The Cerritos Auto Square is an automobile retail center located in the city of Cerritos, California. Cerritos Auto Square states that it is the largest auto mall in the world with 29 import and domestic marques.
In 1979, the Cerritos Redevelopment Agency began work on the improvement of Studebaker Road, and in October of that year, S & J Chevrolet broke ground for the first auto dealership in the Cerritos Auto Square, directly west of Interstate 605 and the Los Cerritos Center, between 183rd and South streets. Eventually it would be joined by other dealerships in buildings that featured a distinctive "New Orleans" style. [1]
One of the first business locations in Cerritos was the General Telephone Company's service yard, replacing a turkey ranch on the northwest corner of Studebaker Road and 183rd Street. In 1988, the Los Cerritos Redevelopment Agency purchased the 8.5 acres (34,000 m2) and made $1.2 million in improvements, including road improvements, landscaped medians and parkways, rocky waterfalls, and decorative street lights. The site was soon the new home of Moothart Chrysler-Plymouth and Victory Pontiac-GMC. A few years later, a Saturn dealer was added to make twenty-two dealer franchises in the Cerritos Auto Square. [2]
Today, the Cerritos Auto Square provides the city of Cerritos with approximately $12 million a year in sales tax, and is its single largest source of revenue. In 2006, the Auto Square sold 48,241 automobiles, totaling over $1.1 billion in sales, or half of the total retail sales in the city. [3]