Menlo Cadillac dealer expands his car line Menlo Cadillac dealer expands his car line (February 11, 2004)

** Richard Mugnolo takes over closed Buick, Pontiac, GMC dealership.

By Jane Knoerle

Almanac Staff Writer

Cadillac of Menlo Park owner Richard Mugnolo is expanding his business to include the Menlo Park Buick Pontiac GMC dealership. Signs on the empty Buick showroom, located at 550 El Camino Real, announce the dealership business has moved eight blocks north to Mr. Mugnolo's Cadillac operation at 1300 El Camino Real.

The name is now Cadillac Buick Pontiac GMC of Menlo Park.

The previous Buick Pontiac GMC dealer Ken Oakenquist, who owns several General Motors car dealerships in the Bay Area, sold it back to its corporate owner, General Motors Corp., which in turn, sold it on the same day (January 27) to Mr. Mugnolo.

Mr. Mugnolo now carries four out of the six GMC lines, all except Chevolet and Hummer.

The move, he said, will increase sales and hedge against low luxury car sales in hard times. He said he expects to sell 40 to 50 of the lower end GM cars, in addition to 30 Cadillacs each month, as well as 50 used cars.

"I think business is starting to come back," he said. "I'm optimistic about the future."

Two new Cadillac models include a luxury roadster, the XLR hard top convertible, and the SRX Crossover, a less than full-size SUV.

Mr. Mugnolo bought the Cadillac dealership, his only auto franchise, in 2001. From 1997 to 2000, he was general manager for St. Clair Cadillac on Stevens Creek Boulevard. A resident of Danville, he has been in the automobile business for 30 years, starting as a salesman in Hayward back in 1973.

Last week he began a television and radio campaign to publicize his expanded dealership, appearing in the commercials himself.

He said his Cadillac customers have been enthusiastic about bringing over the Buick dealership. "They've been coming up and giving me a hug or shaking my hand. I know my customers personally. My door is always open to them."

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