Ontario’s 1st Cadillac-exclusive store to distinguish brand from competitors

TORONTO – The opening of Ontario’s first Cadillac-exclusive dealership will help distinguish the luxury brand from its competitors, says Karen Foss, CEO of Foss Automotive Group.

“We had Cadillac combined within a dealership, but we all recognized it was not enough,” Foss said. “We need to differentiate ourselves. We need to be a standalone representation of this most beautiful and amazing luxury brand.”

At 7,000-square feet, Roy Foss Cadillac Woodbridge is one of only three Cadillac-exclusive dealerships in Canada. The other two are in western Canada and a fourth is being built in Quebec.

The dealership will include amenities such as guided tours of the new facility as well as a valet service that will offer to wash and park customers’ vehicles.

 Customers who purchase Cadillacs will receive them with a bow, music of their choice and aromatherapy. A “delivery specialist” wearing white gloves will present the vehicle to the new owner.

In Canada, Cadillac generated 7,184 sales during the first six months of the year, up from 5,991 during the same period in 2018, according to the Automotive News Center in Detroit.

The Woodbridge, Ont., dealership, which had its ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday, included members of the Foss family, although the 88-year-old patriarch was not in attendance due to health reasons.

“He would be so proud,” Foss said of her father. “He opened the doors [to the company] in 1962 and the appointment for Cadillac in 1985. He always said it was never a job. He was so highly regarded, one of the founders of commercial leasing in North America. I would say the epitome of car guys.

“So, it’s actually very emotional. It’s hard not to tear up because I have the flashbacks of our family – six kids, my parents, and my dad being so proud. It’s such an unbelievable experience to do this and to be here, and you don’t really know until you are in the moment.”

The Foss’ are one of the first families of dealerships in Ontario. The business is now into its third generation with Foss’ son, James, who is the president and general manager of Roy Foss Motors. 

“Cadillac will always be the nearest and dearest to our hearts, and that comes from my father,” she said. “My mother used to say, ‘your father bleeds GM blood.’ That’s pretty heavy. That is quite the statement. All of us six kids grew up listening to them, watching them, hearing them. Cadillac has always been his proudest treasure.”