business
10/12 – 10/13/13 | glenview, northbrook, deerfield | THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND
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After 60 years, Imperial Motors still has foot on the gas ■ by kevin beese At 81 years of age, Allen Aron shows no signs of slowing down. He is up at 4:30 a.m. every day to lift weights. He still works six days a week — and has no plans to retire. “I still do it because of the people I get to see every day,” said the president of Imperial Motors Jaguar. “I do it for the people that I get to work with every day.” Aron’s Jaguar dealership, with locations in Wilmette and Lake Bluff, is celebrating its 60th anniversary. The Wilmette store is the oldest Jaguar dealership in the same location in the United States and the second-oldest dealership in the country overall. Aron has been at the helm of the dealership for all but its first five years. He started out as a salesman but knew he was not long for being just a car salesman. “I had ideas,” said Aron. “I knew how to make the dealership go with what we had.” So Aron bought it and turned in into one of the top Jaguar locations in the country. “You get a fair price. You get good service,” Aron said. “We are pretty well known everywhere. I was in Hawaii and saw ‘Imperial Motors’ on a car.” Aron has a collection of letters from satisfied customers over the years. One of the letters that he is most proud of came 30 years ago from Oscar C. Blomgren Jr., former president of Tuxco Corp., who bought 10 Jaguars from Imperial. “Jaguars have become the finest, most reliable expression of automobile art available anywhere, at any price,” Blomgren wrote. “Imperial Motors has become one of the very best automobile dealerships anywhere.” Aron is also proud of the letters he gets from New Trier High School students, who not only got a job from him washing cars, but mentoring and life advice too. Aron said servicemen got a taste of European luxury vehicles when stationed overseas during World War II. When they got home, Jaguar and other European car makers capitalized. “They were in England and saw the products,” Aron says. “They saw the Bentleys, MGs and Jaguars. People like to dress English. They like to drive English.” Aron has many longtime employees, including a car porter who has been with the dealership for 50 years. When the worker developed stomach cancer, Aron went to see him every Sunday in the hospital. Eventually, the porter called and said he wanted to be back at the dealership. “I told him, ‘You can come back, but only if you rest and sleep in the conference room when you are tired.’” There is another employee who has 40 years of service
Allen Aron, his wife Lana and their children Jordan Aron and Andi Bogot enjoy a moment around a 2014 Jaguar F-TYPE at the Imperial Motors showroom in Wilmette.
photography by joel lerner with Imperial. Seven of the workers at Imperial’s Lake Bluff location have been with the dealership since it opened 14 years ago. “The average employee is probably around the 30-year mark,” said Aron’s son, Jordan, who runs Imperial’s Lake Bluff location. “Dad is selling to third- and fourth-generation customers,” Jordan Aron said. “And now I’m selling to secondgeneration customers.” “It gives us consistency,” Allen Aron said of his son’s involvement. “It shows that we will be steady in the future,
that there will be carryover.” Jordan said the dealership’s two locations have more than their share of repeat customers. “Changes come and changes go, but we tend to have customers very loyal to the Jaguar brand,” Jordan said. “The brand is unique. People can and will have a different feel with our dealership compared to other guys.” Imperial Motors Jaguar of Wilmette is located at 721 Green Bay Road. It can be reached at (847) 246-0606. Imperial Motors of Lake Bluff is located at 150 Skokie Highway. It can be reached at (847) 614-0606. ■
Richard Marx >> from page 26
seven singles all reached Top 5 on the Billboard chart, a feat never equaled by any artist. So what is he — a guitar player, a singer or a songwriter? “Hands down I’m a songwriter. That’s what I put on my custom forms,” Marx said in an interview on examiner.com last year. “It’s not the most fun part, though; it’s the hardest. Songwriting
thia Rhodes of “Dirty Dancing” fame, and they have three children; Brandon, Luca, and Jesse. Though Conn admires Marx’s musical work, he also points out his munificence as a human being. “It’s amazing how much time and energy he puts into charity work,” Conn says. “He does a lot of private shows for charity and doesn’t charge for them, unlike most artists. “Richard is also a candid and funny
Hands down I’m a songwriter. That’s what I put on my custom forms. It’s not the most fun part, though; it’s the hardest.” | Richard Marx
WLS-AM 890 Radio personality Roe Conn will interview Richard Marx at the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical Society event.
photography by jim prisching
brings out my self-hatred, but it also brings me joy.” Conn says Marx’s versatility lets him stand apart him from other musicians. “To get all of these talents in one person is really rare,” he said. “It distinguishes him from 99 percent of artists.” Marx enjoyed musical roots. His father Dick Marx, was a jazz pianist; he composed “Here Come the Hawks,” the Chicago Blackhawks team anthem. The North Shore native is married to Cyn-
guy. He’s a great storyteller. People will be amazed how entertaining he is.” Conn also notes they may enjoy compelling visuals at the event as well. Says the radio personality, “He’s got great hair. I never had that lion-like mullet.” Local Legends with Richard Marx and Roe Conn will take place Saturday, Nov. 2 at 4 p.m. in Raymond Moore Auditorium at Lake Forest High School. Tickets are $50 each. To purchase tickets, visit lflbhistory.org or call 847-234-5253. ■