You’ve heard of green cars, but the McDaniels Automotive Group has brought green car dealerships to Columbia.
This week, McDaniels opened the last two of its three new dealerships on Killian Road, near I-77 in Northeast Richland.
The Acura, Mazda and VW franchises are using motor oil recycled by their service departments to heat 13,000 square feet of service area in their new buildings, allowing them to heat double the amount of space as they had in their original buildings for the same price, according to marketing manager Mark Curl.
The new buildings also use energy-efficient lighting, a reflective roof to reduce heat and skylights and storefront glass that filter out harmful UV rays. The auto dealer also will use wells to provide water for operations and landscaping.
“We’ve cut the energy consumption in half from where we were 22 years ago,” Curl said.
The automotive group’s original building on Two Notch Road now houses a Subaru dealership. Its Porsche dealership did not move.
While the auto group is at the cutting edge of green-building technology, it does not yet feature any hybrid or electric vehicles, Curl said, but he expects it will in the coming years.
The group does, however, offer low-emission cars, such as the Mazda Skyactiv, that get in the 40 miles-a-gallon range, Curl said.
The auto group also is bringing another kind of green to the developing Killian Road corridor: more paychecks. The group has hired 48 new employees in a range of positions — from management and administrative to sales and service, Curl said.
McDaniels is among a spate of new car dealerships to open along the Killian Road strip in recent years.
A Gold’s Gym is under construction next door.
And earth movers are busy across the street preparing Killian’s Crossing for development. The $750 million lifestyle center will feature new homes, offices and retail outlets.
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