New ’67s in the showroom at East Hartford, CT.
Luckenbaugh Chevrolet, Spring Grove, PA.
Bobb Chevrolet, Columbus, OH.
Commonwealth Chevrolet, Boston, MA.
Belmont Chevrolet-Oldsmobile, Toronto, Ontario.
The 1963 models have arrived.
Stowell Chevrolet, Rutland, VT.
Rick Hendrick City Chevrolet, Charlotte, NC.
Just Chevrolet, Delano, CA.
Tom Henry Chevrolet, Bakerstown, PA.
Mallory Chevrolet, Clatskanie, OR.
Courtesy Chevrolet, Phoenix, AZ.
Not the best day for a promo pic in Clatskanie. Easy Terms, bring your own snow shovel!
I bet the parts and service people at Commonwealth Chevrolet were just thrilled to deal with the trickle of MG and Austin-Healey customers.
In the lot full of 1963 Trucks, I noticed a brand new for that year E-80 with a 6V-53 detroit diesel.
Yes it is an E-80. Actually I think 1962 was the first year but the E-80 and U-80 Tilt Cab 6V-53 trucks may have been late introductions.
Thanks for the reply, I wasn’t sure 62 or 63.
GMC would list it as a B series, hauled hay with a guy who’s rig was powered by a 6-71. Looks like a C60 against the building.
Saw that C-60. Saw the stacks on the E80 right off. I didn’t even know that Chevy made this type of truck. Of course, my brother’s had the GMC version and a Ford N600 If I got the number correct? The driver’s side stack is camo’d by the brush in the background. In the Rutland VT pic there is a flat bed on the left, looks like a toolbox up against the headboard. Rained all day.
First pic –“The new 67’s are in and they already leak”
I always wondered, did a dealership make more money from new cars sales or from the used car lot?
As for parts and service, were they profit centers or just tolerated as part of the franchise agreement.
Lots of dynamics in running a dealership.
At a well run dealer, parts and service were certainly profit centers, at least back when. Cars in those days needed a lot more maintenance, and a dealer who ran an honest shop stood to get a lot of that business after the warranty expired.
I don’t know how used cars did relative to new, but it was an important way to get new customers in the door and eventually sell them a new vehicle. Lots of people made purchase decisions based on trade in value as well. My Dad was the fleet and lease manager at our local Chev-Olds emporium and worked closely with the used car manager to deal with lease returns, usually the cream of the used car crop. The dealership did well for many years, though it declined after the principal brought in an MBA to run the place who replaced all the seasoned pros with hard charging young guys who would cheat their mothers!
These days dealerships all seem to be part of a network or syndicate, but at the time these photos were taken most were owned by local families. If you didn’t treat the customer right you generally didn’t last long.There were a lot of dynamics to running a dealership, but if you did it right (and had the right product) you could do quite well.
Lots of great shots here!
In the 00’s my Father sat on a then community college board and one of the other board members owned the Honda dealership, that I believe was the largest in the state at the time. He told my dad he made 110% of his profit from the service department.
A guy I worked with in the 90’s, who had came from sales at a new car dealer, said that the used cars had a much higher margin, as long as you buy them right.
Now during the pandemic when many dealers were putting on ADP stickers of $5-10k or more, I’m pretty sure the new side was quite profitable.
Second Photo: Luckenbaugh Chevrolet, Spring Grove, PA
What car is the lady with a purse standing in from off?
Looks like a GM Vauxhall, but can not pin it down.
I think it’s an Opel Rekord.
Hopefully she’s trading it for that Malibu SS next to it.
One of “Darrin and Samantha’s”, rides!
The first picture is Dworin Chevrolet in E. Hartford, I was there when the 68’s came out. A friend went to look at new Chevelle’s, even though there were closer Dealers Dworin had the largest inventory and best prices. I believe the two people are owners Hy and wife Micki. Micki went on to be very well respected and active in the dealership community. She was also the first female owner of a Chevy dealer in the Tarrytown zone in 1975.
If interested, search obituary for Maxine Dworin, owner of Dworin Chevrolet. She had quite a list of accomplishments.
The cars are interesting. The salespeople are more interesting. Many of them really look like the stereotypical car sales guy. (The guy in the last shot is a good example.) Especially when remembering the horror stories about customers being misled/taken advantage of by dealerships (I am 69 years old, I remember a lot of those stories…)
Could be John Candy’s father, eh?
I like the guy leaning on the Chevrolet pick up hood. “Listen bud, knock down a another $200 bucks and I’ll take my arm off this hood.”
More outstanding photos!
The (sales?) guys at Just Chevrolet, appear genuinely contented. Do they already realize their innocent-looking Vega, is a potential reputation-damaging POS?
Courtesy and the sign are still there.
My ‘Tom Henry Chevrolet” is back! That’s the showroom I got my “81 Citation” in.
The original building a short distance away is actually in pretty good shape.
They moved into the ‘spiffy,”new”, facility in “63”.
“Jim Shorky’s, Chevy North” is the name it’s known by now a days.
daysdays..
Showroom no longer faces “Rt 8”.
Interesting, that the Tom Henry dealer showroom picture has a 1970 Monte Carlo in the foreground, but a few cars over is a ’71 El Camino, and the hanging promo signage is touting the “vanishing tailgate” which was a new feature of the ’71 full size wagons. Was my understanding that the ’70 MC sold quite well…. I used to own a ’70 that had a front clip from a ’72 on it; bought and sold many parts from all three years of the first generation (and best IMO) of the Montes.
Not a fan of the recreated movie theatre-like marquee, at Commonwealth Chevrolet.
Kudos for the creative concept, but it adds a busier look, to the dealer facade.
Love the white Corvette in the first pic.
The Valiant Hardtop really stands out at Commonwealth Chevrolet, now that is a photo bomb.
If only the roof was shorter, it could have been beautiful.
My grandmother bought her ‘65 Monza at Tom Henry Chevrolet, and I helped her pick it out. So many memories of that place…
What color was the “Corvair”? “Bakerstown” was a far away place, from “Butler” in those days.
Some of “Kelly Chevy, Cadillac” was being built about the same time as the “Tom Henry”, Rt 8, location. The two dealers are (were) about “11” miles apart. ((on Rt 8))
In Detroit their was Jefferson Chevrolet. They where the #1 Chevy dealership in the 50/60s. They had a salesman named Joe Girard (He wrote a book on selling cars) customers would stand in line to buy a Chevy from him . He still did good in the 70s too
I wish I could go buy one of those light duty ’63 C/10’s…..
-Nate
I had no idea that Rick Hendrick’s dealerships were as old as the sixties. It would have been cool to see a real stock car in the front along with that Camaro. Hendrick dealers have just about any new car you want from what seems like a hundred locations now.