Mayor Diane McNutt with Kjell Qvale, owner of Los Gatos Luxury Cars, at a ceremony Thursday. Photo by Dave Lawrence Cabebe.
Purchase of the local luxury car dealership Silicon Valley Auto Group (SVAG) by the San Francisco-based Qvale Auto Group (QAG) was completed Wednesday, consummated at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Main Street showroom.
Poised with scissors in hand were Kjell Qvale, the 90-year-old founder of the family-owned business, and Mayor Diane McNutt. Town Manager Greg Larson and several members of the Town Council stood beside them holding the ribbon, waiting for cameras to be ready. The group worked to maintain smiles as time passed while one camera failed. Finally flashes erupted and the ribbon fell, later decorating the Mayor and Qvale.
Most of the staff will remain under the new ownership at the renamed Los Gatos Luxury Cars, but the inventory will be all new. SVAG’s Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Bugattis have presumably been carted off to their showroom in San Diego. So far, only a half-dozen or so new Bentleys have arrived, the prize of the group on display in their main showroom— a white convertible next to a white Christmas tree in the white showroom. QAG expects Ferrari and Rolls Royce to follow soon.
The new owners have been luxury car distributors, retailers, and importers since 1947, when Qvale (whose name is pronounced “shell ke-VA-lay”) opened his first dealership in Alameda. When picking up one of the MGs for his inventory, Qvale happened to meet William Lyons, the owner of Jaguar. From that meeting he became the first Jaguar distributor on the West Coast. Rolls Royce and Bentley followed.
Through luck and charm, Qvale became a major player in the California automotive scene—he had a hand in the creation of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and Mazda Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey. He built the luxury performance brand Jensen-Healey with Donald Healy in 1970.
He says his favorite cars are the 1949 Jaguar XK120 and the MGF, which was sold from 1995 to 2000—“before they streamlined it,” Qvale says. Still chairman and primary shareholder, Qvale runs the company with his two sons, Bruce and Jeff.
“We feel that the luxury automotive market is starting to rebound… We see the downturn as an opportunity,” said the senior Qvale in a press release. He is optimistic about his new dealership in a town he calls, “a special place.”
Standing beside his father, Jeff Qvale said he is happy to be in Los Gatos. “It’s always been a good market down here for our cars,” he said.
Qvale’s confidence seemed to be contagious—despite the economic downturn which has seen two other dealerships in Los Gatos close in the past six months. McNutt says she expects the dealership to “bring in people from all over the South Bay who are going to dream about what may be possible.”
“[Los Gatos] businesses offer a unique array of goods and services, and my gosh, this has got to be top of the list,” McNutt said as she looked out at the glittering Bentleys surrounding the group.
Town Manager Greg Larson agrees with the mayor that QAG will fit in nicely with the town. The dealership at 66 E. Main St has, “always been a premium car dealership,” Larson said.
QAG has dealerships for Jaguar, Bentley, Maserati, Porsche, and Land Rover across the country and throughout the Bay Area. Silicon Valley Auto Group occupied the lot since 1976 and has now consolidated their interests in San Diego.
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