The Santa Fe Property before 1900
Pueblo, CO After the Great Flood 1921
The History of Wilcoxson starts way back when the first Buick Dealership, The Colorado Motor Car Company, opened at 9th and Main in Downtown Pueblo in 1912.
After steel emerged as the major industry in Pueblo in 1909, Pueblo was considered the only 'Steel Town' west of the Mississippi. Until a flood took out much of downtown in 1921, Pueblo was also known as 'The Saddle Capital of the World'.
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Right after World War II The Colorado Motor Car Company decided to move off of Santa Fe, where the dealership is still at today. They couldn't start building however until 1948 due to the shortage of materials. This was common at the time because most the materials in the country had been used to build weapons, airplanes, tanks, and boats in WWII. The store opened in 1949. At the time the dealership was modeled after a California dealership which was considered one of the most advanced dealerships at the time.
Enter Harold 'Gene' Wilcoxson. Gene had graduated from Centennial High School in Pueblo in 1942. Gene served in the US Army in 1943-1946 as a combat platoon leader and infantry company commander in the Pacific Theater. Upon returning Gene attended CU Boulder and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree. Gene was a salesperson at his first car lot from 1949-1951 when he was called back to active duty in the Korean War. When Gene returned in 1953 he went to work as a sales manager for WA Wills Ford which lead to a partnership in the Wills-Wilcoxson Pontiac store in Council Bluffs, IA. Wanting to return to Colorado, he turned this into a partnership in Silver State Cadillac in Colorado Springs in 1956. In 1961, he traded into a Partnership in to the Wills Buick-Cadillac store in Pueblo. 1967 was the year that he bought out his partners and changed the name to Wilcoxson Buick Cadillac GMC.
Harold 'Gene' Wilcoxson
Jane 'Peachy' Wilcoxson
Over the years, Gene ran a business based on relationships. The community is a small but proud one and people in the community love doing business with people who love doing business with the community. Gene was a leading member in the Community. He served as board member and President of the Pueblo Chamber of Commerce. He received awards for donations done with Pueblo Community College. He was a member in the Pueblo Development Foundation, Charter member of PEDCO, director of the Minnequa Bank Board, director of the Vectra Bank Advisory Board, board member and past president at the Pueblo Country Club. He was awarded the Good Neighbor Award and Citizen of the Year Award. In 1977, Gene was awarded the Time Magazine Dealer of the Year Award. Gene Wilcoxson passed away in 2009.
Gene's son Bill Wilcoxson runs the dealership today. Bill started out working every job in the dealership as his parents instilled a great work ethic. He cleaned cars, cleaned the dealership, stocked parts, and did anything his Dad asked just so he could be around the lot. The business and the community have been as big of a part of Bill's life as it was for his father with Bill participating in many of the same organizations as his Dad. Bill was honored by the Pueblo Community College President's Club in 2016 just as his father was in 2002.
In 2013, Wilcoxson decided to change some business practices to stay in touch with the community. After listening to their customers Wilcoxson found that many of their customers hated the 'Back and Forth' and lack of transparency in the car buying experience. This is when the dealership created 'The Wilcoxson Way'. A way of No Haggle Pricing. Wilcoxson uses software to go online everyday to stay ahead of the market on the pricing of all the vehicles in inventory. When you buy a car at Wilcoxson, you never have to worry that you are paying too much. Wilcoxson labels all the inventory with easy to understand classifications and product listings. Wilcoxson does everything we can to put all vehicles online as fast as possible due to the fact we know most of our community loves to shop online before ever coming into the dealership. This along with many things you get here that you don't get at other dealerships has helped Wilcoxson quadruple business within only a few years of changing.
We Adhere to the Team (100)3x
We want 100% of our customers to be 100% satisfied, 100% of the time.
As many of the dealerships that were in Downtown Pueblo have moved away and built new facilities we have decided to invest in the location that has been a staple of Pueblo since the 1940's. We have stayed true to our downtown roots and have contributed to the reclamation of downtown.
We invite you in to experience the difference first hand. You'll come to find that many first time buyers become life-long friends.
Sincerely,
The Wilcoxson Buick GMC, Inc. Family
Bill Wilcoxson
Dealer Principal
