VALDOSTA — A progressive business climate accompanied by the area’s booming growth pace has lured a large automobile company from Macon to the city.

The Butler Auto Group, headquartered in Macon, closed on the purchase of the Valdosta Toyota-Scion dealership at James Road and State Road 133 at I-75 on October 8, Butler Auto Group President G. Marshall Butler confirmed this week.

Former owner Roy Carter was positioning the dealership for the sale as he raised public concerns about the impending five-laning of James Road and the Georgia Department of Transportation’s plan to close off James Road’s current access at S.R. 133 and move the access west to where the Race Trac gas station/convenience store currently does business.

Ashley Carter, Roy Carter’s son, will remain in his position as general manager of the Toyota dealership, which opened for business at the James Road location in February. The business operates a sister lot on Baytree Road across the street from the Valdosta mall.

Carter said he is very pleased with the transition.

“We’ve been knowing the Butler family for 25 years. We kind of started in the business right after each other,” Carter said. “In Southeast Toyota, we’re almost number one in customer retention. My father taught me that the best way to conduct business is to do whatever it takes to take care of the customer. The Butler people are the same way. They’re good people. I think they’ll be good for Valdosta. I’m really excited about being on their team.”

Marshal Butler echoed Carter’s comments.

“We’re very happy to be in Valdosta,” Butler said. “Valdosta is a good, progressive town. We have been warmly received. We’re very happy that Ashley has agreed to stay on and be the GM of the store. I have known Roy and Ashley Carter for a long, long time. They share the same customer service commitment that we do. That makes this a real good fit.”

The Butler Auto Group adds the Valdosta dealership to a large lineup of other automobile outlets. In Macon, the company owns separate dealerships for Toyota, Lexus, BMW and Volkswagen. In Columbus, they have separate dealerships for Acura and BMW. In Milledgeville, there’s Ford-Mercury and Honda outlets. In Buford, S.C., they have a Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge dealership.

The family’s commitment to scoring high customer service ratings meshes well with the Carter’s philosophy, Butler said.

“The Valdosta store is currently selling 24 percent of the primary market area, which comprises about a 30-mile radius from the city,” Butler said. “The factory gives each franchise a radius territory in which to sell, and that’s how the factory rates your efficiency. In that regard, the Valdosta store is doing very well.”

Also, the Valdosta dealership has a very experienced staff, many of whom have 10 years on the job, Butler noted.

“They are well trained and take care of the customer, which is a big part of what we do,” he said. “Each franchise measures the customer satisfaction index, and they have had good customer satisfaction ratings for years.”

Concerning the recent squabble over the realignment of James Road and the approaching development of Market Street there, Butler says he has no worries.

“We’re not worried about the GDOT plans. It may be a right-in, right-out access at (S.R.) 133, which is what we hope will happen,” Butler said.

“But regardless, we are extremely happy about the Market Street shopping facility that will be built. We could be right next door to a Bass Pro shop. We just had one open in Macon and they drew traffic from miles away. All the customer traffic that development attracts can only benefit the Toyota dealership.”

The Butler family has been in the car business for three generations, beginning back in 1933 in Alma, Georgia. Butler says he grew up in Alma. His father operated a Chevrolet dealership. In 1970 Marshall Butler bought a Toyota dealership in Macon when no one had a clue that name brand would climb to such a prestigious place on the top of the U.S. market.

“Toyota is the number one franchise in the country right now,” Butler said. “We are the second oldest Toyota dealer in the state. No one had any inkling that Toyota would one day be the great franchise that it is, as well as the Lexus. We sell a lot of Lexus (from Macon) in Valdosta.”

Toyota is pulling ahead with hybrid technology in the face of record breaking increases in the per-barrel price of crude oil, Butler noted.

“I’m driving a Highlander (SUV) right now and in a few months, it will be sold in a hybrid format,” he said. “Toyota has led the world in hybrid engines and will have all of their models available in a hybrid format in a few years. They have it in three or four models now.”