Women
and the Automotive World
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facts & figures on women and
the auto industry
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In
January 2001, GM became the first automaker to create a dealer development program
for women. Some other companies, such as Toyota Motor Sales USA Inc. - which counts
33, or 2%, of its 1,406 dealerships as owned by women - offer only financial assistance,
and only to candidate with extensive experience in the car business. GM and Ford,
meanwhile, make loans and pay for intensive training and internships through the
dealer association's academy. (Source: The New York Times,
2003) Patricia
J. Roberts, general director of the retail program for women at GM, said that
more than 1,200 women have requested information, including some just out of college.
GM's program, which takes about a year to complete, has 21 women in the pipeline.
Ten are waiting for a location to open up, and others have almost completed the
training. Ownership requires substantial investment. (Source:
Business Women's Network) Examples
of auto dealers headed by women include: ·
Irma Elder is CEO of the Elder Automotive Group. Her Jaguar dealership is the
brand's No. 1 store in the world, ranked by sales volume. She also has extremely
successful Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Jeep, Saab, Mitsubishi and Aston Martin dealerships ·
Pat Moran of JM Family Enterprises of Florida. JM Family Enterprises wins award
after award not only for sales but also the "Best in Class for Leadership",
for "Best Places to Work for Working Mothers," and more.
·
Kitty Van Bortel, the owner of Van Bortel Subaru and Van Bortel
Ford in Victor, New York, has three years of taking the prize
as the top-selling franchise of Subaru of America Inc. Sales
at her Subaru dealership held steady at about $43 million.
·
Marcy Maguire, who, along with her husband, Bob Maguire, owns Saturn dealerships
in Bordentown, New Jersey, and Tom River, New Jersey, and a Chevrolet dealership
in Bordentown, is a giant in the field. ·
Carey Hamilton is president of Hamilton Chevrolet, Cadillac, BMW out of Grand
Isle, Nebraska. As the owner of Midway Chevrolet Buick Cadillac and Beardmore
Chevrolet Subaru, she is another shining example of leading women auto dealers. ·
Elsie MacMillan of Sierra Toyota in Sierra Vista, Arizona. ·
Cyndie Mynatt of Ben Mynatt Pontiac Buick GMC Truck in Concord, North Carolina,
provides another example of a woman auto dealer leader. ·
Angelina Brown is president and CFO of the Yarri Automotive Group in Merrilville,
Indiana. She is active in the Ford Lincoln-mercury Dealer Association.
(Source:
Business Women's Network) (...BACK)
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