The words "Dale Gas" will soon be heard along West Expressway 83 in Harlingen.
Bert Ogden Hyundai is moving out of downtown Harlingen and onto a property off Expressway 83 -- just one block away from the KGBT-TV studios.
Construction for the new dealership began a couple of weeks ago between Altas Palmas Road and Tamm Lane.
Crews are currently moving dirt from the top of a large hill to raise the property five feet for drainage purposes.
Bert Ogden General Manager Belinda Zapata said it should all go pretty fast once that's done.
The new Hyundai dealership is expected to be open for business by December of this year.
Zapata said the Bert Ogden dealership in downtown Harlingen will close its doors after the company moves its Kia dealership to the new location off the Expressway in December 2012.
The dealership has been a fixture off West Jackson Avenue and F Street for decades.
"We're very sad to leave the historic area of downtown Harlingen," Zapata said. "There are so many wonderful memories there."
But Zapata said the new dealership is staying in Harlingen and will be a win for consumers looking for more selection and options.
The new dealership is expected to have a selection of 400 Hyundai vehicles and later about 300 Kia vehicles in its inventory.
The number is a dramatic increase from the 40 Hyundai vehicles and 80 Kia vehicles at its downtown Harlingen location.
The company currently sells about 85 cars a month at its downtown Harlingen location but expects sales to be stronger off the expressway.
The move is just the latest in a series of expansions for Bert Ogden, which has seen auto sales recover since the United States economy took a downturn in 2009.
Bert Ogden recently entered the luxury vehicle market after opening a BMW dealership in McAllen and an Infiniti dealership in Mission.
The company owns a combined 20 dealerships in Mission, McAllen, Edinburg and Harlingen.
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