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“The future belongs to those who prepare for it.”
I witnessed it personally.
Back in 1995, Jim Moran gave me a lift on one of his corporate jets, the first
of several impressive trips on that corporate jet to South Florida. On this
particular excursion, I flew with a group of Toyota dealers who had just
convincingly witnessed Moran’s latest customer retention tool at the JM facility
in Mobile, Alabama. We were on the way back to meet with Jim.
When we arrived, he sat with all of us in his Deerfield Beach office and asked
the dealers what they thought of the product. Then, when the moment was right
and with a big grin, he asked the question, “So, are you going to buy it?”
Jim Moran was never afraid to ask for the sale.
And therein is the secret of his success.
Born in 1918 on the North side of Chicago, Jim Moran was the son of hard-working
immigrants from Ireland and Germany. His father died at the height of the Great
Depression and Moran went to work at age 14 pumping gas five nights a week for
25 cents an hour. Moran saved every penny he could and in 1939, he purchased a
Sinclair gas station for $360. This soon became the largest Sinclair outlet in
Chicago.
His success was considered phenomenal and in 1955 he was offered a Ford
franchise. Courtesy Ford quickly rose to become the world’s largest Ford dealer.
Jim was the first dealer to show new and used cars on television and literally
used showmanship and salesmanship to “ask for the sale” over the airwaves. Soon,
his slogan, “Jim Moran, the Courtesy Man” became a household name. In 1961 he
became the only car dealer ever featured on the cover of Time magazine.
He had major setbacks along the way, too. At age 46, Jim Moran moved to Florida
to “retire”. His doctors diagnosed him with cancer and doctors told him he had
six months to a year to live. He fought and survived a difficult battle with the
disease and returned to his passion of selling cars. In 1968 he opened Jim
Moran’s Pontiac City in Homestead. He was then awarded the franchise in
Hollywood, which became JM Pontiac.
Yet the business transaction that vaulted his career into the stratosphere was
when Toyota Motor Sales approached him later that year with the possibility of
distributing Toyotas.
When Moran opened Southeast Toyota in 1969, he had just 42 dealers in a 5 state
region. Within a year, he was selling 20,000 Toyotas a year. By 1983, he had
sold 5 million Toyota vehicles and was well on his way to becoming an automotive
legend. Today, Southeast Toyota is the word’s largest Toyota distributor and one
of Fortune’s top 100 companies to work for. According to Fortune Magazine, it is
the 18th largest privately held company with annual revenues of $11 billion.
“The future belongs to those who prepare for it.”
During more than 60 years of hard work, Jim Moran built his reputation to the
level that merited his inclusion as one of the most innovative leaders in
business and philanthropy. He founded the Youth Automotive Training Center in
South Florida in 1984 for at-risk youth. The center was a positive consequence
of a low point in his career when he received a court-ordered community service
sentence after he pleaded guilty to evading income taxes. In his book, Moran
points out that the great success of the Youth Automotive Training Center would
probably never have happened without his experiencing this setback.
“Both poverty and riches are the offspring of thought.”
Throughout his life, Jim faced many setbacks but never let them hinder his
progress. He persevered in all sets of circumstances and did it with grace and
style.
Jim Moran will be remembered as a great man who thought his way into a fortune,
who acted on his thoughts, and was not afraid to ask for the sale. His
contributions to the community are numerous. He will be truly missed by his
associates, by all of South Florida, and around the world.
Founder and President
Auto University, Inc.
(800) 344 4100 Headquarters (toll-free)
(313) 486 4501 Detroit
(310) 464-1510 Los Angeles
(716) 984 6611 Mobile |
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