Lochmoor Automotive Group folds;
ex-Chrysler dealer was east-side fixture

“Closed” is scrawled by hand across the service department doors at Lochmoor Automotive Group at 18165 Mack in Detroit. The surrounding lots that once contained dozens of shiny new and used cars stand empty.

Employes in the body shop confirmed that the dealership, owned by the Russo family and a victim of Chrysler downsizing, had shut down on Oct. 9.

The employees said the word on the street was that a McDonald’s franchise would be built on part of the property that extends several blocks along the Grosse Pointe border opposite the City and the Farms.

The Pointes years ago banned fast-food restaurants and the Wendy’s location on Mack in the Farms was apparently the sole franchise grandfathered in. The nearest McDonald's are in St. Clair Shores and on Harper just west of Cadieux in Detroit.

“It was a sad day,” confirmed a Lochmoor employee who answered the telephone Oct. 16. He referred service customers to Roseville Chrysler Plymouth at Gratiot and 10 1/2 Mile, not to Meade Dodge, just a couple blocks to the west; Meade picked up the Chrysler product line when the automaker decided Lochmoor Chrysler would be one of the more than 700 dealers to close nationwide.

Lochmoor owner Gus Russo had promised to stay in business selling used cars and servicing all makes and models. Lochmoor had run advertisements for service specials in a local newspaper.

Russo had added a Vespa franchise and was reportedly negotiating with a Korean truck company for a Mahindra franchise to open this fall.

Lochmoor had announced plans to auction a pink Vespa on Oct. 29, with proceeds to be donated to breast cancer research, but the employee who answered the service department phone said the Vespa franchise is also closed.

The Russos had a history of supporting Detroit and local charities. Cornerstone Schools, the Capuchin Soup Kitchen, local fireworks displays, South, North, local police departments and the NAACP were all recipients of financial support from the three-decade-old dealership. 

The video link below is from the Lochmoor website:

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