Elder: Business knowhow, ‘thinking of others’

When Irma Elder's husband, James, died in 1983, he left her with three children and a Ford dealership — and the courage to become the first woman to own a Ford dealership in the Detroit area.

"Every penny that we had was put into keeping the dealership alive," Irma Elder told Automotive News in June 2008. "It was absolutely necessary that I take over. My father said, 'You have to do it.' My mother said, 'I'll pray for you. It will be all right, because God takes care of widows.' "

Under her leadership and as a testament to her business acumen, that one Ford dealership grew into Elder Automotive Group, which became one of the largest woman- and minority-owned auto retailers in the country. Elder was 84 when she died in 2014.

By 2008, just before the start of the Great Recession, Elder Automotive operated 11 dealerships in Michigan and Florida, representing Aston Martin, Ford, Land Rover, Lincoln, Jaguar, Mercury, Saab and Jeep brands. And in the late 19…

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Rosses: Influential dealer family pays it forward

Jenell Ross, president of Bob Ross Auto Group in Centerville, Ohio, is a trailblazer and influential dealer in her own right.

The second-generation retailer became the first Black dealer to chair the American International Automobile Dealers Association in 2013 and she chaired the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Cincinnati branch. She also sits on other boards of companies such as Cars.com, even as she advocates for the development of more women and minorities as both dealers and employees in retail automotive.

But it was her parents, Bob and Norma Ross, who first trod the career path that Jenell has traveled.

Bob started in the retail auto industry in 1962 selling cars at Shannon Buick in Dayton, Ohio, and was in the first class of dealer hopefuls enrolled in General Motors' Minority Dealer Academy, in 1972, according to Ross.

Norma was an elementary school teacher and a curriculum consultant in the Dayton Public Sc…

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Visionary Dealers: 25 who charted new territory

VISIONARY DEALERS

The history of the U.S. auto industry is full of tales of car dealers who blazed new trails and influenced those who came behind them. Automotive News shared the stories of 50 of them back in 2009 in our first Visionary Dealers section. We’ve revisited that theme of pioneering retailers to select another 25 who fought for dealer rights, made marketing innovations, took chances on emerging brands, broke new ground in online sales or agitated for greater diversity among their ranks. They aren’t the only visionary dealers in the industry’s present or past, but their achievements provide lessons and inspiration for their peers.

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Wilsons: Paving trails for Black, female dealers

Barbara and Porterfield Wilson were a dynamic dealer duo well known in Detroit's Black community in the 1970s and beyond.

During their lifetimes, they were avid boaters and moved in a social circle that included former Mayor Coleman Young, according to dealers and others who knew them.

The couple owned Porterfield Wilson Pontiac-GMC Truck in Detroit and Honda and Mazda dealerships in nearby Ferndale, Mich. Barbara became the industry's first Black female dealer principal, overseeing the Honda store.

In the early 1960s, before Porterfield started selling cars, he helped build them at a Chrysler-Plymouth factory in Detroit on the night shift and had a part-time side hustle during the day as a pharmacy clerk, recalled Joe Gordon, a longtime family friend who was once the couple's Pontiac sales manager.

It was during his day job that Porterfield made connections that led to him selling cars at a Detroit Chrysler-Plymouth dealership. Gordon called Po…

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McCombs: Deal-maker built a diverse empire

Red McCombs describes himself as "a wheeler-dealer."

"There has never been a deal he didn't want to buy," said his grandson, Joe Shields, "and then, for the right price, there hasn't been a deal he isn't willing to sell."

Shields, vice president of McCombs' namesake dealership group, Red McCombs Automotive in San Antonio, said his grandfather counts upward of 400 businesses that he has owned during his career. Some succeeded. Others did not. But McCombs, his grandson said, was skilled at recognizing a bad bet and exiting quickly.

His successes, starting in the early 1950s with used-car lots in Corpus Christi, Texas, eventually would become McCombs Enterprises — a venture that, besides automotive, includes real estate, ranching, energy and philanthropy.

His auto retail business ranks No. 69 on Automotive News' list of the top 150 dealership groups in the U.S., with retail sales of 13,905 new vehicles in 2021. Shields, also director of business de…

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Dealer Rick Hendrick gets first 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06

The first 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 produced by General Motors was delivered this month to dealer Rick Hendrick, who bought it for $3.6 million at a charity auction in January.

Hendrick, a noted Corvette collector and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group, also bought the first 2023 Z06 convertible for $1 million.

