An auto row or auto mall is a
business cluster
A business cluster is a geographic concentration of interconnected businesses, suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field. Clusters are considered to increase the productivity with which companies can compete, nationally and gl ...
with multiple
car dealership
A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintena ...
s in a single neighborhood or road. Auto rows are distinct from
car supermarkets which are a single, large dealership.
Economics
Auto rows, like mall
food courts, are an example of the
economies of agglomeration
One of the major subfields of urban economics, economies of agglomeration (or agglomeration effects), explains, in broad terms, how urban agglomeration occurs in locations where cost savings can naturally arise. This term is most often discu ...
. Even though being grouped together increases immediate competition, the auto row becomes more of destination for consumers and benefits all the dealerships. Many consumers may want to test drive automobiles from multiple companies before making a purchase and the auto row provides
one stop shop
A one-stop shop (OSS), in public administration, is a government office where multiple services are offered, allowing customers to access these services in a centralized location rather than in different places.
The term originated in the United ...
ping. Competing dealerships also often share advertising costs to promote their single destination under an agreed-upon marketing name. Auto rows attract ancillary businesses including car washes, insurance offices, and body shops that benefit all of the dealerships.
Geography
Central Place Theory
Central place theory is an urban geographical theory that seeks to explain the number, size and range of market services in a commercial system or human settlements in a residential system.Goodall, B. (1987) The Penguin Dictionary of Human G ...
may explain why
destination stores do better when centrally located.
Also, in some areas, local
zoning
In urban planning, zoning is a method in which a municipality or other tier of government divides land into land-use "zones", each of which has a set of regulations for new development that differs from other zones. Zones may be defined for ...
may exclude car dealerships from many retail districts so that locating in an auto row becomes less about market forces and more about government planning.
Traditionally, car dealership had small window front showrooms. Later, most car dealerships converted to large parking lot-based stores with integrated parts and service departments. In many case, an auto row is a vehicle-themed historic district rather than a current location to purchase cars.
Examples
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Automobile Alley Historic District,
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population was 187,041 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. After a successful vote to annex areas west of the city limits in July 2023, Mobil ...
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Automobile Alley,
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
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Automobile Row (Omaha, Nebraska)
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34 Avenue, Edmonton,
Alberta
Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...
*
Broadway Auto Row, Oakland, California
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Capitol Expressway,
San Jose, California
San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...
*
Cerritos Auto Square,
Cerritos, California
Cerritos (; Spanish for "Little hills") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, and is one of several cities that constitute the Gateway Cities of southeast Los Angeles County. It was municipal corporation, incorporated on ...
*
Motor Row District,
Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
*
Driver's Village, built on the site of a
dead mall in
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...
See also
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Milwaukee Junction, a former agglomeration of auto manufacturers.
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List of historic filling stations
References
{{commons cat
Auto dealerships
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Shopping districts and streets by type