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 & Buick franchises to their lineup in Grand Forks.
In 1980, Leonard and Wes helped one of their managers purchase a dealership in Mandan, North Dakota. Their intent 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. The Rydell Group has now grown to over 60 dealerships in 10 states.
