TheBuzz Erika Engle

---

McKenna's Mazda dealership to close this month

LONGTIME automobile dealer Mike McKenna is getting out of the Mazda business.

His Mike McKenna's Windward Mazda dealership at 749 Kailua Rd. will close June 20 and reopen the next day as a half-acre expansion of his used-car business.

"It was our call," he said. Mazda, "really didn't want us to go, but ... they're not selling in Kailua," said McKenna, chairman of Makena Hawaii Inc.

"It has a lot to do with the military being gone. In our case, that's our biggest problem -- and times are tight."

On the Net: » Edmunds.com Top 10

McKenna, a Mazda dealer since his California dealership days in the 1970s, was considering terminating the Kailua Mazda dealership for the past six to seven months, as it has not been profitable.

The factory will take back any unsold inventory, he said.

"A couple" people will be laid off, while other employees will be reassigned. Meanwhile, McKenna's Windward Ford dealership is going strong, he said.

The change will leave no Mazda dealerships on the Windward side. "There are a lot of guys that want the franchise, but there's no place to put it," McKenna said.

Oahu's other Mazda dealerships are Cutter Mazda of Waipahu and JN Chevrolet Mazda Maserati Lamborghini Lotus in Honolulu.

Edmunds.com, an automotive research site for consumers, publishes several top 10 lists each year, including Automotive News magazine's list of top-selling vehicles. Mazda does not appear among the best sellers for any year currently posted on the Edmunds site, going back to 2000.

However, the Mazda MPV was ranked the least expensive minivan for 2007, and the Mazda 6 was No. 2 on the list of least expensive cars to insure for 2006.

Also, the Mazda B series truck tied for No. 6 on the Edmunds list of fuel-efficient trucks and SUVs for 2007; and the B series and the Mazda Tribute ranked No. 4 on that list the year earlier.

KGMB SALE CLOSES

The $40 million sale of KGMB-TV by Indiana-based Emmis Communications Corp. to HITV Operating Co. Inc., has officially closed, now that FCC approval has been granted.

HITV, a subsidiary of Virginia-based MCG Capital Corp., announced its purchase of KGMB and its neighbor island satellite stations in February.