Robert Rosenthal, one of the first dealers in metropolitan Washington and the U.S. to expand, starting in the 1970s, into what became multi-franchise, multi-site mega dealers, groomed many other dealer-owners over a retailing career that started right out of college. Personable and engaging with dealership employees at all levels, he was once described by The Washington Post as the patriarch of the Washington area's new-car dealers. His peers often called him a trailblazer or pacesetter.
Rosenthal,former CEO and chairman of Rosenthal Automotive in Reston, Va.,one of the nation's largest dealership groups and one of the first dealers along the East Coast to import Japanese vehicles in the 1970s, died on May 26 at home in Washington at age 91.
The cause of death was congestive heart failure,The Washington Post reported, citing a daughter, Jane Cafritz.
Robert Michael Rosenthal was born in Washington on Jan. 6, 1928.
His father, Harry, was a partner in a Washington Chevrolet dealership, and Rosenthal spent his youth tackling various tasks around the store.
In November 1954, Rosenthal, just out of college, opened a Chevrolet store with his father. His dad sold his house and used equity from the sale to buy the store. General Motors' subsidiary, Motors Holding, loaned the balance of the funds needed to acquire the store. It was supposed to be a five-year buyout but father and son bought Motors Holding out in just 14 months.
Over the years, Rosenthal Automotive held Chrysler, Volvo, Mazda, Dodge, Datsun, Nissan, Pontiac, BMW, Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, Acura, Hyundai and Fiat franchises.
Rosenthal, a car enthusiast with a fondness for antique cars and woodies from the 1930s and 1940s, became a mentor to many general managers and dealers. He told Automotive News in 2011 that he'd had 47 dealerships and sold 21 of them to managers -- at book value.
"At most of my dealerships, the general managers own part of the dealerships. They are partners," Rosenthal told Automotive News. "They didn't have to pay good will, which can be two to nine times earnings today. They all wanted to be dealers. I got hardworking people because of that."
The company grew by adding Japanese brands in the 1970s and 1980s, and later luxury brands.
In 1997, Rosenthal and another Washington dealer, Jack Pohanka, formed one of the first automotive real estate investment trusts, Capital Automotive. The pair traveled the country offering to buy dealers' real estate and then lease it back to them so they could use the cash to expand. The REIT became a $3 billion business, went public in 1998 and was later acquired by New York investors.
"I hated to lose it. We were doing well with it," Rosenthal told Automotive News in 2011. "I believed in real estate, and that's why I went into dealerships."
Rosenthal, a former board member of the National Automobile Dealers Association, retired two years ago as president and chairman of Rosenthal Automotive, according to the Post.
Rosenthal Automotive, ranks 87th on the Automotive News list of the 150 biggest U.S. dealership groups, based on 2018 sales.
A private funeral and interment was conducted by the family. A memorial service is planned for friends and associates this fall, according to the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association.
