Bob Rohrman, who built his namesake Midwestern dealership group from a single used-car lot in Lafayette, Ind., died Tuesday of natural causes. He was 87.
Named one of Automotive News‘ 50 visionary dealers in 2009, Rohrman started his franchise operation with a Toyota store he said he opened after responding to a magazine ad. Today, Bob Rohrman Auto Group operates 25 dealerships in Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin.
Rohrman was born April 18, 1933, in a log cabin in Lafayette, the ninth of 11 children. He joined the military after high school and began to sell cars in the 1950s once he left the service. He opened his first used-vehicle lot in 1963 and added his first new-vehicle franchise with Toyota several years later.
Bob Rohrman Auto Group ranks No. 46 on Automotive News‘ list of the top 150 dealership groups in the U.S., retailing 19,455 new vehicles and 18,619 used vehicles in 2019, with revenue of $1.2 billion.
Rohrman told Automotive News in 2010 that he opened the Toyota store after seeing an ad featuring a yellow Toyota Corona.
“I’d been looking for a new-car franchise and heard they were selling well in California,” he said at the time. “So I called the 800 number in the ad, and a month later I was selling Toyotas.”
Rohrman was well-known for his TV commercials, which often featured him in costume and included an image of a lion with his tag line, “Bob ROOOHHHRRR-man.”
“I have people tell me in the stores, I just had to come in here because of the advertising,” he told Automotive News TV in 2012. “And they say, ‘You’re crazy, but I love it.’ ”
His family said in a statement that Rohrman will be remembered most “for his unending love and loyalty, generous heart for philanthropy, feisty spirit, contagious laugh and love for Purdue football.”
Rohrman’s philanthropic efforts include donations for a tennis complex at Lafayette Central Catholic High School, a performing arts center at Lafayette Jefferson High School and Rohrman Field at Purdue University’s Ross-Ade Stadium.
