Bob Clyse Pontiac GMC is getting bigger. The car dealership will now carry the Buick line of vehicles after buying the franchise from Greenup (Ky.) Chevrolet-Buick.

This makes it the first time in more than two decades that a dealer has offered new Buicks for sale in Ironton. Clyse said he could have picked up the franchise then, but chose not to.

“We had Oldsmobile at the time, and the two product lines were really very similar but now, Oldsmobile is no longer in existence,” Clyse said.

Clyse said he picked up the franchise because it would give his business more versatility in the marketplace and Buick is GMC’s premium line.

“In fact, in the past year, Buick tied Lexus in a JD Power and Associates’ dependability study,” he said. “It is a high-caliber product line.”

He said he felt fortunate about adding the line and that the employees were extremely enthusiastic about it.

“Buick customers are traditionally very service-orientated,” Clyse said. “One reason General Motors approved the deal was because of our outstanding service record.”

Clyse just got some Buicks from the Greenup County dealer on Friday, but it would be 30 days before they had a full line.

He said while there would be new signage, he said he didn’t know yet if there would be any expansion of his buildings.

“Down the road I might have to do some facility changes but it won’t be in the near future,” he said. “That is something that General Motors may have us do in the future. We will do some remodeling, but whether we put in new building or lot, we don’t know yet.”

Clyse said he sees GM approving the deal as a positive for Ironton.

“There’s nothing like having the endorsement from one of the largest corporations in the world,” he said. “It’s an endorsement for the town, it’s saying it’s a viable place to do business otherwise they would never have approved us.”