True to form, one of South Florida’s most powerful couples in the automotive business met at a Honda car convention in 1977. Rick and Rita Case then married and began nearly four decades of being in love and business together.
Their company, Rick Case Automotive Group, was founded in Ohio in 1962 when Rick Case opened his first dealership.
The company introduced brands to the U.S. market that are now well-known: Toyota in 1966, Fiat in 1970, Honda in 1972, Lancia in 1975 and Isuzu in 1982.
It entered the South Florida market in 1986. Once here, it introduced Acura and Hyundai to the U.S. in Fort Lauderdale. And it introduced Kia in Atlanta in 1995.
The company has 16 dealerships nationwide, with the majority in South Florida. The Cases’ legacy now includes their children, Ryan and Raquel, who have successfully run dealerships in Broward County.
Their company recently made headlines by opening Rick Case Kia, the world’s largest Kia dealership, in Sunrise and establishing its headquarters there.
Where did it all start?
Rick: I kept buying old cars and fixing them up. I just learned to fix them myself and I did cleaning, polishing and light engine work, no major stuff. Then I opened a used car lot in 1962. Soon I was opening new car and motorcycle dealerships all over Ohio.
Rita: My father and mother are car dealers in California, so I was raised in the car business. I went back to run my parents’ dealership because I decided I wanted to be a car dealer when I was in high school. After I met Rick, I left my parents’ dealership and moved to Akron, Ohio. My parents are still in business today.
When you’re not visiting your dealerships, where can we find you two on the weekends?
Rita: Charity events. We started 14 different charity events for the Boys & Girls Club of Broward County, and we’re involved in 30 other charities, so that’s what we’re doing mostly every weekend.
What’s your favorite car to drive?
Rita: The one I’ve been enjoying for the last five years is the Hyundai Equus. It’s a sedan, and I’ve been driving it since it came out.
Rick: I like the Kia K-900. It’s the same car LeBron James drives. He’s also from Akron.
How do you balance marriage and work life?
Rita: Since we’re both in the business, it’s pretty easy to balance our life. And our children – Ryan, 33 and Raquel, 31 – are both in the business and working their way up.
Rick: We do different things within the business. I do advertising, marketing, buying real estate and getting new franchises. Rita does the business financial end. We divide it all in half.
You have dealerships all over the country. What made you stay in South Florida to raise your family?
Rita: Once we were awarded the Hyundai and the Acura franchises in 1985 in Fort Lauderdale, we decided we would relocate our children to South Florida and make these dealerships here successful. We knew we had to personally be in the store in this new market. By then, we had our dealerships in Ohio for 22 years, so they were going to be OK without us being on the showroom floor. We continued to grow here and into Atlanta, and we’ve enjoyed living here. It’s an amazing community.
What’s your advice to entrepreneurs who want to be as successful as you are?
Rick: You think about the customer first, no matter what you’re selling. It’s all about and giving them what your competitors won’t.
Rita: For any entrepreneur to get started, you need to brand yourselves and you need to offer things that customers want to stick around for. As Rick puts on his shoes, I put on my hat. I’ve worn hats for 35 years. It’s a way of … building a brand and loyalty, and you do that with your entire business, not just the product you’re selling.
What has been your biggest sacrifice as you were growing your business?
Rick: Not spending enough time with our kids.
Rita: There wasn’t time to do anything that wasn’t business, but we always said it’s the quality of time you spend with your children, not the quantity of time. We were able to show our children so much more because we were successful. We’re very close to our kids now, and I don’t regret any decisions we’ve made as to how hard we’ve worked. We’ve achieved a lot.
Rick Case
Age: 72
Born: Akron, Ohio
Residence: Pompano Beach
Current position: CEO and Chairman, Rick Case Automotive
Notable boards: Boys and Girls Club of Broward County, Nova Southeastern University Board of Trustees, Broward Workshop
Rita Case
Age: 59
Born: Pasadena, California
Residence: Pompano Beach
Current position: Vice Chairwoman, Rick Case Automotive
Notable boards: Boys and Girls Clubs of Broward County, Northwood University’s boards of the Distinguished Women Forum and Outstanding Business Leaders Student Forum,
Education: B.S. in economics, University of California
