Showcase Car Dealer Shuts Island Doors End of This Month

By MANDY LOCKE

In 10 days, the Island will lose its only new car dealership when
Showcase Isuzu Suzuki of Martha's Vineyard closes due to an
inability to recruit and retain employees.

Nearly five years after Bourne auto dealer Bob Scena renovated the
former Old Colony Service Corporation in Edgartown, his company will
clear out of its home on West Tisbury Road in Edgartown on July 19.

"Over the past five years, it has become more and more
difficult to staff the dealership properly in order to effectively meet
our customers' needs," Mr. Scena said. "Finding
strong, full-time, year-round employees was our most difficult task to
achieve."

Showcase attempted to recruit Cape residents to commute to the
Island dealership and service center, but had very little success
- finding most skilled professionals unwilling to go back and
forth each day. And when they attempted to invest in housing for
employees, they found the costs too high to absorb.

"We attempted to be creative with our staffing process through
housing support and mainland commuting options through the ferry
service," Mr. Scena said. "The cost of housing was just too
high."

Mike Moorhouse, the Island dealership's general manager, will
relocate to the Bourne office. The rest of the Island-based employees
- who learned of Mr. Scena's decision last Friday -
have been offered relocation opportunities as well.

Islanders trying to schedule a car inspection or tuneup this week
heard the news first, as employees in the service center refused to make
appointments and broke the news of the repair shop and
dealership's upcoming closure.

Mr. Scena said the decision to pull out of the Island did not come
easily.

"This was one of the most difficult and laborious decisions I
have had to make," he said. "The Island dealership and
people are wonderful - they have done a great job over the years
of serving Island residents and visitors alike."

The Island location's closing does not signal any financial
crisis in the Showcase Auto Group - one of the Northeast's
largest exclusive Isuzu, Suzuki, Nissan and Isuzu Commercial Truck
automotive dealers.

While the Vineyard's dealership is closing shop, the Bourne
location will add eight more service bays to accommodate additional
growth. Mr. Scena said he remains committed to servicing Island
customers at the Bourne facility, and is already planning a daily Woods
Hole ferry pickup and drop-off service.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank all the people of
Martha's Vineyard for supporting us over the years," he
said. "With all of our efforts, we have committed ourselves to
supporting them in the future."