Walter Wilkins

In 1977, Walter Wilkins had a bad wreck at Daytona.
 It only made him love cars more. 

The crash may have ended his racing career, but it also led to a new opportunity. Shifting his focus from behind the wheel to under the hood, he refocused his passion to mechanics—learning everything he could about how cars work, and how to make them run with precision. 

Lucky for him, he had the best teachers. Both his grandfather and father were Norfolk car legends. His grandfather Walter Wilkins, Sr. founded Norfolk Motor Company in 1938, which became the area’s foremost Cadillac and Oldsmobile dealership. Walter’s father Jack “the Colonel” Wilkins fought in World War II, coming home to open Wilkins Chevrolet on North Military Highway in 1955. They built strong reputations as trusted and honorable mechanics and businessmen, and they passed knowledge—and their belief in the importance of solid, honest work—on to Walter. 

As the third generation, Walter Wilkins took over the family business in 1981, renaming it Bay Chevrolet and adding Kia in 2000 and Saab in 2003. 

Now that cars are lasting longer and going further, Walter has brought the focus of Bay Automotive back to collision repair, service repair and routine maintenance. A vehicle that’s taken care of can easily last more than 10 years and 170,000 miles, an extended lifespan that makes a long-standing relationship with a trusted mechanic even more critical. 

Walter’s goal is to go back to a simpler time, one when people could walk into a shop and talk directly to the person working on their car. And while knowledge of technological innovation is a given at any Bay Automotive shop, building the personal feel of a customer-technician relationship always comes first. 

COMMUNITY FOCUS

The Wilkins family serves the region’s automotive needs, but it also is an integral part of the Hampton Roads community. All three generations have served on non-profit boards, and have championed educational projects. A founding board member, Walter Wilkins, Sr. was instrumental in fundraising and pushing for the creation of Virginia Wesleyan College in the 1950s and 60s, and Jack Wilkins continued with his support during the early days of Old Dominion University athletics. He was a founder of the ODU Inter-collegiate foundation providing athletic scholarships, instrumental in furthering women’s athletics. Walter Sr was also the founder and first president of the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association.

Walter Wilkins has continued the family’s legacy of community involvement serving on the board and as president of Festevents. He has also served on the boards of the Greater Norfolk Corporation, Virginia Beach Vision, Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters, in addition to board director for the ​Armed Services YMCA, the ​United States Navy League, the Norfolk State Athletic Foundation and the American Red Cross.

Jack Wilkins (standing, far left) with his crew and their B-24 bomber stationed in England. He was the tail gunner. His crew flew 28 missions, which was an incredible feat considering tail gunners during World War II had a survival rate of only 25 percent. Interestingly, the actor Jimmy Stewart was his base commander.

Walter Wilkins leads teammate, Formula Super Vee and 2-time Can Am Champion, Swedish driver Bertil Roos at Watkins Glen in a 1977 Volkswagen Gold Cup Formula Super Vee Race.