Lots on the lot: Dixon’s Ken Nelson opts to be area’s only Cadillac dealership

DIXON – If you’re looking for a new Cadillac, there’s only one place between Rockford and the Quad Cities that’ll have them on the lot, and it’s right here in the Sauk Valley.

Ken Nelson Auto Group, 1100 N. Galena Ave., sealed a deal to remain a member of an exclusive club, as one of only 500 licensed Cadillac dealers in the nation.

It wasn’t that long ago that most General Motors dealers carried Cadillacs along with the company’s other brands, but that’s no longer the case.

General Motors gave its dealers a choice in 2020: continue to invest in their facilities’ equipment, tools and training in order to stay an authorized Cadillac dealer or take a buyout and sell the franchise back to the manufacturer.

Many dealers in northern Illinois – and nearly 400 nationwide – took the company up on the buyouts, which ranged from around $300,000 to more than $1 million, according to a December 2020 Wall Street Journal report.

Ken Nelson decided it wasn’t going to let Cadillac drive off its lot, though, and leave customers no choice but to leave town to get a new Cadillac or service from an authorized dealer.

It wasn’t a decision they took lightly.

“It’s a major investment, but we believe it’s important to our employees, our consumers and our local economy to keep the sales tax locally versus giving it up to some other market where consumers would go to,” said Rick Curia, president of the auto group.

Having the only Cadillac dealership in the area also bring fresh eyes to Dixon, people who not only will buy and service a car here, but who also will see what the city has to offer and hopefully spend some other money here, too.

Cadillac is planning to transition nearly all its vehicles to all-electric by 2030. That means investing in upgraded equipment to keep them on the road would need to begin a decade in advance – and an investment of at least $200,000.

While Cadillac pushes to become a front-runner in the U.S. electric vehicle market, other lines are soon to follow, and already having the framework in place, such as charging stations, tools and training, will give Ken Nelson a competitive edge.

“One of our thoughts was that eventually the charging stations are going to be needed, the tools are going to be needed for other car lines as well, and we felt that it kind of goes parallel to what’s coming down the line,” Curia said.

“So instead of taking the money for our franchise ... we felt that it was to our advantage to provide – to our employees and to our customers – one more car line that nobody else has,” Curia said.

“We wanted to stay as a full-line General Motors dealer, and felt it was important to keep it knowing that we are the only Cadillac dealer from Rockford to the Quad Cities. We believed it was a good investment to keep our Cadillac customers and to keep the franchise for our Cadillac customers.”

Keeping the line also keeps existing technician jobs from going elsewhere, and makes it easier to attract future candidates for the job.

With fewer Cadillac dealers, the company also can focus more on its remaining dealers.

The customers see this, too, he said, with an improved inventory of the luxury automobiles.

“If there were more dealers out there, the availability of product in these times would be more difficult.”

So far, Ken Nelson’s decision to keep Cadillac in the family has paid off. The dealership’s Cadillac sales have doubled, a trend that Curia predicts will continue.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the attention we’re getting here.”

Ken Nelson Auto Group is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.

Find it on Facebook, Twitter (@KenNelsonAuto) or Instagram (@kennelsonautogroup), go to kennelsonauto.com or call 815-288-4455 for information.

Go to cadillac.com to see what’s new for 2023.