Frank D. Kent

Inducted 1989

Founded Frank Kent Motor Company in 1935 and became a highly successful Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealer In 1953, opened a Cadillac dealership that became one of Cadillac’s largest volume retail operations in the country As one of the most popular and most successful Cadillac dealers in the United States, Frank Kent became known as “Mr. Cadillac”. As a youth, Kent fell in love with cars when his father purchased an EMF 30 in 1910. After serving in World War I and later working in the clothing business, Kent could no longer resist the lure of the automobile and he became a car salesman. In 1935, Kent established a Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealership in Fort Worth, Texas and he quickly developed a successful business operation. He sold his Ford business in 1953, a year in which he received Ford’s highest awards for outstanding sales, customer treatment and profitability. That same year, Kent purchased a Cadillac dealership in Fort Worth. At that time, about 300 Cadillacs were being sold in Fort Worth annually. With hard work and innovative techniques, Kent increased his dealership’s sales to about 1,400 annually. Working up until the month of his death, Kent became a legend in the Cadillac community. Kent’s dedication to quality was evident in his motto: “A dollars worth of merchandise or service for every dollar charged.”

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Class of 1989

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