A high volume of sales has put the group on the local map. So, too, has an assortment of marketing brainstorms from the founder.

Megadealer is a GM loyalist, but not without a disappointment here and there.

The Ed Morse group has never failed to make the Ward’s Megadealer 100. This year it is No.44 with revenues of $544.8 million.

“Applying restaurant lessons to dealerships sounds strange, but it really isn’t,” says John Bergstrom.

Since its establishment on Pasadena’s Colorado Blvd., the Rusnak organization has served affluent celebrities and customers in the greater Los Angeles market.

The neighboring dealerships are big and beautiful and sell lots of vehicles, as evidenced by their standings on the Ward’s Dealer 500.

“We've struggled in the past with weak small-car sellers like Aveo, Nova, Chevy II and Geo Metro, but the time has finally come for a total GM turnaround in that segment,” says Susan Ianni of Gordon Chevrolet.

“What makes the 500 more meaningful to us is the fact that it is based on total revenues, not merely new-car sales,” says Don Crevier of Crevier BMW.

It is stating the obvious to say the Ward's Dealer 500 ranking numbers are down across the board this year. But the depths to which the numbers have fallen are shocking. The annual list, now in its 22nd year, ranks dealers according to total...