When Teddy Morse called to confirm his deal closed, I didn't expect him to hang up on me.
(Sort of). And he didn't expect me to mention death.
See, Morse stepped into the top leadership role at Ed Morse Automotive Group a decade ago this month, after his father died on July 19, 2016.
So, I asked about the milestone, to which he replied, "I hadn't even thought about that,” before asking for a beat.
From there: Morse cut the call, walked the lot, thanked his staff, then we resumed.
Now 51, he told CDG News he remembered feeling "absolutely beeping terrified" back then.
"I wasn't supposed to take over that soon,” Morse said. “My dad wasn't supposed to die at 66 years old."
Teddy Morse
Ed Morse
Automotive Group
Since becoming CEO, Morse has grown the company that his grandfather founded in 1946 from 14 dealerships to 61 automotive and powersports stores in nine states.
Driving the news: That tally includes the aforementioned acquisition of Mercedes-Benz of Billings in Montana, which Ed Morse Automotive purchased today (July 8) from DMN Holdings.
For context: The name will remain, and the deal adds a third luxury brand and seventh luxury store to the group’s growing portfolio.
"What I liked about this dealership, first and foremost, is the Mercedes brand,” Morse said. “I mean, their tagline says it all: ‘The best or nothing.’”
Until April, when they acquired a Porsche dealership, Cadillac was the group’s only luxury nameplate.
“With the addition of Mercedes, we're truly becoming a group that sells everything,” Morse said.
Places, please: With a population exceeding 121,000, Billings is the state’s largest city and sits between the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains.
That’s east of the Chief Joseph Ranch in Darby, Montana, now known for its popular role portraying the Dutton Ranch in Yellowstone.
Morse, a well-traveled pop culture buff, likes the show, and even once attended a charity event that involved Yellowstone actor Cole Hauser (who plays Rip) in Montana.
He hadn’t been to Billings until this deal came up, though.
Overall, the South Florida native said he loves the West, adding that visiting there “makes his spirit feel complete.”
BSYCBM: Morse said learning to trust himself is the biggest lesson he’s learned the past 10 years.
And, he remembers when it happened.
After the group successfully completed the first purchases under his leadership in Dallas in 2019, he started to feel more comfortable.
And on Jan. 15, 2020, he made it a permanent memory with a neck tattoo of the acronym “BSYCBM,” a nod to a quote that Tom Cruise’s Maverick says to the late Val Kilmer’s Iceman in the original Top Gun.
After a clutch battle scene, Iceman tells Maverick that he can be his wingman anytime.
“Bullshit, you can be mine,” Maverick replies.
Before Dallas, Morse realized he almost felt like a wingman for his father’s and grandfather’s legacies, often wondering how they would have handled different situations.
“I finally realized that what they would have done didn't matter, because they're not here anymore,” Morse said. “But you can only do that if you gain confidence in yourself.”
Growth mode: Morse said the group added 49 automotive dealerships since 2019. It bought nine stores in 2023, and at least eight in 2024, including its seven-store purchase in Sierra Vista, Arizona.
(That’s near Tombstone, the historical city portrayed in the film of the same name, another culture connection that Morse digs.)
The group stayed quiet on the acquisition front last year.
“After the big purchase we made in Arizona, we made a conscious decision not to buy any more stores in ‘25,” Morse said. “We needed to wrap our arms around everything we'd bought, because we had grown so fast.”
He said the purchases helped boost net profit by 23% year over year, from 2024-25.
Most recently, Ed Morse acquired a Stellantis store in Missouri on April 27, weeks after purchasing the Porsche dealership.
They expect at least one more closing by year’s end.
Morse also created Teddy Morse’s Moto Co. (TMMC), an umbrella for his nine powersports stores, six of which sell Harley-Davidson.
(Which the avid rider insists needs its own category.)
Looking ahead: Morse doesn't have a specific store count in mind. He just wants to keep growing in size and teammates, so he can keep taking care of his people.
"I want to be the largest privately held dealer in America," Morse said. "When people ask me, 'How many stores do I want?' I want more."
His team helped capture that mindset when crafting the anniversary year slogan: Some people say 80 years is a legacy. We say it's just the beginning.
You can see this deal announcement and many more throughout the entire year by visiting the CDG Buy/Sell tracker at CDGbuysell.com, presented by Presidio.
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