CONNOQUENESSING TWP — Honda North on Route 68 is listed as the number one selling car dealership in Butler County by two independent sources.

Jon Palmiero, co-owner, knows why the dealership has achieved such a feat.

“We believe wholeheartedly in taking care of our customers and standing behind the product,” Palmiero said.

Palmiero owns the dealership with his father, Joe Palmiero, and Howard Neff.

It started in May 2005, when the three men bought Country Motors Honda. Neff was running Country Motors at the time.

“It was kind of the right place at the right time,” Palmiero said.

He moved to Butler in July 2004 to work at Country Motors Nissan.

Bob Hollick was the owner of Country Motors Honda and Nissan, and was interested in selling them.

“This was a good opportunity for us and a good opportunity for the area,” Palmiero said.

Palmiero and his family have a strong background in car dealerships. His father owns Palmiero Toyota in Meadville. His sister also is involved in the family business in Meadville.

For Palmiero and Neff, Honda North is the only dealership they own.

Palmiero said the dealership has grown “significantly” since 2005. The owners started with 33 employees and sold about 600 new Hondas and 400 used cars per year.

They now sell about 1,500 new Hondas and 1,000 used cars per year. The dealership has 75 employees.

The owners built the current location in 2010. The dealership originally was located about 500 yards east of there.

Honda North has been ranked the number one dealership in the county for three years in a row, according to the Urban Science Market Master Report and R.L. Polk Vehicle Registration Reports.

“We've been honored to have that achievement,” Palmiero said.

This year, the dealership won the Honda President's Award for the seventh year in a row. Since 2006, it has won it nine times.

“That, quite honestly, is really the highest honor that we can achieve because it's a pretty elite group of dealers,” Palmiero said.

The award is the highest honor a Honda dealership can get. Every time Honda North wins it, Palmiero said the group gets even more elite. Only five dealerships in the state won the award this year.

“There's very few dealers in Pennsylvania that win it, and then to have achieved it nine years,” Palmiero said.

He was told by a Honda official that Honda North is one of only 26 dealerships in the country to have received the award nine times.

“That's out of over 1,000 dealers,” Palmiero said.

One thing that is important to the dealership is taking care of customers.

“We're local guys. We take care of our local people,” Palmiero said.

Many customers come from the Butler and Cranberry Township areas, but the Internet has brought people from further away — both for new and used cars.

“Given any month, we'll sell vehicles to people up to three to five states away,” Palmiero said.He said the dealership knows that there is a lot of information that customers can gather before going to a dealership.“We embrace it,” Palmiero said. “We know that people have everything at their fingertips, and we're transparent sort of guys.”He said he considers the Internet “the great equalizer.”“You have to be fair on your pricing,” Palmiero said. “They can see if you're presenting a fair price or not.”For used cars, he said the dealership does not just “change the oil and throw it out there.” He said, “We spend our money on them before anybody else does.”“Everything is done to it that needs done to it. We really stand behind the products we sell,” Palmiero said. “We make sure that they are right before they get out there.”He noted that his family has been involved in dealing cars in Western Pennsylvania since 1958.“We've established a reputation as being a reputable dealer who sells good vehicles,” Palmiero said. “You can't do that by taking short cuts.”In addition to new and used vehicle sales, the dealership services vehicles with Honda-certified technicians.Palmiero said mechanics are trained on a continual basis.“That's something that's important. The technology in vehicles is moving in a rapid rate. There are some really good local mechanics,” Palmiero said.He said that some of the technology in the 2016 models on the lot is “nothing short of remarkable.”“Its very difficult to stay on top of that technology for an outside technician,” Palmiero said. “That's why we continually send our technicians to training, at minimum, probably a couple times a year.”He said the future for Honda is bright.“It's a great organization. They have not gotten away from 'quality first,'” Palmiero said.The dealership's future is similarly good, he said, because it stands behind what it does.“Myself and my partner, Howard, are in the store every day. And I think that's one of the things that sets us apart from our competitors,” Palmiero said. “We're here to take care of the customer.”Although it is a Honda dealer only, Palmiero said the dealership may consider adding other vehicle brands.“We're always open to other opportunities,” Palmiero said.“If the right one were to come along, we're very interested.”