Don K breaks ground on new Subaru showroom

Construction has begun for a 2,200-square-foot Subaru showroom at the Don K Chevrolet/Subaru/Chrysler-Dodge dealership in Whitefish.

The new addition will adjoin the existing body shop area of the complex and should be completed by the end of June, dealership owner Don Kaltschmidt said. Roger Porch Construction is the general contractor for the project.

Don K acquired the Subaru franchise from Glacier Motors in February 2010, and this February Don K finalized its purchase of Kari Dodge, adding the Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram lines to the dealership.

“It’s going really good; we’ve been blessed,” Kaltschmidt said. “The Subaru piece has really done well.”

Characterized by popular sport-utility models such as the Outback and the Forester, Subaru prides itself on “active safety” and high resale value. The Outback is Don K’s best seller in the Subaru line, Kaltschmidt said, noting that there’s a growing market for Subarus in the Flathead Valley.

Don K is on track to sell 300 Subaru vehicles this year on the retail side, and another 700 will be sold to fleet companies as rental cars in Montana. Kaltschmidt said there are 40-plus new Subaru vehicles currently on the lot, down a little from the normal inventory of about 50.

The addition of the Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep and Ram lines to Don K has ramped up the work force to 60 employees.

“During the low part of the recession, when we had just the Chevy [dealership] we went from 40 employees down to 28,” Kaltschmidt said. “Now it’s up to 60 and we’ll grow it from there.”

He also has plans to build a stand-alone Dodge showroom at his five-acre site sometime down the road as the local economy improves. For now, it’s operating out of the Chevy showroom.

Kaltschmidt has been in the car business for 25 years in Whitefish. He began with Jim Dowen Chevrolet and then bought out Dowen and his partner 21 years ago. Ten years ago he relocated the Don K dealership to U.S. 93 South.