THE SUPERB AND UNEXPECTED ON EVERY PAGE
STAY CONNECTED
AVIATION
FROM ROADWAYS TO AIRWAYS
Rita Case, CEO of Rick Case Automotive Group and daughter, Raquel Case Talking about Driving and Flying into the future.
VALERIE ZUCKER
Rita took her solo flight on her 16th birthday in a single engine Cessna, the legal age that Rita could secure her pilot’s license and fly a plane. Rita was flying single and multi-engine planes for years never really thinking of a Jet. When Honda announced they would design and build a jet she decided right then, she would learn to fly a jet so she could own one. It was a “must” to fly her own Honda Jet.
Honda cars and motorcycles were in Rita’s heritage. Rita’s parents had the first Honda dealership in the United States. They were retailers for Honda motorcycles in 1959 when Honda came to the U.S. with their motorcycles. In 1968, they were the very first Honda car dealer in the U.S. Rita’s passion for Honda grew each year and in 1976, immediately after graduating from college, Rita took the leadership role of the Honda car and motorcycle dealership from her parents. She was passionate about the business and stood by her favorite brand, Honda.
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When Honda announced the Honda Jet was going onto production in 2006, she put the very first customer order and deposit on the all-new Honda Jet at the Orlando Aviation Show where the Honda Jet was being introduced. It took years to develop the Honda Jet because of its very unique design, the first jet ever to have the engines mounted on top of the wings. Rita took delivery when the final FAA certification was completed April 2016.
“I wanted the Honda Jet because it was a Honda and I had a lifelong passion to fly. The brand is a part of my heritage from the past, present and future of our family legacy,” says Rita Case, CEO of The Rick Case Automotive Group. Since I live in South Florida, where Rick Case Automotive Group headquarters is based, I use my Honda Jet to travel to our dealerships in Atlanta and Cleveland. I love to fly as my hobby and so the Honda allowed me to easily visit our dealerships on a regular basis. Also, I fly to all the automotive conventions and meetings around the country. I probably have more hours on my Honda as a private owner pilot then anyone. Every chance I get, I choose to go flying.”
Today, Rita Case is the CEO of the Rick Case Automotive Group, 16 dealerships, in 3 states and over a $1 billion in sales. Rita has two children in the business, Ryan 39 and Raquel 36, that she works with daily to mentor their career path for the obvious succession plan. Raquel knows the feeling of the rubber hitting the road, as she opened the Rick Case Maserati and Alfa Romeo dealerships for Rick Case Automotive Group. Raquel has tried her hand at flying a helicopter and a fixed wing plane but not yet dedicated the time to become a pilot. Raquel’s has been raised to love cars and prefers fast ones with her current car the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio.
“Our future of cars and jets are a means of transportation mixed with personal lifestyle choices. We will always stand by our brands and our company as we celebrate our 59th year in business,” says Raquel Case. “I especially enjoy flying with my mom as the jet is very quiet. With the engines on the wings, the cabin is noise-free. I can even talk on the phone at 43,000 feet and no one even knows I’m in the plane.”
