Auto Scene Jeffrey Zygmont
The Eagle-Tribune
---- — The Kelly Automotive Group just moved westward from its base on the North Shore, starting operations at its new Kelly Nissan of Woburn on Oct. 1. Located just off Interstate 93, the new location expands Kelly’s reach into new territory.
“It brings us into the Burlington area, farther west than we’ve been before,” said Brian Heney, director of operations for Kelly Automotive.
Formerly the site of Ira Nissan, the Woburn facility now joins two other Nissan dealerships operated by Kelly Automotive: Kelly Nissan of Beverly and Kelly Nissan of Lynnfield. Kelly’s Lynnfield location is the largest Nissan dealership in New England, Heney said.
“It’s a nice bonus for our customers,” he noted about the new, Woburn location. “Not only will we be able to service their Nissans there, but it will also give our customers access to enormous inventory.” Together, the three Kelly Nissan locations will stock about 1,000 new models, Heney said.
Kelly integrated the Woburn site into its business family with the same top-management attention already extended to its other dealerships, he explained. Brian Kelly, owner of Kelly Automotive, and Heney, make regular rounds, visiting the company’s eight locations each day.
“Between the two of us, we go to every store every day, because we want to maintain a personal touch,” Heney said.
In addition to the three Nissan dealerships, Kelly Automotive Group operates Kelly Fiat, Kelly Infiniti and Kelly Volkswagen in Danvers, Kelly Honda in Lynn, and Kelly Jeep Chrysler in Lynnfield.
Pump prices veer higher
After one week of relief, regional gasoline prices resumed their upward climb last week. Service-station tracking by the auto club AAA showed that the average price for gasoline in Massachusetts and New Hampshire rose during the seven-day period that ended Wednesday. The increase pushed the statewide average for self-service regular above $3.90 per gallon in Massachusetts. The New Hampshire average hovered just below that.
Last week’s increases followed a single week in which average prices in the two states fell. But before that single week of relief, pump prices had increased steadily, and sometimes steeply, for seven consecutive weeks, according to AAA reporting.
But in a hopeful sign, the U.S. national average dipped lower last week, marking the third straight week in which the coast-to-coast figure declined, according to the auto club.
The Massachusetts state-wide average for self-service regular rose 5.7 cents last week, reaching $3.937 on Wednesday, from $3.880 seven days earlier, AAA figures showed. On the same day of 2011, the Bay State average of $3.505 was 43.2 cents lower than Wednesday’s level.
In New Hampshire, Wednesday’s average of $3.886 for self-service regular was 3.6 cents higher than the prior week’s figure of $3.850, AAA reported. On the same day last year, the Granite State average of $3.472 was 41.4 cents lower than Wednesday’s average.
AAA’s national average of $3.782 on Wednesday represented a 2.3-cent dip from the prior Wednesday’s level of $3.805, the group said. Wednesday’s U.S. average was 36.5 cents higher than the $3.417 recorded on the same day of 2011.
