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For years, the phrase "dealer development" has been associated with automakers' efforts to train and provide financial assistance for minority entrepreneurs who dream of owning a dealership.
The Big 3 were the pioneers in this area, and Ford Motor Co. was at the forefront.
Ford has invested in 1,718 dealer development stores since it started the program in 1950 - when it was focused on white males. About 750 individuals have graduated from the training program, including about 250 members of ethnic minorities.
George Frame, director of Ford's dealer development program, calls the half-century-old program a "roaring success."
"If you look at the people who have run the dealer councils for Ford and Lincoln Mercury, an overwhelming proportion have come from the dealer development program," Frame says. "This program has produced people who have become leaders and assumed leadership."
Steve Ewing, president of the Ford Lincoln Mercury Minority Dealer Association and owner of Wade Ford in Smyrna, Ga., applauds Ford for its efforts to help all dealers. "The program has changed my life and my family's lives," says Ewing, 43, who is black. He has been a dealer since 1989.
"The bottom line is that not every dealer who goes through dealer development has been successful, but Ford has created the opportunity for people to own their own dealerships. Now they've expanded it to their other (import) brands like Jaguar and Volvo,...