Bob grew up in Wilmette and Glenview, attended New Trier East, class of ’65. He started working part time at 10 years old at a poultry farm in Wilmette in 1957, worked at Peacock’s Ice cream on Skokie Blvd in Wilmette, the A&P Grocery in Winnetka, now the “Grand”, and the Shell station at Lake and Laramie in Wilmette in 1963 from 2pm until 10 pm, Monday through Friday and all day Saturday while attending his Junior and Senior Year at New Trier. He started CARS of America in March 1972 with $1000.

Bob began as a mobile auto Repair, which is where the name came from; CARS of America, Inc is the acronym for Come-to-you Auto Repair Service. CARS Inc was taken in 1972 when he applied to the State of Illinois, so we added “of America”.

He is a certified C-1 Automotive Service Adviser by ASE, a national automotive certification board, and a certified Hybrid-Electric Service Adviser, and served as a contributor to the Advanced Vehicle Technician Standards Committee, located in the Pacific- Northwest. It formulates training curriculum for Automotive Service Technicians in the areas of Hybrid-Electric and Electric Vehicles and provides recommendations to government licensing. He also serve as an adviser and presenter to Glenbrook South High School Stem Training Classes, Lake County Technical Center, and College of Lake county. Bob advocates for Women Vehicle Owners and present educational information to women’s groups upon request. 

Bob received his MBA from the College of Hard Knocks, attended from 1972 until he’s done. 

He is married to Lisa with one daughter, Kelly, who is the controller for CARS. She has been with the company since 1986. 

Bob’s hobbies include skiing, raising orchids, and Musky fishing. In a previous life, he maintained a SCCA Professional Racing license, an IMSA License, a F.I.A International License, and high performance driving instructor.