Celozzi-Ettleson Chevrolet was a

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

dealership located in

Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a city mostly in DuPage County and overlapping into Cook County in the U.S. state of Illinois, and a western suburb of Chicago. As of 2021, the city has an estimated population of 47,260. History Members of the Potawatomi Native A ...

. Advertised that it was the "#1 Chevy dealer in the nation", it was owned by Nick Celozzi and Maury Ettleson and operated at the corner of York and

Roosevelt Roosevelt may refer to: *Theodore Roosevelt (1858–1919), 26th U.S. president *Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945), 32nd U.S. president Businesses and organisations * Roosevelt Hotel (disambiguation) * Roosevelt & Son, a merchant bank * Roosevel ...

roads from February 1968 to October 2000. Well known for its local TV commercials featuring the owners displaying a large amount of cash in hand and advertising the dealership as the place "Where you always save more money," the dealership was originally Zepalack Chevrolet, and the actual address was 155 E. Roosevelt Road, although there was no direct access to the dealership from

Roosevelt Road Roosevelt Road (originally named 12th Street) is a major east-west street in the city of Chicago, Illinois, and its western suburbs. It is 1200 South in the city's street numbering system, but only south of Madison Street. It runs under this ...

. In its heyday, the dealership spent $1 million a year on television ads. Its

commercials A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

have been noted by the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

'' as memorable for all who grew up with them. The duo became so famous that they even starred in commercials advertising other products, including

Bud Light Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in othe ...

and

Pizza Hut Pizza Hut is an American multinational restaurant chain and international franchise founded in 1958 in Wichita, Kansas by Dan and Frank Carney. They serve their signature pan pizza and other dishes including pasta, breadsticks and dessert at d ...

(revising their tagline to say "Where you always get great

pepperoni Pepperoni is an American variety of spicy salami made from cured pork and beef seasoned with paprika or other chili pepper. Prior to cooking, pepperoni is characteristically soft, slightly smoky, and bright red. Thinly sliced pepperoni is one ...

!") Celozzi and Ettleson sold the dealership and parted ways in 2000. Gabor Bushy, who was the owner of Suburban

Buick Buick () is a division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Started by automotive pioneer David Dunbar Buick in 1899, it was among the first American marques of automobiles, and was the company that established General ...

in nearby

Wheaton, Illinois Wheaton is a suburban city in Milton and Winfield Townships and is the county seat of DuPage County, Illinois. It is located approximately west of Chicago. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 52,894, which was estimated ...

, purchased the dealership and renamed it Elmhurst Chevrolet. Several years later, the dealership relocated farther west on Roosevelt Road and became Villa Park Chevrolet (currently Castle Chevrolet of Villa Park). The building that was "Hard to find, but tough to beat" has since been demolished. Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare has built a major medical center there to replace the current Elmhurst Memorial Hospital. The site was annexed into Elmhurst, Illinois on March 3, 2008. Ettleson currently owns Ettleson Cadillac-Buick-GMC and Ettleson Hyundai in Hodgkins with his son Michael Ettleson. Celozzi owned Celozzi Ford and Celozzi Chrysler in

Waukegan ''(Fortress or Trading Post)'' , image_flag = , image_seal = , blank_emblem_size = 150 , blank_emblem_type = Logo , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivisi ...

until 2003, when he was forced to declare

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

and shutter the dealerships after one of his former business partners was indicted on fraud charges.

References

{{Reflist, refs= {{cite web , url = http://www.emhc.org/about/newcampus/index.cfm , title = New Campus at Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare , website = Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20090731112716/http://www.emhc.org/about/newcampus/index.cfm , archivedate = July 31, 2009 {{cite news , first = Kevin , last = Davis , title = Death of a sales pitch , website =

Crain's Chicago Business ''Crain's Chicago Business'' is a weekly business newspaper in Chicago, IL. It is owned by Detroit-based Crain Communications, a privately held publishing company with more than 30 magazines, including ''Advertising Age'', ''Modern Healthcare'' ...

, url = http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20030830/NEWS01/20009924/death-of-a-sales-pitch , date = Aug 30, 2003 , accessdate = Jan 4, 2017 {{cite news , first = Dave , last = Savini , title = Car Dealer Celozzi Explains Financial Losses , website =

NBC 5 Chicago WMAQ-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Chicago, Illinois, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Telemundo outlet WSNS-TV (chan ...

, url = http://www.nbc5.com/unit5investigates/1280611/detail.html , date = Feb 28, 2002 , archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20020804030709/http://www.nbc5.com/unit5investigates/1280611/detail.html , archivedate = August 4, 2002

External links

Sherman Dodge WebsiteArticle on the Celozzi-Ettleson Commercials

Celozzi-Ettleson Commercial From 1984
on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

Elmhurst, Illinois Culture of Chicago Auto dealerships of the United States Former auto dealerships Chevrolet

See also

References

External links