The Mike Anderson Auto Group began in 1980 in Logansport, Indiana. Mike Anderson at that time was a young man, had already been involved in his father's dealership which was called Bob Anderson Pontiac and was located in Crown Point, Indiana. Starting out with a Pontiac dealership in Logansport, Anderson over the years grew the dealership and changed the franchises to keep up with the ever changin
g automotive world - adding Mazda, Oldsmobile, GMC, Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick - today the very first Mike Anderson dealership remains in Logansport as a Chevrolet GMC dealership. In 1989 Mike opened his second location in Gas City, Indiana - a Chevrolet Dealership. Gas City is a sister city only a few miles from Marion, Indiana where there was and still is to this day a competing Chevy Dealer. In the early days the competition came from Devoe Chevrolet - a family deeply involved with the JD ByRider program, a heavy competitor in the Buy Here Pay Here market. While Gas City is a smaller community, it shows how Mike Anderson Chevrolet is deeply committed to the community they serve. In 1993 the group added their third location, purchasing the former Western Dodge dealership in Marion, Indiana. This location remained a single point Dodge only dealership until 2013, when they purchased the assets and combined the franchises of Ray Harris Chrysler Jeep - now today, Marion, Indiana has all the Chrysler Dodge Jeep and Ram brands located under the Mike Anderson name. In 1995 the group entered the Kokomo, Indiana market with a prominent Used Car dealership. The other three dealerships at that time were already selling a large number of vehicles into the Kokomo market, so the expansion to offer Used Cars, Trucks, Minivans and SUVs directly in Kokomo made great sense. In 1998 the group added their second Chrysler brand dealership in Rochester, Indiana when they purchased what was then known as Hammel Motors - this dealership had the entire line up of Chrysler products available at that time - which included Chrysler Dodge Jeep Plymouth and Eagle brands. Today, in a modern facility Rochester is home to Mike Anderson Chrysler Dodge Jeep and Ram. In 2000 the group added another Chevrolet point just outside of Fort Wayne, Indiana and purchased the dealership from Bob Bates Chevrolet in Ossian, Indiana. While Ossian is a very small community, this dealership serves as the closest Chevy point to one of Ft Wayne's major employers, General Motors Fort Wayne Truck Assembly Plant. In 2005 General Motors launched a major restructuring of dealerships in the Merrillville, Indiana area. The results were several franchises combined or changed hands, the original Bob Anderson Pontiac dealership relocated to Merrillville, dropped the Pontiac line and added the Chevrolet line. Today this dealership is a prominent part of the entire Mike Anderson Auto Group, has won the prestigious Chevrolet Dealer of The Year award several times and is consistently a top performing Chevy dealer in all of the greater Chicago area. In 2006 the group added a second location in Logansport, Indiana and purchased Hendrickson Chrysler Dodge - a longstanding local dealership. Then in 2012 this store also acquired the Jeep franchise which had previously been held by Donato Jeep a few years prior. Today the dealership has the entire Chrysler line up, and occupies several acres in down town Logansport in a new and modern facility. At the same time as Anderson acquired the Hendrickson dealership, the group also started their own finance company, called Drive Now Auto Credit - this company specializes in assisting customers with prior credit issues or no prior credit, and offers a service that is very similar to traditional Buy Here Pay Here programs thru a centralized financing company which makes this entire program available to customers at any of the many Mike Anderson stores. In 2008 the group entered the Chicago market, purchasing a Chevrolet dealership. The Chicagoland market was not necessarily new to Anderson since the Merrillville dealership had already succeeding in achieving great results in the Chicago zone. Even with the untimely passing of Mr. Anderson in 2019, the group remains strong. Existing dealerships were purchased by partners and still operate closely. Thank you for taking the time to learn a little bit of our history, understand our commitment to community and our love of this business. We look forward to assisting you with all of your driving needs soon!
