The Ghent family up north has celebrated 80 years in the car business, which they opened in the 1940s in Fort Collins, and have served the past 36 years in Greeley.
Many longtime customers attended an outdoor gathering Saturday at the south side of the Ghent Chevrolet/Cadillac business near the U.S. 34/35th Avenue intersection in Greeley. John Gates, mayor of Greeley, joined the table with Bob and Ann Ghent, Brent Wells, Jan and me. I was honored to present the 80th Anniversary Crystal Trophy Award to Bob, owner of the dealership.
We arrived very appropriately driving a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox, a competitor in the crowded field of compact sport utes, including Mazda CX-5, Honda CR- V, Subaru Forester, Nissan Rogue, Toyota RAV4, Hyundai Tucson, Volkswagen Tiguan and many others.
Bob Ghent’s grandfather, Frank, acquired a Ford franchise for Fort Collins in 1942, then waited three years to sell his first new car.
World War II had begun for the U.S. in the final month of 1941 and by ’42 production of new cars had ended, as factories were transformed into war production facilities.
America’s automobile assembly lines resumed in late 1945; dating from that year, Ghent Chevrolet Cadillac in Greeley on Saturday hosted the 80th anniversary celebration.
Following the war, about 1946, Dwight and his brother, Eldon, took active roles in support of Frank and the Ford/Mercury/Lincoln business thrived in Fort Collins. They even added an Edsel franchise for the four years of that Ford brand’s existence from 1957-60. Ghent Ford in late 1966 moved into large, new facilities, helping establish an “automotive row” on West College Avenue in Fort Collins.
Bob got his start by washing cars for the family business in the mid-‘70s, while still a student at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins. He moved right on up through the management positions, and he and his dad purchased the Chevrolet dealership in Greeley in 1989 and acquired the Cadillac franchise in 2000. Dwight retired in the late ‘80s and the Ford business in Fort Collins was sold to Spradley Barr.
The cabin in the upscale Activ trim level model I drove was inviting and comfortable with a finish of vinyl/microfiber for softness, and nicely designed dash with a faux leather touch, dual-screen setup and more storage space in the center console. Cargo space behind therear seat is a sizable 30 cubic feet; curb weight of the vehicle is 3,705 pounds.
To go with its fairly mild turbocharged 1.5-liter, 4-cylinder engine, the Chevy now has an 8-speed automatic transmission for its all-wheel-drives and a continuously variable tranny for front-drives; last year both configurations used a 6-speed transmission.
The 8-speed did lots of downshifting, though fairly smoothly, and overall fuel mileage was 25.3; its EPA rating is 24 city, 29 highway,26 combined. Its $38,388 sticker price included panoramic sunroof, surround vision, adaptive cruise, lanekeep assist, remote start, heated steering wheel and power liftgate.