Phil Long Family of Dealerships is the community leader it is today -from Raton, NM, to Glenwood Springs, CO - because of two men.
Those men, Philip Long and Jay Cimino, were friends and partners whose vision, business acumen, and generosity shaped local communities across the region.
Philip Long's story began in 1918 in Ponca City, Oklahoma, where he lived until the eighth grade. He spent his high school years at Principia Academy and college at Principia College in Missouri, graduating in 1940. After just one year of law school at the University of Michigan, Mr. Long enlisted in the United States Navy.
World War II was raging, and in 1942, Mr. Long mastered his training as a Hellcat fighter pilot in the South Pacific. He successfully flew 120 missions from the USS Enterprise, the most decorated ship of this era. He was also shot down twice.
The USS Enterprise and Task Force 58 spent nearly a month in the Mariana Islands, preparing for and supporting the Saipan landings on June 15, 1944, striking targets on Guam and Rota, and engaging in the most significant carrier aircraft battle in history: the Battle of the Philippine Sea, 19-20 June 1944. The USS Enterprise played a significant role in the battle: her Combat Information Center (CIC) directed much of the action during the "Turkey Shoot" on the 19th, while an Air Group Ten search was the first to locate the Japanese Fleet on the afternoon of the 20th. During this campaign, Task Force 58 was attacked in successive waves by aircraft from the Japanese Fleet. Lt. Commander M.P. Long and the USS Enterprise Hellcat (task force) fighters joined the Combat Air Patrol in intercepting the Japanese attacks and bombing Orote Airfield on Guam. Throughout the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Task Force Fighters carried out strikes on Guam and the Pagan Islands, neutralizing enemy airfields and destroying defense guns and military installations.
Because of these successful and dangerous missions, Phil Long became a highly decorated soldier. He received the Air Medal and Gold Star award for multiple meritorious achievements and heroic acts during aerial flight. He also earned the Navy and Marine Presidential Unit Citation for gallantry, determination, and esprit de corps in accomplishing a mission under challenging and hazardous conditions. In September 1945, Mr. Long was honorably discharged at the rank of lieutenant commander.
One month later, he and R. Doenges purchased Vollmer Brothers Ford and changed the name to Doenges-Long Ford - beginning more than a half-century legacy of car dealerships. By 1964,
he bought out Doenges, changed the name to Phil Long Ford Inc., and moved the dealership to what is now known as Motor City in Colorado Springs. In 1975, Philip Long brought in Jay Cimino as his partner, general manager, and, eventually, company CEO.
Mr. Cimino's story begins in 1936. Born and raised in Trinidad, Colorado, he spent his high school years in parochial school, where he excelled in football, baseball, and track & field. After graduating in 1954, Jay Cimino joined the Marine Corps, where he served in the military police and was known throughout his company as a "jack of all trades."
