'The Cube' at Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac of Murfreesboro may be first in Tennessee

Tom Beckwith Special to USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee

Published 11:00 AM EDT Nov 1, 2018

A new structure has changed Murfreesboro's skyline along Fortress Boulevard near Interstate 24.

Young boys may liken it to a giant storage box for Hot Wheels cars, while adults may think it's a car vending machine. Some refer to it as “the tower.”

But at Chevrolet Buick GMC Cadillac of Murfreesboro, Executive Manager Bo Trivett and his staff, the four-story automobile display is known as "the cube."

Believed to be the first of its kind in Tennessee, the display is modeled after the Carvana concept of a car vending machine. Located along Interstate 65 in Nashville's Berry Hill community, Carvana's five-story was the company's first in the nation.

In Murfreesboro, the cube's sole purpose is only to display cars and trucks for sale at the dealership.

“The cube is basically a very expensive sign,” Trivett said of the 4,000-square-foot structure. “Our dealership is down in a hole, so we built it for visibility. People driving down the Interstate couldn’t see us.”

How the tower came to be

The Tennessee Department of Transportation agreed to sell a two-acre strip of property located between the existing auto franchise’s property and Fortress Boulevard.

Rising 60 feet into the sky, the structure rests on a foundation that is four feet thick. Inside are four two-car lifts that can display eight vehicles at a time.

The cube took five months and $5 million to build.

“Actual construction began in May, and we were able to begin displaying cars (Oct. 25),” Trivett said.

The first group of cars and trucks put on display represent the colors of Halloween and autumn. The plan is to display cars and truck that associated with a given season or holiday, Trivett said.

It takes about 45 minutes to completely change the cars on display.

So far, there have been a half-dozen negative comments about the cube on the dealership's Facebook page, Trivett said.

Chevrolet, Buick, GMC or Murfreesboro is part of Florida-based Automotive Management Service, Inc., of Palm Beach Florida, which also include the Ford of Murfreesboro and Toyota of Murfreesboro dealerships.

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