The Dobbs name carries more than a century of experience in the car business. It started in 1921, when James K. Dobbs took out a $25,000 loan and opened his first Ford dealership with business partner Horace Hull. That dealership grew into the country's first national dealership chain, with more than 60 locations, and by 1998, the Dobbs Automotive Group had become the third-largest auto retailer in the nation.