Wilcoxson: A relic of Pueblo's rich automobile history
Bill Wilcoxson, owner of Downtown Pueblo’s long-standing Wilcoxson Buick, Cadillac, GMC Trucks Inc., considers his dealership to be a “destination store.”
“When they come to us, they come to us for a specific reason, not ‘Well I was shopping at the store next door and I saw your stuff,” Bill said. “They come down because they see the store or they have checked our website out and they are looking for something very specific that we have.”
Wilcoxson, located at 902 N. Santa Fe Avenue, is one of few dealerships remaining on Downtown Pueblo’s “Automobile Row,” which served as the premier place to purchase a vehicle during the middle of the 20th century. However, many big-name dealerships eventually left the elaborate showrooms and flashy neon signs of Automobile Row for Pueblo’s North Side.
“We are like the lone salmon swimming upstream when all the rest are swimming down I guess and that’s okay,” Bill said. “It gives opportunities others don’t have, so we play that niche.”
The building that currently houses the Wilcoxson dealership was built in 1946 under the ownership of the Colorado Motor Company. The Colorado Motor Company relocated from a next-door property on the corner of 9th and Main, where the company sold Buick cars beginning in 1912.
Bill’s father Harold “Gene” Wilcoxson moved from Kansas to Pueblo in 1927. After graduating Centennial High School in 1942, Gene enlisted in the U.S. Army. From 1943 to 1946, he served in the Pacific and served in the Korean War from 1951 to 1953. Between wars, Gene earned a degree from the University of Colorado and got his start in the automobile sales industry.
“He was going to get a medical degree, but he switched to business and he had a job with what became an extended family member,” Bill said. “W.A. Wills Jr… They were friends prior to their coming back to Pueblo. My dad went to work for Mr. Jake Vidmar at the Oldsmobile store. W.A. Jr. went to work for his dad at their store here in town.”
Gene and Wills eventually decided to start their Pontiac dealership in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Gene would return to Colorado in 1956, partnering with Colorado Springs’ Silver State Cadillac. In 1961, Gene traded into partnership with the former Colorado Motor Company store then owned by Wills’ father. Six years later, Gene would gain full ownership of the dealership.
“We sell Buicks, Cadillacs, and GMC trucks,” Bill said. “Those have been the franchise makes forever and a day.”
In addition to selling new and used vehicles, Wilcoxson has a full service department offering engine repair, engine replacement, transmission, air conditioning, and electrical services. Wilcoxson also offers a VIP “Pit-Stop” service program featuring free vital fluids top-offs, “check engine light” scans, mechanical inspections, shuttle service rides, and tire pressure checks.
“We’ve got a friendly atmosphere for people to come into,” Bill said. “We are not a high-pressure store. My sales managers do a great job of interacting with our customers… I think our service department is top-notch. We have some really great technicians that we have been able to find. Every time we have changed our personnel, we’ve always upped the game.”