Roland Daniels, who took over Saturn Corp.'s seven factory stores in Florida, is a retailing veteran who has been running Saturn stores since 1991.
'I think I fully understand how Saturn operates, who our customer is and what our vision is,' said Daniels, 52, one of Saturn Corp.'s 14 minority dealers.
Daniels has been in auto retailing since 1985. Before that he worked for Sears Roebuck and Co. 17 years in management positions.
Daniels bought his first dealership, Roland Daniels Chevrolet Oldsmobile, in Castle Rock, Colo., in 1987, but General Motors closed the point in 1988, deciding the market had too many dealerships, Daniels said.
He was general manager of Saturn of Dateland (Fla.) for four years before he bought Saturn of Gainesville (Fla.) in 1995. Daniels intends to open another Saturn dealership in Ocala, Fla., next year.