George Rennick was the PT Barnum of the Charlottesville car world, and he sold a lot of cars. A Kansas native, Rennick worked for a Buick dealership in Wichita and excelled. He loved the automobile business and worked his way up the ranks at General Motors, eventually settling in as District Manager in DC.
In the early 1980’s, George decided he wanted his own franchise and bought the local Buick dealership from Jim Williams at 900 Preston Avenue.
He began a massive TV advertising campaign and dominated the airwaves. Always promoting, he offered a new English bike with every car sale, and he promised to never put an unwanted decal sticker on his cars. He also advertised that he had the “sharpest pencil in town” and vowed to beat any deal out there.
As foreign cars were entering their initial stage of popularity, Rennick was awarded an Isuzu franchise in 1984 and become one of the most successful Isuzu dealers in the United States. A few years later, he opened Country Style Chevrolet in Ruckersville, another successful franchise.
The consummate salesman, George loved everything UVA and was a constant supporter of all the Cavalier sports programs.
George Rennick retired in 1998 but will go down as one of the most successful car dealers ever in Charlottesville, VA.
