About Us

On behalf of our entire Team, we would like to welcome you and thank you for visiting www.mccotter.com. We offer Fantastic sales and service for our valued customers. We are committed to serving our friends, neighbors and customers and look forward to hearing from you. Please click here to contact us.

A Little Bit About Our 63 Year History

DaddyMac (C.R McCotter) as he was known to everyone, was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1907. After 8th grade his father died so he had to quit school and help his mother provide for the other children. Selling newspapers on the street corners of Jacksonville was a daily event to earn money for the family.
 

When old enough, he landed a job with the Ford Motor Company in Jacksonville as a mail clerk. Each day required sorting the incoming mail and delivering it to the different departments within the company. Promoted to the assembly line, vehicles would come to Jacksonville from Detroit by rail packaged in wooden crates. The vehicles would be removed from the crates and final assembly done. Vehicles would then be transported to Florida dealerships by truck. His next assignment was working in the Parts and Service division with the company. Another promotion made DaddyMac a Sales Zone Manager with a responsibility to visit the dealerships on the east coast of Florida from Jacksonville to Miami. He would call on the dealers and take their orders for new Fords. One of DaddyMac's stops was Roberts Motor Company in Titusville, Florida. Mr. Roberts wanted to sell his dealership and DaddyMac wanted to be in business for himself. In 1944, the two struck a deal and DaddyMac, his wife MotherMac (Bernice) and their 8 year old son Dick moved to Titusville. The McCotter Era in Titusville had begun. At startup there were only 4 employees; DaddyMac, MotherMac, a parts and service man and 1 mechanic. In 1944, W.W.II was ongoing and Ford wasn't even making new Fords. The Ford manufacturing plants were building planes and such to support the war effort. Ford didn't start producing vehicles again until 1946. But, even with those odds against DaddyMac, he pursued his dream and kept McCotter Ford alive. He made it through those tough years by selling used vehicles, parts and service. Finally, 1946 came and new Fords were coming to the dealerships. Sales started to increase and more employees were hired to accommodate the growth of the dealership. In the mid 50's DaddyMac acquired the Mercury car franchise to add to the popular Ford line of cars and trucks. The 40's and 50's were great years for McCotter Ford - Mercury as it continued to grow.
 

Their son Dick attended Titusville High School and became a well know athlete in the community. He played varsity baseball, basketball and football and received an all-star award in all three sports. The University of Florida had their eye on the young Dick McCotter and after completing his senior year they offered him a full football scholarship as the up and coming quarterback. Dick accepted and off to college he went. 

Dick graduated in 1958 and married a lady from Nantyglo, Pennsylvania named Donna. He started working in the business in 1958 and by the mid 60's Dick was running McCotter Ford - Mercury. Dick and Donna had two children during those years; Teri and Rick. McCotter Ford - Mercury continued to grow under Dick's leadership and for several years the dealership had the Jeep and Mazda franchises. Dick purchased a Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge dealership in Yulee, Florida in the 80's and operated it for several years before selling it. He was also a co-owner of Freedom Fords of Norfolk and Hampton, Virginia; two Ford stores owned by his son-in-law and daughter, Scott and Teri Rigell. Rick McCotter took an interest in the business during high school and worked at McCotter Ford - Mercury in the summers washing cars, parts department, service department and sales. Rick graduated from Astronaut High School in 1979 and Auburn University in 1985. Rick met Lisa on a young adult church trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in 1979. Lisa was born in Columbus, Georgia and moved to Titusville in 1966 when her dad took a job with NASA. Rick and Lisa started dating after that trip and were married in 1981. The Rick and Lisa team began. A family started several years later and by 1991 they had 4 children. Rick started working at McCotter Ford - Mercury in 1985. The first year was spent working in all the different departments of the dealership. In 1987, Rick and Lisa moved to Amelia Island, Florida to work at the Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge store Dick had purchased. After 6 months working there, Dick sold the dealership and Rick and Lisa moved back to Titusville. In 1993, Rick and Lisa moved to Virginia Beach, Virginia to work at Freedom Ford in Norfolk, Virginia for a year. Freedom Ford is owned by Rick's brother-in-law and sister. The year went by fast and back to Titusville they went. In 1994, Rick and Lisa bought McCotter Ford - Mercury from Dick and a 3rd generation was at the helm. Rick and Lisa continued to grow the business for the next two years and realized the dealership needed a new facility. They searched the Titusville area to find the perfect spot to build the new McCotter Ford - Mercury and purchased 22 acres of land across from a Wal-Mart Supercenter next to interstate I-95. Construction began in September 1997 and in April 1998 the 54 year old business moved to the new location. McCotter Ford - Mercury has experienced a tremendous response from the community in support of the new location. Since the move, sales have increased an average of 30% in all departments. Customers enjoy the more convenient location and the selection of vehicles has doubled. We hope you have enjoyed learning about the history of our family and McCotter Ford - Mercury. If we can be of service to you, please contact us by phone or email. We'd like to know what you think about our web site and how we can continue to improve our service to you. Will there be a next generation to run McCotter Ford - Mercury? Time will tell; we'll keep you posted.                             

Regards, 

The McCotter Family