Martin J. “Hoot” Mclnerney was one of the most successful and respected automobile dealers in the U.S. His years of experience in the automotive retail business began at age 9 when he worked at a Detroit dealership for $1.25 a week as a coal-furnace fire stoker.

Chrysler offered him his first dealership in 1963, and since then he has owned 26 dealerships throughout his career, selling cars for a number of auto manufacturers. Mclnerney also is well known for his more than four decades of charitable work and community involvement.