Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Audi dealership proposed for Arlington Road in Bethesda

One block of Arlington Road may need to be renamed with an automotive theme, as a new dealership could be added to the existing EuroMotorcars and Ourisman VW/Volvo businesses already there. An Audi dealership is being proposed for 7015 Arlington Road, currently home to Crawford Tire and Auto Service (a.k.a. Goodyear).
7015 Arlington Road
EuroMotorcars' Audi Bethesda today is located at 7106 Woodmont Avenue. Its service center is at 5206 River Road, slightly closer to the proposed 7015 Arlington location. Ourisman VW/Volvo is right next door to the potential Audi site, and EuroMotorcars' main dealership is directly across the street from it.

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

So Moribund.

Anonymous said...

But I thought the rich fled Montgomery County? I guess not...

Robert Dyer said...

5:08/5:01: The dealership is moving. Most Audis are targeted at the well-off, not necessarily the ultra-rich, who are the ones who have fled in the greatest numbers.

You probably don't want to pursue this false line of argument, because then I'll have to remind you that Bethesda's Bentley and Rolls Royce dealerships - to name a few - closed a long time ago.

Anonymous said...

Have you priced an Audi A8L or an R8 lately? Some of these are nearly $200,000. Not sure only your so-called “well-off” category ap-lies.

It is nice to see a proposal to improve the area. That tire service center always seemed to be a throw back to the previous industrial/auto dealership past of the south end of Bethesda.

Robert Dyer said...

5:52: Hence, I noted that "most" Audis are aimed at the well-off, not necessarily our nearly-extinct ultra-rich. R8 is only one vehicle in their line-up. The Ford GT is for the ultra-rich, too. Rich is not ultra-rich. Well-off sedan-leasing customer is not ultra-rich.

Robert Dyer said...

You have to remember that something like 27 people were paying a major slice of the County's revenue at one point.

Anonymous said...

I assume they will not just move into the existing Goodyear store. Have you seen any of their proposed plans or renderings? I assume this means the existing dealership on Woodmont, near Wisconsin might be slated for a new development or perhaps a different brand.

At one point it was reported that the southeast corner of Arlington and Bethesda would become a multiple story building, and might include an Audi showroom. I heard the Mercedes dealership has pulled back on their plans for a mega two story glass clad dealership that would have been attached to their parking deck and front on Arlington, with a future mixed-use building at the existing corner, and surface parking on Bethesda. I believe the county did not approve of the surface parking on Bethesda Avenue, and did not grant them approval. I heard, I think on this site, that they are doing a scaled back version, or maybe just a remodeling. Any word on that plan?

Thanks for the update on Audi’s plans.

Maloney Concrete said...

The legacy of downtown Bethesda auto dealerships continues to this day.

Anonymous said...

When I spoke to someone at Bethesda Audi, though this was about a year ago, their plan was to redevelop the entire curent Euro Motorcars property and add Audi to that. It goes quite far back, so if it was reconfigured like to move the service reception further back, it could probably work.

I guess they gain a bit more customer parking if they move to the Crawford site compared to their spot on Woodmont now, but that's about it.

Anonymous said...

Great- replace an actual tire repair garage with a storefront place that does no work on Elm street.

Anonymous said...

What will happen to Crawford? Been going there for years to get tires patched. Nice folks working there.