The W Walker Auction Group has announced that Sparkling City Auto Auctions of Corpus Christi and San Antonio are being renamed.

In late February, the sister auctions will become the Corpus Christi Auto Auction and San Antonio Auto Auction, to better align them with their geographical locations. Both facilities remain under the ownership of the Walker family, and will continue as members of the ServNet Auction Group.

"When we purchased the auction in Corpus Christi 16 years ago, we changed the name from Coastal Bend Auto Auction to Sparkling City Auto Auction, a title that was easily recognizable in that area," said owner Wade Walker. "Since opening our auction in San Antonio in 2010 with the same name, we have encountered some confusion on the part of customers who wondered what 'Sparkling City' had to do with San Antonio. After some thought, we decided we needed to connect our auctions better with their locations in order to be more easily recognized, both locally and nationally." 

After looking into the names San Antonio Auto Auction and Corpus Christi Auto Auction, Walker was fortunate to find them both available and went forward to initiate the change. The name and logo changes for both locations have been in the works for several months and required approval by the National Auto Auction Association. With this completed the transition to the new names at both facilities will take full effect on February 22. To assure the many long-time customers at both locations that ownership remains the same, Walker points out that a tag line has been added to both auction logos, identifying them as members of the W Walker Auction Group.  

"We are grateful for our success here in Corpus Christi and San Antonio, and acknowledge the support of the many customers who regularly visit us at both our locations," said Walker. "Although the two auctions will have separate and distinct names going forward, the name changes will not alter the quality of operations or services that our customers have come to expect from us on a weekly basis.”

The Corpus Christi Auto Auction has been operating under the Walker family banner since 2000. Walker notes that Hunter Dunn was recently named the auction's general manager. Hunter's efforts have resulted in a sizeable increase in weekly consignment, a continuing trend that has sparked an expansion project at the facility which will add five acres of parking. Walker reports that the sale on February 5th broke all existing records at Corpus Christi Auto Auction, with 275 buyers in attendance to bid on 500 vehicles, including 110 vehicles for GM Financial. 

The San Antonio Auto Auction recently marked its 5th Anniversary in December. With consignment regularly topping 1,000 units a week, the Walker family is making plans to enlarge the auction's parking and storage area to accommodate steadily increasing consignment volume. Noting that the auction added a 6th auction lane just last year and now has two sale days on its weekly calendar, Wade reports that the facility is adding seven acres and expects to open lanes 7 and 8 later this year. 

The auction and its sister facility, Sparkling City Auto Auction of Corpus Christi, are members of the ServNet Auction Group