The Stevinson story began in 1962 when Chuck and Pat Stevinson left their friends and family in Kansas City and headed west by wagon (well, a station wagon) to Golden, Colorado to purchase a small and struggling Chevrolet dealership. Chuck coined Stevinson Chevrolet as the “only Chevy dealer on Ford Street,” and spent the next eight years growing the small franchise into the foundation for what wo
uld become one of Colorado’s preeminent automotive and real estate development companies. In the late 1960s, Chuck became interested in a new generation of smaller, fuel-efficient imported automobiles after taking a ride in a friend’s Volkswagen Beetle. Convinced the small car wasn’t just a fad, Chuck sought out other imported automotive brands that were looking to expand to Colorado and opened his first Toyota dealership in 1970. The public knew very little about Toyota in those early years, but with Chuck’s strong marketing acumen and salesmanship, the new venture grew quickly. In 1972 the Stevinson family of franchises expanded again, with the acquisition of Crest Motors. Originally a Toyota/Volvo, Jaguar/British Leyland dealership, Stevinson Imports dabbled in such exotic brands as Lotus before evolving into an offering of Porsche and Jaguar, located on South Broadway in Littleton. The following year (1973), Stevinson Chevrolet relocated from its original location on Ford Street in Golden to a modern new facility on the corner of Colfax and Indiana. At the time of its opening, Stevinson Chevrolet was the largest Chevrolet facility in the Rocky Mountain Region, and boasted an array of technical advances and Customer amenities never before seen in Denver. In 1976, Stevinson expanded again by relocating our second Toyota franchise, which is now known as Stevinson Toyota East in Aurora. Since opening, we’ve remodeled the Toyota East facility and expanded to 54,000 square feet on ten acres.
1989 was the year that Stevinson was selected as one of the first of 60 Lexus dealers nationwide. It was then that Stevinson Lexus of Lakewood opened as Colorado’s first Lexus dealership. Lexus was a virtual unknown in the luxury automotive segment, but quickly grew to the industry’s leading luxury automotive brand thanks to a winning combination of engineering excellence, reliability and outstanding Customer service.
2004 was the year Stevinson Toyota West moved to a modern 110,000 square foot facility at W. 6th Avenue and Indiana in Lakewood. The new building greatly expanded our capacity to sell and service Toyotas with 15 acres of space and 64 service bays. In 2005 Stevinson Chevrolet moved to a newly renovated facility directly across the street from its former location. The new address increased the dealership’s size to 91,000 square feet on 17 acres with 51 service bays. The following year Stevinson moved north with the opening of Stevinson Lexus of Frederick on July 15, 2006. Stevinson Lexus of Frederick established a new standard for Customer amenities and service and has quickly grown to the leading luxury automotive retailer in northern Colorado. Our newest member of the Stevinson Automotive family is also in northern Colorado, Stevinson Hyundai of Longmont. The rapid growth of the Hyundai brand is very reminiscent of the success our family enjoyed with Toyota in the 1970s. In 2018, Stevinson Imports moved to temporary facilities on Littleton Blvd while the dealership on Broadway was scraped and rebuilt for the Porsche franchise. Complete with a glass atrium, video wall, and service bay viewing area, the new state-of-the-art dealership was renamed Porsche Littleton, and the Porsche franchise moved back home to 5500 S. Our Jaguar franchise, Stevinson Imports, remains in their temporary facility at 200 E. in Littleton, while awaiting a newly constructed dealership in Lakewood with an opening date to be announced. Today, Stevinson Automotive operates six automotive franchises from eight locations across Colorado with plans for dealership renovations, growth, and expansion. The Stevinson family built their business on the simple principle of treating every Customer as if they were a guest in our home and delivering a little more than expected. The same principles Chuck Stevinson founded our business upon in 1962 are still what guide us today; we remain committed to these ideals because they are an integral part of our family business history and have formed the foundation of our family’s success. As the automotive industry continues to evolve in the future, we are proud to be family-owned and operated. We look forward to serving Coloradans for many more years.
