From Akron, Ohio, to automotive legend

Rick Case’s life and influence spanned nearly eight decades, stretching from the Rust Belt of Ohio to the sunshine of South Florida.

© Jennifer Lett / Sun Sentinel/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS
Rick Case is pictured in front of an unreleased Volkswagon model during Fort Lauderdale’s Auto Show at the Broward Convention Center on April 18, 2019.

1940s

Oct. 22, 1942: Richard “Rick” James Case is born in Akron, the son of Richard and Eva. He will become the oldest of four boys.

1950s

At age 9, Case begins his sales career with a newspaper delivery route. A single route is not enough, however. He wants to sell in volume, so he takes on more routes and hires delivery boys to make his deliveries.

At 14, Case buys a used 1955 Thunderbird, fixes it up and puts a “for sale” sign on it in his parents’ driveway in Akron. It sells within days for $400. He then starts a used-car reconditioning business. Still too young to drive, he hires older employees to shuttle the cars around.

© Sun Sentinel file photo/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS
Rick and Rita Case, Rick Case Automotive Group.

1960s

1962: Case opens his first used car lot — Moxie Motors in Akron — at age 19. He sells cars during the day and gets cars ready at night.

1965: Case sees the demand for motorcycles growing and jumps into that industry. He opens his first Toyota store the next year.

© Jennifer Lett / South Florida Sun Sentinel/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS
Rick Case, his children Raquel and Ryan (all on bikes) and young members of the Boys and Girls Club are shown last year during the 38th anniversary of “Rick Case Bikes for Kids.”

At age 29, Case owns and operates a multimillion-dollar chain of motorcycle stores. He develops his first marketing strategy to sell motorcycles in large volume.

1970s

1970: Case is seriously injured in a fire in one of his service departments. He tries to put it out, but an explosion leaves him with third-degree burns over much of his body. He escapes through a small open window, and a customer drives him to the hospital. It takes months for him to recover, so he turns his hospital room into his office, hosting managers’ meetings and sales calls.

© Taimy Alvarez / South Florida Sun Sentinel/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS
Fort Lauderdale International Auto Show founders Rick and Rita Case sit in one of their antique cars from 1914 at an auto show at Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale.

Throughout the decade, he becomes the world’s largest dealer of Honda, Kawasaki, Yamaha, Suzuki and Vespa motorcycles, operating 14 dealerships that sell motorcycles, mopeds and bicycles throughout Ohio.

1970: Honda begins to offer a car in the U.S. for the first time. The company is reluctant to let its motorcycle dealers sell cars, but Case insists and wins them over by showing how he has built his business over the years.

1972: Case begins selling Hondas in Akron and becomes the largest-volume dealer in the nation his first month in business.

1977: Case meets his future wife, Rita, at a Honda convention in Hawaii. She runs her parents’ Honda car and motorcycle dealership in Santa Rosa, California, where she had begun helping out when she was about 9 years old. Case persuades her to move to Akron, and they marry three years later.

© Rick Case family / Courtesy/South Florida Sun Sentinel/TNS
Rick Case’s first dealership, Moxie Motors, in 1962.

1980s

1981: Case develops the “Rick Case Bikes for Kids” program. He asks the community to drop off their old bicycles to any of his 14 dealerships. His stores fix them and deliver them to organizations that support children who would not otherwise have a bike in time for the holidays. The program has given away more than 100,000 bikes to date.

1985: Rick and Rita Case move to Fort Lauderdale.

1986: When Honda wants to launch its luxury Acura model in the U.S., they ask Case to choose a site. He picks Fort Lauderdale. He opens the country’s first Hyundai dealerships in Fort Lauderdale and Atlanta the same year.

1990s

1996: Case proposes a bold plan for Hyundai to repair its reputation in the U.S. for poor quality cars. He persuades Hyundai’s leaders to create a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty. The warranty later becomes the standard for many manufacturers.

2000s

2001: Case is inducted into the Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame of the Nova University Wayne Huizenga Graduate School of Business and Entrepreneurship.

2016: Rick and Rita Case are presented the National Service to Youth Award from the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County

2017: Nova Southeastern University renames its multipurpose arena as the “Rick Case Arena.” He funds an endowment to pay for scholarships for undergraduates.

2018: Case helps fund “A Rick Case Habitat Community,” a 77-home Habitat for Humanity development in Pompano Beach.

2019: The Cases are presented the 2019 Honda President’s Award, the largest dealer in the country to receive the award 12 years in a row.

2020: The Cases are honored as Business Leaders of the Year by the Florida Atlantic University College of Business.

2020: Rick Case Automotive Group celebrates 59 years in business, with 16 dealerships in Ohio, Atlanta and South Florida, more than $1 billion in annual sales and more than 1,300 employees.

Sept. 21, 2020: Rick Case dies at home at age 77, surrounded by family after a short battle with cancer.

Sources: Rick Case family, South Florida Sun Sentinel archives

———

©2020 the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

Visit the Sun Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) at www.sun-sentinel.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.