Our History

Philpott Motors came into existence in 1950 when Mr. W.F. (Bill) Philpott purchased Dale Motor Company.  The store was originally located in downtown Port Neches on Port Neches Avenue on the corner beside the current Post Office.  It was a block away from the Chevrolet store in what was a very busy small town business district.

The store moved from that location to the corner of Port Neches Avenue and Magnolia in the mid 1960s.  The store grew from this new location and Bill's son Eddie became involved in the operation.  Mr. Philpott died unexpectedly during the store's years on Magnolia and the Philpott's only son, Eddie took control.

Philpott next moved to our location on Nall Street in Port Neches.  It was during the years on Nall that the dealership purchased the Toyota franchise and became what is referred to as a "dual" dealer.

The store grew and prospered on Nall.  Philpott added a Collision Shop and a Government and Commercial Fleet Department.  Soon with growth and changes in consumer travel patterns, it became necessary that we move to a major thoroughfare in Southeast Texas.

In 1998, we moved to our current location on U.S. Highway 69 in Nederland.  Since our relocation, we have continued to grow and have made additions and remodeled the dealership on four difference occasions.

We acquired our third franchise, Hyundai, in April 2002 and have met with considerable success with this up-and-coming import line.  This franchise is housed in a separate facility approximately one-quarter mile north on Highway 69.

Sonic was formed in1997 with five dealerships on Charlotte, North Carolina.  In 1998, Sonic entered new markets in Ohio, Alabama, Florida and South Carolina. 1 year later, it acquired dealerships in Texas and California. Since the company's founding, Sonic has experienced phenomenal growth, as today Sonic operates over 100 dealerships spread across 15 states and 26 major metropolitan markets.

Sonic represents approximately 30 different automotive brands with the majority of our dealerships being luxury and import brands.  Sonic is ranked number 339 in the Fortune 500 list of the top global companies, ahead of brands like Dole Food and Yahoo.  Sonic Automotive is a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: SAH).

O. Bruton Smith founded Sonic automotive due to his lifelong passion for automobiles and his affiliation with racing. He is also chairman of Speedway Motorsports which owns and operates 8 out of the largest NASCAR Motor Speedways in North America: Atlanta, Bristol, Lowes, Infineon, Las Vegas, New Hampshire, Texas and Kentucky.

O. Bruton also founded Speedway Children's Charities in 1982. This organization is focused on caring for children in education, financial, social and medical need in order to help them lead productive lives. This vision of the charity is that every child has the same opportunities no matter what obstacle they are facing.