PARKERSBURG — McClinton Auto Group, a fourth-generation family-owned dealership with a Chevrolet and a Mitsubishi franchise, has launched the McClinton Difference, a program designed to enhance vehicle buying and ownership.

Through the program, the 106-year-old dealership group has transformed over the past year to deliver an online-vehicle-buying experience and offer the McClinton Million-Mile Warranty.

Virginia “Ginny” Bowden, great-granddaughter of founder J.S. McClinton Sr., took over as the dealer principal in 2020 while her husband, Charles “Wyn” Wyndol Bowden, became the general manager. Ginny’s father, J.S. McClinton III, remains CEO after celebrating 45 years with the company.

“With over 20 years of combined experience in the automotive, aeronautics and marketing industries, Wyn and I have applied our learnings to build upon the success my family has had in being a leading family-owned business in our community,” said Ginny Bowden. “We’re excited to say since we took over as McClinton leaders, we’ve transformed our dealership into the modern age during the challenging COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we’re proud that we have continued to support local organizations and provide jobs and careers in our local Mid-Ohio Valley community for over a century.”

Over the past year, McClinton Auto Group has provided new easy-to-use technology through its website to enable consumers the ability to do more of the vehicle-buying process online, including at-home test drives and virtual trade-in evaluations. This has become even more important as more consumers do their car shopping and research online during all hours of the day and night. Since the launch, over 3,000 customers have researched vehicles through the dealership’s platform.