Dunlap’s Oldsmobile, Ames, IA.
Walz Oldsmobile, Alton, IL.
Pontchartrain Motor Co., New Orleans, LA.
Al Fink Oldsmobile, Nanticoke, PA.
1958 Olds (and Cadillac) in the showroom.
Mossy Oldsmobile, New Orleans, LA.
Logan Oldsmobile, Portland, OR.
Stafford Oldsmobile, Company Inc.
Charlie Stuart Oldsmobile, Indianapolis, IN.
The dealership in New Orleans, Pontchartrain, is one gorgeous dealership. As for the dealership in Nanticoke – WOW! The buyer is taking delivery of an Olds 98 with factory Air Conditioning! Fun photos including the one iwth an old International pickup in front and another with a 1949 Plymouth across the street from the Olds dealership.
Yes, especially so far north, and in the 50’s…it was undoubtedly an expensive option and considering Nanticoke’s location (though A/C of course helps with defrosting in the winter) a bit unusual back then even in a luxury car.
My Dad’s family lived just north of Nanticoke, also in the coal belt (Grandfather on Mom’s side died of miner’s asthma back in ’66). He had 2 spinster aunts who lived on the family homestead that shared a car going back to the 30’s…probably the first cars in the family, they seemed to always buy an Oldsmobile from the same dealership. His brother bought their ’62 Olds F85 after the surviving aunt bought a new ’98 in ’69. He reported that the dealership had sold them the car with the largest engine (maybe a 330 V8?) which he described as being so powerful it was hard to keep from driving it up on the sidewalk…they lived in an urban area with narrow roads that made up most of their driving.
My Dad’s only Oldsmobile was a ’65 F85 wagon he bought new in South Burlington Vt. at Val Preda’s after his ’63 AMC Rambler Classic wagon was totalled outside our motel room in Catonsville, Md. We were in the process of moving to Burlington from Catonsville when it happend, somehow he got up to start his new job and bought the Olds nearby the location we moved to.
Seen with today’s eyes, it is fascinating how inconsistent the dealer’s appearance was in terms of lettering and signage. No brand identity recognizable. Not just here.
Agreed, except for the rockets on the roof of two dealerships. That was brand identity.
There may not have been recognizable branding in these photos, but growing up in the burbs way back then it seemed most people knew the local dealers, brands, and locations.
There weren’t as many back then and by in large they had the same owners and salesmen for years upon years. They had their reputation and image to maintain. (My parents bought three Pontiacs from the same dealer/ salesman). Many were inolved in their community; cars for driver’s ed classes, community events, etc.
Today’s dealers…well…it is easy to distinguish a Ford from a Chevy dealer.
My town of 15 years, came for college and never left. You can read more about Dunlap Motors here: https://ameshistory.org/content/dunlap-motors
Ransom Eli would have loved seeing these thriving dealerships for his merry Oldsmobile. I always believed part of Oldsmobiles decline was the name OLD, in a youth oriented market. Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile and YOUNGMOBILE seemed to emphasize Oldsmobiles attempts to draw younger people. Unfortunately, Oldsmobile and Pontiac are long gone. Buick and Cadillac are focused on SUVS. 🤮. As Archie and Edith sang, Those WERE the days.
Charlie Stewart Oldsmobile was at 1510 N. Meridian Street in Indianapolis, and claimed to be Indiana’s biggest Olds dealer in the mid 60’s. He had also been one of the largest Studebaker dealers in the country before he diversified to Oldsmobile.
Pontchartrain Motors – what did they do on the second floor of those buildings? Was it used for offices, storage, or for service bays?
We had a dealer in downtown Toronto that had its service bays up on the second floor in a similar looking building. It was a pretty severe angle to drive up to get up to the second floor.
It varied. I’ve seen pictures where the upstairs was used for storing inventory cars and parts. And as you noted some had service bays. Most of these buildings like this had very strong concrete floors so it could be used in multiple ways.
The Walz Oldsmobile franchise pictured here was actually in Alton, Illinois rather than Minnesota. Evidently there was a Walz Oldsmobile in Winona, MN as well, but this is another dealership.
Below is a then-and-now comparison of the location. At some point the glass was covered with wood siding (likely during one of the energy crises). The building is currently used by some kind of service facility.
Google StreetView link here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/ddJbx6yQJA9i2ph59
Oh Lord ! How much better it looked then !
