Donnell Ford buys Loudon dealership

The Donnell group added the Lincoln and Mercury lines with the deal.
SALEM -- David Flynn, the owner of Donnell Ford in Boardman and other dealerships, has acquired Loudon Ford Lincoln Mercury here.
The dealership, on Continental Drive, now operates as Donnell Ford Lincoln Mercury of Salem. The purchase price wasn't disclosed.
A.J. Loudon Co. has operated the Salem dealership for 80 years. It was founded by A.J. Loudon in Hanoverton in 1926.
The business was passed on to his son, Henry Loudon, in the mid-1950s. In 1969, the Ford part of the dealership moved to Salem and was joined by the Lincoln and Mercury franchises two years later.
Henry's sons, Hank and Tim, joined the business in 1973 and have been running the dealership in recent years.
Pat Morris, Donnell advertising director, said the acquisition brings the Lincoln and Mercury lines to the company for the first time. It also allows the company to provide more convenient services to its customers in the Salem area, she said.
Flynn also owns Columbiana Buick Cadillac Chevrolet in Columbiana, Power Pontiac GMC Buick Chevrolet in Calcutta, Performance GMC in New Waterford, and The Honda Store in Boardman.
Steve Bott, who had been at the Columbiana dealership, has been appointed new-car manager at the Salem dealership.
Lester Donnell founded Donnell Ford on Market Street in Youngstown in 1925. He moved the dealership to Delason Avenue in 1935 and then to its current site at 7955 Market in Boardman in 1976.
Donnell died in 1981, and the dealership was acquired by Flynn in 1982. A 1 million addition was completed in 1995 to expand the dealership's truck line.