 WHO ARE WE
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Z Frank was founded on April 16, 1936 by the legendary Zollie Frank at age 29 when he purchased a small Chrysler Plymouth dealership at 6116 N. Western Avenue in Chicago. Zollie had previously been in the wholesale produce business with his father, Charles Frank. They had been successful with the simple business philosophy of honesty by always practicing the principal that "your word is your bond" in a business that never used contracts or written documents. They also always strived to provide their customers more value than they bargained for. Shortly thereafter, on August 30, 1939, Zollie was the first person in the world to lease an automobile by responding to the needs of one of his business customers and thus created a new industry. The family still owns and operates Wheels Inc. headquartered in Des Plaines and leases over 200,000 vehicles to some of America's largest companies. By 1953 Z. Frank had grown to be the nation's largest Chrysler Plymouth dealership but Zollie saw a better opportunity with Chevrolet and switched brands. Since then, the family has had franchises for Pontiac, Oldsmobile, Subaru, Hyundai, Mazda, VW and another Chevrolet location. The family has now consolidated their holdings to just the location on Western Avenue with Chevrolet and recently added Kia. Zollie passed away in 1990 at age 83. Zollie's two sons, Jim and Chuck, still own and personally operate the dealership. Chuck is the dealer principal with the primary responsibility for management while Jim concentrates on the leasing business. And the businesses still operates with the simple philosophy of being honest and fair, and giving the customer more than they pay for. |
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