New Pladsen Chevrolet location in south Waukon is first of its kind in the nation, features first UVeye vehicle inspection technology offered in an Iowa dealership

Chevrolet officials toured facility last week; Public open house scheduled for this Friday, April 24

Any transition to a new building at a new location is likely going to result in a number of “firsts” for any business or individual.

For Pladsen Chevrolet of Waukon, those “firsts” have further been experienced at both state and national milestone heights for the recent transition made by the nearly half-century-old business now also operating under a new name.

Having been located at its previous RW Pladsen location at 201 Rossville Road near downtown Waukon for nearly 50 years, the newly branded Pladsen Chevrolet opened its doors at its brand new, state-of-the-art dealership at the end of March, with that new dealership being the first in the United States to feature the newly-branded Chevrolet dealership design. The new facility is also the first Chevrolet dealership in the state of Iowa to utilize UVeye vehicle inspection technology in its vehicle service and repair department, marking another milestone.

NEW CHEVROLET DESIGN
“It’s called a Vista Portal front, and it’s Chevrolet’s new image,” Pladsen Chevrolet owner Steve Pladsen explained of the building design of his dealership’s new location. “We are the first dealer in the nation that is completed and open with this new image brand. I think there may be five others - maybe more by now - that have also been under construction, but we are the first one that is completed.”

Described by media outlets specializing in coverage of the automobile industry as a “push to modernize the GM (General Motors) customer experience,” the newly-branded Vista Portal dealership design incorporates the Chevrolet-blue archway into an open, inviting architecture that includes an array of glass walls for fuller visibility, lounge-style seating for comfort, and flexible layouts to fit a dealership’s needs. The new design is intended to welcome all vehicle shoppers into a more relaxed, customer-friendly atmosphere that eliminates the pressure of the sales environment.

“The dealership is built with the customer in mind,” Pladsen observed. “With the design of this building, it is 100% customer friendly, customer first. Transparency and privacy are two things that you’ll really see in that design. The floor plan is designed for the customer, and it involves all the current technology that you can get. This is designed to be such a comfortable process, the customer flow is amazing; from sales to service to everything. Basically, this store was built to be a very comfortable experience to buy a car, because it’s a huge investment to buy a car, one of the largest investments you’ll ever make. So, we, and Chevrolet, want to make that a comfortable process, and this new building design goes a long way to doing that.”

UVEYE INSPECTION TECHNOLOGY
Furthering those milestone “firsts” is a new, state-of-the-art UVeye vehicle inspection system, as the new Pladsen Chevrolet facility becomes the first Chevrolet dealer in the state of Iowa to utilize that scanning technology. Labeled as an “MRI for vehicles,” the automated inspection technology powered by artificial intelligence (AI) scans the underbody, tires, and exterior of a vehicle for defects, damage, and safety issues in just seconds as a vehicle drives through the arched system of high-resolution cameras and sensors and algorithm-driven technology, helping identify such problems as leaks, rust, or uneven or excessive tire wear.

“The UVeye machine is a machine that General Motors invested in,” Pladsen shared. “We are the first of their dealerships in the state of Iowa to have one operational in the store. They are out there in other locations - some rental car companies have them, but we are the first GM dealership in Iowa to utilize that state-of-the art technology.”

FIRST IN THE NATION TO THIRD GENERATION
Pladsen said the timing of creating a new facility, having it be the first of Chevrolet’s new brand design in the entire nation, and also being the first dealership in the state to incorporate the latest vehicle inspection technology all lined up very well for them in creating the new facility. A development partnership with the City of Waukon helped facilitate the location of the new dealership, and the unveiling of the new General Motors branding all fell into place along the same timeline.

That alignment of all aspects also came at a time when the Pladsen legacy was looking to be extended to a third generation, as Luke Pladsen, youngest son of Steve and Michele Pladsen, has recently bought into the family-owned vehicle dealership. That development creates a third generation of family ownership that began when Steve’s father, Roger Pladsen, bought the local Chevrolet dealership from Mark Mauss in 1978 and built what had been the Pladsen Motors/RW Pladsen dealership at 201 Rossville Road in 1980.

