BIRMINGHAM - Don Drennen Motor Co. Inc. (www.dondrennenautos.com), the oldest Buick dealership in the Southeast, was honored today by the Alabama Retail Association (ARA) as an Alabama Centennial Retailer, a retailer with 100 or more years in business in Alabama.

"For businesses to survive despite the dramatic changes of the past century is a remarkable achievement," said ARA President Rick Brown. "It is fitting to celebrate the enduring contributions Don Drennen Motor Co. has made to Hoover and the greater Birmingham area."

 The Alabama Centennial Retailer was honored at the UAB 2009 Retail Day Luncheon at The Club in Birmingham. The business received a bronze plaque to place outside of the dealership and a certificate suitable for display inside.

 D. Ward Drennen III, the current owner, is the great nephew of the business founders: Hubert, Mack and Mell Drennen. The business began in 1869 as Drennen & Co., a dry goods store that later sold horse-drawn buggies through its transportation department. The present day focus of the business dates to 1908 when it started selling Buicks and Cadillacs. In 2008, the dealership received the National Automobile Dealer Association Century Award from the Birmingham Automobile Dealers Association. It is one of less than two dozen automobile dealerships nationwide to make it past the century mark.

In its 101 years selling motor vehicles, the automobile dealership has sold a variety of car models, including Pontiac, Chevrolet, Jeep, Eagle, Chrysler, Plymouth, American Motors Corporation, Renault, LaSalle and Aero Willys.

This fourth generation business survived the Great Depression, two World Wars, the oil embargo of the 1970s, the interest rate crisis of the 1980s and plans to weather the 2009 recession despite Chrysler and General Motors bankruptcies, which have meant the loss of its Chrysler and Jeep brands and could mean the loss of the Buick brand after the end of this year.

Making it through the tough times is a legacy in the Drennen family, which even loaned General Motors money in 1933 during the Depression. The business sold washers and driers along with boats in the 1940s to remain viable.

The Drennen dealership moved in 1972 to its current home on U.S. 31 in Hoover, along what is known as the "Motor Mile," because of the proliferation of automobile dealers, and its owner still believes the location is a good one.

 The dealership, which employs 125, continues to sell the new Buicks in its inventory and sells varied brands of used cars. The business also has a collision center and service department. Adding new brands of automobiles and a possible merger with another dealer also are being considered in the effort
to adapt so the business will still be here should a fifth generation of Drennens wish to operate it.

Bill Powell, executive director of the Hoover Area Chamber of Commerce, nominated Don Drennen Motor Co. as a Centennial Retailer.

The Alabama Retail Association presents awards annually to Centennial Retailers. To notify ARA of a retail business that has been in operation for 100 years or more, please contact Nancy Dennis at (800) 239-5423 or ndennis@alabamaretail.org.

For a list of Centennial Retailers honored previously, go to Alabama's Centennial Retailers under Centennial Retailers in the Awards and Events section of http://www.alabamaretail.org/