Careers at Rydell Cars

Building a Legacy

Rydell Chevrolet was founded by Leonard Rydell (1913-2000) who started in the car business in the 1940’s in Montgomery, Minnesota. In 1954, at Chevrolet’s request, he moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota to operate the Chevrolet dealership. Leonard had many strongly held business and personal philosophies that served him well. These philosophies, known as “Leonardism’s”, help guide our group through our daily business and personal decisions.

In 1976, Leonard sold the business to his son, Wes. Under Wes’ direction, Rydell Chevrolet converted to the one price, no hassle, no haggle pricing policy that is followed today. In subsequent years, Rydell Chevrolet added Cadillac, Oldsmobile, GMC, Pontiac and Buick franchises to their lineup in Grand Forks. On March 12, 1990 the Rydell family built the Rydell Honda and Nissan Dealership in Grand Forks and in 2005, Rydell added the Saturn brand to our model lineup in Grand Forks. Over the years some industry brands have come and gone.

In 1980, Leonard and Wes helped one of their managers purchase a dealership in Mandan, North Dakota. Their goal was to help that manager to eventually own the dealership outright. The plan worked and Leonard and Wes have repeated the process with many other managers since then. The Rydell Group has now grown to over 83 dealerships in 17 states and continues to grow to this day. Todays brands in the Rydell group across the states include Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Honda, Nissan, Subrau, KIA, Toyota, Volkswagen, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram.

The Value of Being a Good Community Citizen

Local Organizations
We are dedicated to providing funding and in-kind donations to worthwhile organizations within our communities.

First Responders
Rydell appreciates all of our first responders and likes to show our thanks by providing treats, lunches, sponsoring events, and by helping raise money for our local K-9 officers.

Community Events
Rydell is happy to help host different community events to help give back and show our appreciation to our community.

Rydell Annual Charity Benefit Car & Bike Show
Each year, Rydell team members vote on which local organization will be the beneficiary of our annual fundraising event. Since 2007, we have raised over $800,000 for our local community.

Our History

Rydell Chevrolet was founded by Leonard Rydell (1913-2000) who started in the car business in the 1940’s in Montgomery, Minnesota. In 1954, at Chevrolet’s request, he moved to Grand Forks, North Dakota to operate the Chevrolet dealership. Leonard had many strongly held business and personal philosophies that served him well. These philosophies, known as “Leonardism’s”, help guide our group through our daily business and personal decisions.

In 1976, Leonard sold the business to his son, Wes. Under Wes’ direction, Rydell Chevrolet converted to the one price, no hassle, no haggle pricing policy that is followed today. In subsequent years, Rydell Chevrolet added Cadillac, Oldsmobile, GMC, Pontiac and Buick franchises to their lineup in Grand Forks. On March 12, 1990 the Rydell family built the Rydell Honda and Nissan Dealership in Grand Forks and in 2005, Rydell added the Saturn brand to our model lineup in Grand Forks. Over the years some industry brands have come and gone.

In 1980, Leonard and Wes helped one of their managers purchase a dealership in Mandan, North Dakota. Their goal was to help that manager to eventually own the dealership outright. The plan worked and Leonard and Wes have repeated the process with many other managers since then. The Rydell Group has now grown to over 83 dealerships in 17 states and continues to grow to this day.

Rydell's Vision & Mission

Rydell’s Vision: To be so effective that we are able to be helpful to others.

Rydell’s Mission:

Industry Leader: Our goal is to be an industry leader in providing unmatched quality automotive products and services.

Meeting Needs: We will constantly strive to meet the changing needs of our customers. Our aim is to provide an atmosphere that encourages employee teamwork, integrity and excellence.

Constant Growth: Together we will set and continually improve sales, service and operational standards to ensure long-term market leadership and profitability.

Exceed Expectations: It is our mission to exceed our customers’ and employees’ expectations and maintain their loyalty for a lifetime.

Rydell’s Philosophy

The Rydell philosophy is based on five key areas that we believe are critical to business success:

• Customer Enthusiasm
• Employee Satisfaction
• Financial Performance
• Market Effectiveness
• Ongoing Improvement

Our philosophy holds that each area is of equal importance and we continually strive to reach a level of excellence in each area. However, in any planning or decision making process, or in any situation of seeming conflict or contradiction among the five critical areas, Customer Enthusiasm will always carry the most weight.