History of Coral Cadillac Hummer
Coral Cadillac Hummer is one of the leading car dealerships in the state of Florida. Headquartered in Pompano Beach, Fla., the dealership has been in business for more than 36 years and offers both new and used vehicles. It serves the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Fla., markets.
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Origins
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Coral Cadillac was founded in 1973 by Norman E. Wiese, a longtime Florida resident and businessman. Weise was granted a franchise by the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors for the Pompano Beach and Deerfield Beach area. Coral Cadillac officially opened its doors in 1975, with a staff of 40. It began selling Cadillacs just as the heyday of the big American cars was about to wind down because of gas shortages and the influx of Japanese imports.
Expansion
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The section of Florida served by Coral Cadillac in the mid-1970s was home to a significant number of wealthy retirees. Many of them were from New York and other northern cities, where a Cadillac was the ultimate prize after a life of hard work and savings. European luxury cars such as Mercedes and BMW may have replaced the Cadillac in Los Angeles, but not in south Florida.
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Hummer
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In 1995, Coral Cadillac took a gamble and accepted another franchise from a military manufacturer, AM General. AM General made a military vehicle known as the Humvee, which became famous because of the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The vehicle caught on with the American public, particularly those looking for an even bigger sport utility vehicle (SUV).
The Humvee remained a low-volume franchise until the summer of 2002, when General Motors (GM) bought the brand from AM General and formed a new GM division to develop a civilian version of the Humvee, known as the Hummer. Famous owners of the new vehicle included movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was elected governor of California in 2003.
Escalade
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The Cadillac brand became invigorated with the 1999 launch of the Escalade, a full-size SUV that was GM's response to Ford's Lincoln Navigator. Originally based on the GMC Yukon Denali, the Escalade was redesigned for the 2002 model year. The model grew in popularity just as the Hummer was gaining ground. Coral Cadillac Hummer began a major expansion project with new sales and parking facilities.
Today
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Today, Coral Cadillac Hummer is among the leading vehicle dealerships of its kind in the United States, with 125 full-time employees.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of scott feldstein
