Gordon Richardson

In February 1945, Mr. Gorden E. Richardson arrived in Decatur Illinois following active service in World War II. After selling bulk oil supplies for a few years, he moved on to the automobile business. He started as a salesman at Benton Motor Sales and quickly moved up to General Manager.

In 1957, Gorden and friend Jerry Dowers opened a used car lot named D & R Motors. The successful business gained momentum and moved to larger facilities. Sensing the upcoming automobile boom, Gorden sold his interest to Jerry in 1963 to move on to bigger and better things.

After borrowing every cent he could find, Gorden purchased Lertz Oldsmobile-Pontiac in Taylorville, Illinois. The GMC Truck franchise was later added. The intended name was Gorden Olds-Pontiac but someone misspelled Gorden’s name on the sign as GORDON. To avoid the extra legal costs and time to get it corrected, Gorden kept it this way. He has spelled his name with two O’s ever since!

From 1974 to 1980, Gordon’s sons Craig and Randy learned the business under their father’s supervision. In 1994, Craig was appointed President and Dealer Operator. Randy operated his own Buick dealership in Pana, Illinois for several years before moving to Taylorville to work alongside his brother Craig.

Craig Richardson

Randy Richardson

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