The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Nissan dealership owners make shift to Italian sports cars
Ownership of Bruce Bennett Nissan has shifted to a New Jersey company, with the namesake family acquiring a dealership in Danbury that sells Maserati, Alfa Romeo and other makes.
Located in Wilton on Danbury Road between the commercial pockets of Georgetown and Branchville, Bruce Bennett Nissan is one of three authorized Nissan dealers in Fairfield County along with Paul Miller Nissan in Fairfield and D’Addario Nissan in Shelton.
Todd Bennett confirmed the transfer of Bruce Bennett Nissan to Bridgewater, N.J.-based PSD Automotive Group, saying the Bennett family had been exploring other opportunities for some time and did not want to have a conflict of interest in owning separate dealerships.
The Bennett family now owns Todd Maserati Alfa Romeo on Newtown Road in Danbury, one of four Alfa Romeo dealers in Connecticut, along with dealerships in Greenwich, Westport and Hartford.
The deal was finalized amid the coronavirus pandemic that curtailed new vehicle production globally, with Todd Bennett saying Todd Maserati Alfa Romeo has been operating on regular hours this month.
“The issue is inventory,” Bennett said. “The last time we hit recession, everyone had too much inventory (and) factories were still building cars. In this situation, factories have been offline for months — they have no cars. Interest rates are still really low, so I think there’s a lot of incentives for people.”
A call to Bruce Bennett Nissan’s new ownership group was not returned immediately on Monday.
Bruce Bennett acquired the dealership in 1988 from Bob Sharp, who grew up in Westport and New Canaan and went on to become a notable race car driver and team owner. Sharp is credited with mentoring Paul Newman during the actor’s early interest in the sport, with Newman becoming a member of Bob Sharp Racing.