The lights are still on at Lakes Region VW for now

While Lakes Region Volkswagen has a purchase-and-sale agreement in place to move that brand to AutoServ's operation in Tilton, the closing of that deal has been delayed pending final approval from Volkswagen of America. The two parties had hoped to complete the transfer by the end of this month but are now expecting that won't happen until mid-April at the earliest.

Meanwhile, Lakes Region Volkswagen dealer-principal Peter Herz is continuing to do what he knows how to do: manage a car dealership.

"We're still receiving brand-new inventory, we're still fully functioning, service and sales," he said, noting the dealership had just taken shipment on a batch of diesel-powered cars. "Nothing is done until we have approval from Volkswagen."

When the deal is done, Lakes Region Volkswagen, located in Gilford on Route 11, will close its doors. In the process, it will close the book on a business that started more than 50 years ago.

As Herz detailed, Lakes Region Volkswagen dates back to 1954. "A gentleman racecar driver named 'Rowlie' Keith who summered up here wanted to import Volkswagens." Keith was a Rhode Island resident who won the Watkins Glen International Sports Car Grand Prix in 1950, driving a supercharged M.G. TC.

Keith said during a Thursday interview that he was interested in Volkswagen because "I'd been in Europe and I saw how well they'd done over there." A friend of his had become involved in setting up dealerships for the brand, so Keith had him drive up in a Beetle to meet with the owners of Kip & Joe's, a small service garage in Holderness. After a few handshakes, the deal was done. Keith said they became a VW dealership without so much as signing any paperwork.

At first, Keith was worried about bringing a German car dealership to rural New Hampshire, especially when the ink was still wet on the history of World War II. However, he was happy to report that the weird little Beetles were accepted and soon began puttering their way off the sales lot.

As VW began to more aggressively court the U.S. market, the corporate brass decided they wanted a dealership presence in the Laconia area, so they told him he could move his store or they would open a competing dealership nearby. Keith enjoyed being the only VW dealer in central New Hampshire, so he moved to 1428 Lakeshore Road (Route 11) in Gilford, opening up shop where today there's a used car dealer (Kar Kraft) and near the entrance to the plaza containing Hannaford Supermarket and Wal-Mart.

Keith sold the dealership to Skip King in 1981, who did well until the economy turned sour. He filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1991, which is how Herz came into the picture and how the name changed to Lakes Region. He moved the dealership up the road a short way, to a larger facility where it is now.

It wasn't Herz's first dealership. When he was 26, and his friends were buying homes, Herz paid about the same amount for a General Motors dealership outside of Toronto. After selling that dealership for a profit, he purchased a Honda dealership in the same area. It was becoming part owner of WKXL radio in Concord that brought Herz to New Hampshire.

About five years ago, Volkswagen started prodding Herz in the same way that Keith had been motivated to move to the Laconia area. "The manufacturer wanted to be out at Exit 20," said Herz, referring to the many large retail centers that have developed near Route 93 in Tilton. "Ultimately, it makes sense to be out at Exit 20," he admitted.

Herz began to seriously look into moving. He went so far as to buy a sizable chunk of land near Kohl's and had plans drawn up for a large, modern auto dealership.

However, when Herz looked into the renderings showing the large building and its wall of glass and steel, he didn't see himself. If that was the future of selling cars, he was happy to leave that to someone else.

"We just made a decision that it wasn't where we wanted to go," he said. So, when the Gaudet family approached him about bringing Volkswagen into the stable of brands offered at AutoServ, they found an eager seller.

Herz isn't ready for retirement, and he isn't certain what his next occupation will be. His decision to leave the world of car sales behind was made easy, though, by a daughter that arrived one and a half years ago. Herz said "I'm looking forward to cutting my lawn and taking my little girl for walks."

Once Herz's deal with the Gaudets receives VW's blessing, AutoServ will purchase his inventory, specialized tools and will make accommodations to hire all of his employees. Herz said customers will experience a "seamless transition," including the transfer of all service records.

Until then, though, Herz welcomed anyone interested in a new car to stop by. "We're clearly still in business," he said.