“We are now a third generation Chevy dealership, Luke is part owner now,” Steve clarified. “My dad started it in 1978 when he bought Mark Mauss Motors that was located in the current A-OK Well Service building, and he built the store we just moved from in 1980. So, nearly half a century later we built this new facility here, and Luke marks the third generation of family ownership, something we’re really proud of and excited for in this community. Our oldest son, Chase, will continue to run our family’s farming operation. He does a great job with that.”

DETROIT DIGNITARIES, LOCAL LEGACY
The opening of the new, first-of-its-kind facility in the entire nation brought some of Chevrolet’s highest-ranking officials headquartered out of Detroit, MI to the Waukon community to not only tour the new Pladsen Chevrolet facility but also meet with many of the local contractors who worked on bringing the new Chevrolet dealership design to its first-in-the-nation physical reality. Pladsen Chevrolet hosted regional, district and even global officials from within the Chevrolet corporation at a Monday, April 13 event that allowed those dignitaries to meet those who completed the work on the new building.

“It’s a big deal for Chevrolet, and it’s a huge deal for the community, our employees and the people,” Pladsen said of the significance of the new facility. “To get people to travel from Detroit to Waukon, Iowa doesn’t happen every day. I wanted to give them the opportunity to meet the local contractors who made this all happen. We used local people on everything that we possibly could and what they contributed to the project went just as smooth as it possibly could; these guys did a great job, just phenomenal.”

Pladsen says that even though Chevrolet and General Motors are global corporations headquartered in the Motor City of Detroit, the Chevrolet brand has always had a focus on rural America. He said Monday’s event was a nearly perfect representation of that commitment to rural America with corporate officials shaking hands with the workers and business owners who make projects such as this happen locally in northeast Iowa.

“Chevrolet is so strong in rural America; over 50% of Chevrolet dealers are located in rural America,” Pladsen outlined. “Chevrolet is a brand that is committed to its rural dealerships. And so, from a customer standpoint, that’s a huge commitment. Chevrolet is committed and we’re committed.”

In a related follow-up comment following the event, Global Chevrolet Vice President Scott Bell shared, “This week we celebrated the grand opening of Pladsen Chevrolet’s new facility featuring the brand’s updated dealership image design. They are the first to feature our new Vista Portal in the United States. Our new image is meant to provide a more modern and cleaner look for our customers, but it is about more than a new facade. It represents our shared commitment to delivering an exceptional Chevrolet experience for customers today and for decades to come.”

He further shared, “The Vista program is completely voluntary for our existing Chevrolet dealers, and Dealer Principal Steve Pladsen was one of the very first to raise his hand to bring this new look and feel to life. That kind of leadership and belief in the Chevrolet brand means a great deal to all of us. Please join me in congratulating Steve and the entire Pladsen team on making Chevrolet history.”

NEW NAME, SAME BUSINESS
Pladsen further explained that the move to the new facility also offered the opportunity to rebrand the business name as well. He clarified that RW Pladsen, Inc. continues to be the parent company of the operation, and the business has filed the proper paperwork to do business as Pladsen Chevrolet in an effort to be more formally and easily recognized as a Chevrolet dealer.

“We’re still the same company, we just rebranded, refocused with a new facility,” Pladsen said. “The reason I did that is to broaden our recognition and association as a Chevrolet dealer. If you weren’t from here, and you saw or heard RW Pladsen, Inc, you’d be, like, what is that? Is it a manufacturer? Is it this? Is it that? So, I’ve been thinking that we have to get Chevrolet in the name somewhere, and this relocation provided the perfect opportunity do that. Now they’ll see the Pladsen Chevrolet name and they automatically know what we’re associated with. But, even though we’ve rebranded with the Chevrolet name, we’re still the same local vehicle dealership people have come to know and trust.”

An open house for the general public to tour the new Pladsen Chevrolet facility is scheduled for this Friday, April 24 from 3-6 p.m. See the advertisement on Page 13 of this week's edition of the Standard for further details.

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