lined up ready to buy Hondas as the sales staff raced about, trying to meet the demand. I asked General Manager Kyle Allison how many vehicles they’d sold during that time and his response – 600! “It was an exciting time, and even though Cash for Clunkers was a little disorganized to start out with, it was a great boost for us and our industry at a time when we needed it," Kyle noted.
Rudy Luther’s Hopkins Honda has been a part of the Hopkins community for the past thirty years. They started on7th & Mainstreet, with a later move to 5th & Mainstreet. In 2005 they moved to the ten-acre site on the former Knox Lumber location at 5th and Excelsior Blvd. The site contains a 90,000 square foot building housing offices, new and used car showrooms, parts storage, training rooms, and 38 service bays. Also on the site is a Glass & Collision Center, where, according to Kyle, the paint bays are in the process of being converted to an environmentally-friendly, water-based paint from the traditional, solvent-based paints. And that lot east of the building? It holds more than 400 vehicles.
Kyle has been with Hopkins Honda for the past 22 years. He relishes the excitement and challenge involved – although he did wince when I asked about the Hail Disaster Plan notebook I saw in his bookcase. He told me he had been through two difficult hail storms—and would be happy if there were no more hail storms in his future. “Repairing hail damaged vehicles is tedious work. Sometimes it’s just easier to sell the vehicles 'as is' to the benefit of the consumer,” he commented.
When asked where the majority of their customers come from, Kyle told me it was within a ten-mile radius. “Our Hopkins site is perfect as it has great access to the metro community. And we’ve had such a good experience in Hopkins working with the City, civic and community organizations, something that’s very important to the Luther family and everyone here.”
I couldn’t help but ask Kyle what he drove. Was it a compact Fit? An Odyssey LX? Accord Crosstour? His surprising answer—he drives a used car from the lot and switches it out every few days. “I want to make sure we’re doing the best job in preparing our used cars for sale and driving them is a good test. Our goal is to make sure all our customers become long term customers and that includes our used car customers.
So if you’re looking for a new or used vehicle, need your vehicle serviced, or need a dent removed, try Hopkins Honda! Their dedicated staff (159 strong) is waiting to help. Call them at 952-938-1717, or visit their website at hopkinshonda.com. You’ll be glad you did.