Thanks Eric! The location has been updated.
Love those old showrooms with the large glass windows to show off the product best .
Hard to choose just one of the many lovelies presented .
-Nate
GM seemed to have ignored their brand’s legacies and heritages, except to give stylists a direction for retro designs. There was value in defunct brands that weren’t used. Oldsmobile actually shunned their heritage as it went downhill. Their communications and marketing people were idiots who were clueless about the brand’s legacy and ignored it for the next shiny thing. These fools flush 100 years of branding because they couldn’t figure out how to market it. There was a place in GM’s line up for an Oldsmobile. Perhaps not as a line of GM knock-offs, which weren’t really Oldsmobiles, but as an awesome vehicle/s that captured buyers who valued the quality and style the Olds brand represented.
” There was a place in GM’s line up for an Oldsmobile. Perhaps not as a line of GM knock-offs, which weren’t really Oldsmobiles, but as an awesome vehicle/s that captured buyers who valued the quality and style the Olds brand represented.I
An interesting thought that I can relate to. Something like an American Volvo, perhaps?
BUT: The development of such products would have cost money. So the shareholder’s rate of profit would have been reduced. So not GM’s thing…
Have owned many years of Olds from 1936 to 1977. Every one of them was a great car, they nearly always had some of the best drivetrains and styling produced by GM.
Our local dealer was Stu Berger Olds on York Rd. Every Fall I rode my bike there to look at the new cars on the lot, and from the time in ’65 I saw a new Burgundy red ’66 Toronado in their showroom, and even picked up a little promo record narrated by John “Shorty” Powers of NASA introducing the Toro and Delta 88s, Olds became my favorite brand. When our next-door neighbor on Piccadilly Rd got a new Delta 88 coupe in gunmetal blue metallic with a huge 425 engine which Mr A. showed me, I spent hours just looking at that big beautiful car. It’s been a long time ago but Olds still is, and will always be, my favorite automotive brand… RIP.
Here’s a then-and-now comparison of the Dunlap’s Oldsmobile site in Ames, Iowa. The main building is now covered in aluminum siding – the secondary building is still original, but both are still standing. These buildings were built in the 1920s as a Chevrolet dealership – Dunlap’s Oldsmobile moved there in 1939 (Cadillac was added in 1948) and continued in business until 1970 when the Dunlap family sold the franchise.
Google StreetView link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/29coZ9rmucrXtEcv9
Was the brickwork on the side of the building redone? Usually when windows are reduced in size or removed altogether you can still make out the size and shape of the original, larger windows, but I can’t in the current photo. It’s sometimes concealed by painting over the masonry, but that doesn’t look to be the case here, with some bricks darker or lighter than others.
You can see the filled-in brickwork a bit better in some of the other StreetView shots – just comes out better in certain lighting, especially since it seems the bricks have been painted. The image below is from the 2017 SV image, and I’ve increased the contrast a lot too, which brings out the difference in the brick patterns:
Another interesting detail about the side of this building that I just noticed is that the same floodlights are still there – and it looks like no one’s touched them in the last 70 years:
The lamp whose inside can be seen appears to be missing a light bulb; if the wiring and lamp socket are in good shape it could be easily retrofitted with an LED which would bring better energy efficiency, brightness, and color rendering than it had originally. May need to remove a ballast. I’ve seen quite a few places with really old outdoor security lighting; oftentimes if it works, nobody will think to change it since it isn’t decorative
The one in “Nanticoke PN”; possibly “PA”?
Yes, a typo. Fixed now.
Walz Oldsmobile reminds me of the plastic Matchbox service station introduced in the early 60s.
Shame the old dealerships style was ruined in the make over pictured above.
These dealership series are great throwbacks, as are the random roadside pics. Great work!
I thought the Caddy blended in fairly well with the ’58 Oldsmobiles.
Replace the oversize signage with something more subtle and contemporary, and Logan Oldsmobile could still serve as a nice, up-to-date-looking showroom building today.
Love the dark VW bus at Charlie Stuart which is a 15- or 23-window deluxe model.
Also gotta love that IH cornbinder parked out front.
The building no longer has the signage, and it’s a very large antique store now (or was the last time I was by there).
The gray 1952 98 olds with a white top on Walz showroom is (was) a beautiful shade of gray…but must
painted this shade of gray had a black top.