When Rayford Lloyd sold his GM and Nissan dealership to Sonic Public Automotive Group back in 1999, he probably had no idea how things would change. The end of one dealership meant great growth for two others.

If you are in the market for a new General Motors vehicle in Bay County, there's only one place to go: Bill Cramer on 23rd Street. In April, Cramer bought the GM lines he didn't already have, from Sonic, the owners of Llyod Pontiac, Cadillac, GMC.

The deal went through about a month before GM declared bankruptcy. "I had an opportunity to buy the franchises that would consolidate the market and bring additional franchises under the same roof. So we can operate with the same overhead and sell more vehicles, more parts and more services," explains Bill Cramer.

Formerly run by his father-in-law, Tommy Thomas, Cramer is not afraid to take a few risks at the helm. He had the foresight to see turbulant waters ahead and jumped in ready to swim hard. "I knew that GM was going to have to make some drastic changes. I had hoped, as many others had, that it wouldn't be through bankruptcy but I expected that it might be and I have confidence in General Motors to survive regardless."

Despite the bailout and bankruptcy, Cramer say he has faith in GM. "GM is in the best shape they have been in the last 30 years, they have downsized their overhead. They are going to be successful selling the vehicles of the future."

Cramer moved all of Lloyd's GM inventory to his lot, leaving behind the dealership and the Nissan line. That gave Fort Walton Beach businessman John Lee the perfect opportunity to improve his market position with the Mazda line he bought from Buzz Leonard last year.

Lee bought the Nissan line from Sonic and moved into Lloyd's old location on 23rd Street. "It's a great opportunity, times aren't great and sometimes that is the best time to get into the business," says John Lee. In fact, Lee's outfit is growing in the face of the tough economy. "When we took the dealership over, we had 20 employees, now we have 50 and we are still growing. The most important part of our business is our people. Both our employees and our customers. But it's tough to satisfy your customers if you don't have happy employees."

Success isn't guaranteed to anyone, but Lee certainly has vision. "Hope is not a strategy, occasions for hope are great, but we will be successful because we are living in a great country at a great time and this is a great opportunity." So is the lifetime warranty Lee is offering. "The lifetime warranty sort of gives us an edge in Panama City because we are the only ones offering it, there are no caveats in it. The coverage is expansive and it's included with every new car and select used cars."

While both Cramer and Lee see success in their future, there is plenty of uncertainty surrounding the vacant Saturn dealership on 15th Street; it was slated to open last fall. While GM gave up on Saturn, Roger Penske did not. He and a group have negotiated it's sale so perhaps the lot won't be empty for long.