Lane set to buy Mitsubishi dealership

Gerry Lane Enterprises is scheduled to close a deal Friday afternoon to buy the BIG Mitsubishi dealership and move it to Reiger Road. Eric Lane, vice president of Gerry Lane Enterprises, says the Mitsubishi dealership will replace Saturn, which is being phased out by General Motors. “Basically, all our Saturn employees are being trained to sell Mitsubishis,” he says. “We’ve already got it set up and we’re doing the training.” Selling Mitsubishis is nothing new for Lane, he had a dealership in Gulfport, Miss., about 20 years ago. While the brand isn’t as popular in the U.S. as some of its Japanese competitors like Toyota or Honda, Lane says there are some exciting signs. The company’s MiEV electric car recently won the Japanese Car of the Year “Most Advanced Technology” award and plans are underway to bring the plug in vehicle to the U.S. Mitsubishi was also ranked ahead of Lexus in Consumer Reports latest reliability study. “A lot of people don’t understand that Mitsubishi sold 100,000 vehicles in the U.S. last year, but 900,000 in the rest of the world,” Lane says. The BIG Mitsubishi building near Interstate 12 and Airline will remain empty. Levis, which owns the property, will handle finding a new tenant.—Timothy Boone