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You can get around charging hurdles

TO THE EDITOR:

Regarding "EVs are viable for long distances — with planning, luck," Richard Truett, autonews.com, Nov. 8: I'm wondering why Truett didn't use Ford's built-in navigation planner or the independent app A Better Routeplanner? This would have helped route him to compatible DC fast charging stations and taken into account things like weather, payload, etc.

Second, it was a big mistake not to charge to 100 percent. You can use the full battery capacity for exactly this type of scenario.

It's a fair critique that private/inaccessible charging stations are listed on Ford's app. There is, however, a DC fast charger at the GM dealer in downtown Findlay, Ohio, that shows up on PlugShare.

When Truett couldn't initially find the chargers at the casino, why didn't he check PlugShare? It says parking Level 1, and people have left notes on where to go.

Truett mentioned getting stuck in traffic as a hazard. But if you're in stop-and-go, your…

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Analyst: Used-car market in a ‘weird’ spot

SAN DIEGO — The used-car market perseveres, but industry experts warn the conditions that allowed dealers to sell with ease and vigor in 2021 no longer exist. And dealers are buckling down to be ready for the changes afoot.

2023 is shaping up to be a year of caution and diligence on the used-car side, according to dealers, used-car-related company leaders and analysts who convened at the Used Car Week event in San Diego last week. Some are bracing for what could become severe destruction of used-car demand but say it has not yet reared its head. Still, speculation of recession and signs of a more prolonged slowdown are pushing players in the market to tighten their belts and get ready.

That's already happening at traditional dealerships and at online upstarts such as Carvana Co., which last week said it was cutting 1,500 jobs, or 8 percent of its work force.

"Making sure that you kind of batten down the hatches and get ready for …

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JLR CEO: Chip shortage victim

Thierry Bollore's two-year stint as CEO of Jaguar Land Rover was memorable for failing to generate a single profitable quarter during a period when rival luxury automakers were posting record margins.

The Financial Times in the United Kingdom reported it was Bollore's inability to mitigate the industry's microchip shortage that prompted JLR owner Tata Motors to push for his resignation. Tata said he will step down effective Dec. 31 for "personal reasons."

In what will presumably be his last public appearance with JLR, Bollore spoke passionately on this month's quarterly results call about the chip crisis.

"We should not forget that the supply of chips is really a crisis in our sector," he said, adding that it would take "years" before the situation returned to normal.

As a smaller player in the industry, JLR found it harder to get much-needed deals with chip makers amid the supply squeeze. In September, one supplier sever…

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Editorial: Automated tech can save lives — if done right

There has been consternation recently over how long it will take to solve the puzzle of full vehicle automation. But do not overlook how technologies are bridging the gap until that far-off day and preventing crashes and saving lives — now.

A pair of reports last week show how two increasingly common safety technologies can make a difference.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that the rear-end crash rate of pickups equipped with automatic emergency braking was 43 percent lower than those without it. Given that modern full-size pickups have curb weights that tip the scales at 2 or even 3 tons, plus the weight of passengers, cargo and maybe a trailer, they can do extensive and deadly damage in a collision with other vehicles and pedestrians. That's a lot of tonnage to stop, and the braking tech can mitigate some of the damage from human error — or prevent it.

The second study, a collaborative effort between government and automakers, found …

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Car lot thefts escalate to chaos

Police in Michigan said a group of more than 20 people broke into a vehicle holding lot last week, had a shootout with a security guard before making off with 13 vehicles and led officers on a lengthy high-speed chase.

One of the thieves died after crashing a 2022 Ford Mustang he had taken, according to TV station Fox 2 in Detroit, and students at Oakland University were told to shelter in place for five hours after police found another stolen vehicle abandoned on campus and assumed the suspects were still armed.

It wasn't clear whether the lot where the vehicles were stolen was affiliated with a dealership or an auto auction. The vehicles taken were expensive, high-powered models from multiple brands.

Police recovered seven of the 13 vehicles but had located only one suspect, aside from the Mustang driver who died, ABC 12 in Flint reported. They said large-scale vehicle thefts have become increasingly common in the area, but that…

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Rules alone won’t stop bad behavior

TO THE EDITOR:

Regarding "FTC's new rules would only punish honest car dealers," Rob Cohen, autonews.com, Oct. 23: I couldn't agree with Mr. Cohen more when he writes of the Federal Trade Commission's proposals, "Every time the agency does this, lawyers like me make money, and lots of it."

We must recognize that passing laws and regulations does not necessarily solve problems. We need education and increased moral standards by engaging each other with love and respect.

I wish legislatures would abolish laws rather than write more of them. We are humans with feelings and emotions. What can a law do to make people really care for each other?

NAI NAN KO, President, Ko Automotive Group, Wellesley, Mass.

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