Ron McDonald Chevrolet in Madras has changed its ownership and name after 20 years in business.

The dealership – formerly owned by Joe McDonald, his half-brother, Scott Adkisson, and Denny Story – sold on Oct. 1 to Gary Gruner of Oxnard, Calif., for an undisclosed price.

It’s now called Gary Gruner Chevrolet-Buick-Pontiac. It’s Gruner’s first dealership.

Gruner plans to double the inventory of new and used cars and increase annual revenues 10 percent from $11.4 million to $12.5 million by next year, he said.

He’s retained all 15 employees and brought a new bilingual employee with him from Oxnard, he said.

Gruner, 48, attributed his purchase to Madras’ growth and the business’s success.

Gruner has managed car dealerships affiliated with GM in Ventura and Oxnard, Calif., for the past 20 years, he said.

Joe McDonald’s parents, Ron and Joan McDonald, owned the dealership until they retired four years ago, Joe McDonald said.

The business is located at the intersection of U.S. highways 97 and 26 south of town.

Falling national sales at General Motors did not factor into the decision to sell the dealership, Joe McDonald said, adding that he wants to spend more time with his family.

”We sat down at the first of the year and my brother said he wanted to do something different,” Joe McDonald said. ”It caused me to think it’s time to also shift gears. It’s not like you can go back 10 years from now and say you want to go fishing (with your family).”

GM Corp. lost $12 billion in North America last year, lost more than $600 million there during the first half of this year, and has seen its market share decline 3.7 percentage points in the last two years, according to a report last week from the New York Times News Service.

The company began cutting prices in January on a majority of its vehicles to turn around its business.

Sales in Madras, however, have risen, Joe McDonald said.

”It’s been the best year we’ve ever had,” he said. ”Central Oregon is a unique pocket of prosperity. As the region grows, (this dealership) is going to continue to participate in that.”

The Madras location has plenty of room to expand and will attract more customers from the fast-growing community, Gruner said.

”I believe that Madras is a growing area,” he said. ”There’s plenty of room for us to grow.”

Madras city planners expect the community’s population to double in the next five to 10 years, from roughly 5,600 to more than 11,000.