Dealer Joe Serra lost more than 1,000 customers a year when General Motors phased out Hummer about five years ago.
Some of them returned -- but only after Mr. Serra added a Jeep franchise, one brand that seems to offer the sort of capability and cachet that meets erstwhile Hummer customers' tastes.
"Thank God I was able to acquire Jeep and retain some of those Hummer people," says Mr. Serra, owner of Serra Automotive Inc., which has 34 dealerships in seven states and sold 1,462 Hummers from its Grand Blanc, Mich., store in 2006. "Jeep has it going on right now. It's like they've got that niche all to themselves."
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