Jim Moran (businessman)

In the early 1960s, he was diagnosed with terminal cancer and given six months to live. He and his wife Arline, who was also ill, decided to move to Florida. However, his disease went into remission and in 1968, he returned to the automotive field by opening a Pontiac dealership in Homestead, which he subsequently moved to Hollywood.[9] Moran turned it into the world's biggest Pontiac dealership[5] and it remained #1 in sales through 1990.[10] Moran decided to sell it in order to focus on the Toyota business, but it was sold in 1994 to the Craig Zinn Automotive Group, the first company to acquire a Toyota dealership in Florida.[10]

In early 1968, he was contacted by a friend from Chicago who said that Toyota wanted to establish a dealer network in the Southeast U.S. and wanted to talk to Jim Moran, who asked what a Toyota was. The company had been unsuccessful at breaking into the American market at the end of the 1950s and was trying again. Moran declined, but his friend was insistent that Moran drive one. According to Moran, he tested everything to see if it would break. While cruising at 55 mph on the interstate, Moran shifted into reverse, and the engine and transmission survived. Moran concluded that although Toyotas weren't as stylish or comfortable as domestic vehicles, they were well-built, reasonably priced, and destined to change the automotive business.[11] On October 26, 1968, he entered into an agreement to distribute Toyota vehicles from the port in Jacksonville, Florida, to the states of Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina. His Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET) was founded that year[12] and in 2006, distributed over 400,000 vehicles, 20% of all new Toyotas sold in the United States.

Moran created other automotive businesses under the JM Family Enterprises (JMFE) umbrella, which is headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida. JMFE is recognized as one of Fortune's "100 Best Places to Work in America"[13] and the second largest private company in Florida.[14] The company grew from a distribution business into a diversified automotive corporation. Today, those businesses also include vehicle processing, financial services and insurance products, retail sales/dealer technology products and services. JMFE is an industry leader with 2021 sales of $16.0 billion and employing approximately 4,500 associates nationwide.[14][15]

Moran pleaded guilty to tax evasion in 1984. He insisted that he had been given bad advice and it was not intentional. He was fined $35,000, put on probation, and created a training facility for disadvantaged youth (see Philanthropy, below).

A number of Toyota dealers filed suit against JMFE alleging that they were coerced into doing business with other JMFE companies in order to receive the most desirable Toyota models. Eventually, all the lawsuits were dropped after a settlement was reached.

In the late 1980s, SET was accused of denying dealership franchises to blacks who met the distributor's requirements. In 1992, a congressional hearing was held to investigate possible discrimination. In response, JMFE began the yearly African-American Achievers Awards.[16]

Moran's first boat was purchased in the 1940s; a 19-foot Chris-Craft. From that point, he was hooked. Boats and entertaining on them was Jim Moran's passion. In his lifetime, he owned more than 200, including models from Burger, Wellcraft Scarab, Hatteras, Sea Ray, Rybovich and multimillion-dollar motor yachts from Feadship.[17] In 1983, he asked Feadship to design a boat large enough to be seaworthy for ocean cruising but elegant for entertaining business associates. Over the next 20+ years, Moran commissioned seven more vessels from the company, culminating in the 168' Gallant Lady in 2002.[18]

His modus operandi was to commission a yacht, take delivery (boats usually took 18–24 months to build), use it for a couple of years, then commission a new yacht with improvements. When the new boat was finished, he would sell the old boat at a profit and repeat the cycle.[19]

Jim Moran had a significant influence on yachting. ShowBoats International presented him with their first Flagship Award in 2006. It was awarded because "he progressively pushed the envelope on technology and innovation...generously shared his yachting experience with his employees and charitable organizations...plus his life-time commitment to stewardship of the environment"[20]

The Yacht Club of Monaco and sponsor, Hublot presented him with the Yachting Heritage Award for "innovation in yacht design and technology with a commitment to ocean preservation".[21]

Jim Moran and his wife Jan were founding members of the International SeaKeepers Society, who renamed their calibration lab and engineering office in Moran's honor after his death.[22] They were also included in the two-star Admiral's Club.[23]

Mr. Moran was posthumously honored on April 18, 2008, in Venice, Italy with a special Superyacht Legacy Award from Boat International that recognized his contributions to yacht design, ocean conservation efforts, boating enthusiasm and philanthropy.[24][25]

Moran was the recipient of the prestigious Horatio Alger Award[35] in 1996. At the urging of friends and business associates, he published his autobiography that same year: Jim Moran: the Courtesy Man. It was subtitled, "Inside the Heart of One of the Most Successful Marketers in the Automobile Industry".[36] The following year, Florida State University awarded him a Doctor of Humane Letters in recognition of his marketing talent and skills.[32] The International Automotive Hall of Fame inducted Moran in 2005.[37]

On April 24, 2007, Moran died at his home in Hillsboro Beach, Florida, at the age of 88 [38] on the very day it was announced that Toyota had surpassed General Motors as the best-selling automaker in the world.[39] His wife Jan has continued his philanthropic endeavors through the Jim Moran Foundation.[40]

• JM Family Enterprises
• The Jim Moran Foundation
• Youth Automotive Training Center
• Jim Moran Institute at Florida State University