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Maguire Aquires Cooke Imports |
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by David Stewart
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Friday, 18 January 2008 |
 ITHACA, NY - Pending final approvals, arrangements are expected to be completed later this month for Maguire Automotive, LLC to assume ownership of Bill Cooke Imports, Inc., which represents Toyota, Volvo, Subaru, Volkswagen, and Audi in Ithaca. The upcoming sale was announced January 14, 2008 by William E. (Will) Cooke, president of the imports dealership.
Bill Cooke Imports, Inc. is located at 370 Elmira Road and Maguire Ford Lincoln Mercury Nissan is at 504 South Meadow Street, both on Route 13 South. Maguire also owns a Chevrolet dealership on Route 96 in Trumansburg and a Chevrolet-Cadillac dealership at 35 Cinema Drive in Ithaca. The latter was purchased from Cooke in November 2007.
Reflecting on his 35-year career in the automobile business in Ithaca, Cooke said: "I am deeply grateful to all our customers and employees who have been such an important part of our success. I'm proud that my family has had the opportunity to serve Central New York for the past 43 years."
Cooke added, "I am further gratified that our businesses have been acquired by Tim Maguire and his son, Phil. The Maguire organization has been doing business in Tompkins County since 1977. They are well-respected in the community, have experience with import vehicles, and are committed to a seamless transition for employees and customers alike."
The Cooke family has been in the automobile business for 89 years. William E. Cooke, the patriarch of the family, began selling Fords in Rochester, NY, in 1919. He remained associated with the business until his death in 1995 at age 95. William D. Cooke, the second-generation auto dealer in the family, established the local business in 1965 as a Cadillac-Oldsmobile dealership on South Cayuga Street in downtown Ithaca. He relocated the business near the intersection of Route 13 and Triphammer Road in 1968 and added Toyota in 1971.
Will Cooke, the third-generation dealer, became president of the corporation in 1973 after his father's death, becoming the youngest auto dealer in the United States at that time. He expanded the business in 1998 by acquiring the Elmira Road location and adding Chevrolet, Subaru, and Volvo, with Volkswagen and Audi following two years later.
Tim Maguire, president of the Maguire dealerships in Ithaca and Trumansburg, said: "We are a family-run business committed to customer satisfaction. We look forward to building on our successful operations, and we welcome all customers to our fourth location in Tompkins County."
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