State’s First AutoNation Gets Tuneup for Irvine Opening

Car retailing giant Republic Industries Inc. is busy putting the finishing touches on its first California used-car extravaganza, the 20-acre AutoNation USA facility in the Irvine Spectrum, just off the San Diego Freeway and Irvine Center Drive.

The arrival of Florida-based AutoNation means new jobs and lots of potential sales tax revenue for Southern California, as well as potential headaches for the competition.

AutoNations don’t sell new cars, but they specialize in the kind of low-mileage, late-model used vehicles that many people are turning to as new cars get outrageously expensive. The average new car was priced at $22,000 last year.

The huge car lot in Irvine is two or three times the size of the typical new car dealership and 10 times larger than most used-car facilities. It will stock 1,000 vehicles and employ about 120 people when it is running in full swing, says Republic’s auto retailing chief, Michael Maroone. The company expects each AutoNation store to do about $100 million a year in sales and service work, he said.

The grand opening in Irvine is slated for Feb. 3, but the place actually will open for business Jan. 26 if construction stays on schedule, Maroone said.

In all, Republic is building five AutoNation stores in Southern California. The others will be in Rancho Cucamonga, Long Beach, Los Angeles and Oxnard.

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John O’Dell covers major Orange County corporations and manufacturing for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5831 and at john.odell@latimes.com