Old Car Dealers in the Detroit Area

[shovelhead]

I have a couple to add.
Krause Brothers Chrysler /Plymouth on Schaefer and Puritan
Also there was a dealership in Mcnichols, just west of Schaefer it was a Kaiser Fraser dealership then it became a Studebaker dealership then it turned into a sports trophy saleroom. Can't remember the two names of the dealers though?? Maybe someone can come up with the names??
Coon Brothers Nash on Telegraph and Plymouth
Gene Merollis Chevy , I think was on Joy Rd. west of Southfield. Great commercial

Gene Merollis Chevrolet was at 31850 Ford Rd.in Garden City, about a block west of Merriman. I was there for seven months in '73.

South Lyon had a Chevrolet dealer on Pontiac Trail, now Tenpenny Furniture. West out in the late 60's/early 70's. Can't remember the name though.
The old Bili Root/Roger Peck Chevrolet showroom was on Grand River across from the Burger King in Farmington. Erhard BMW was there in the early 70's.
But earlier than that, in the summer of 1970 a new Oldsmobile dealership opened. It replaced Pioneer Oldsmobile which is now a shoe store on the north side of Grand River in downtown Farmington.

Unfortunately, they did not last long. Best Oldsmobile. The GM strike came along, you know the rest of the story. In fact, for awhile the only car on the showroom floor was a model car.

Keego Harbor had a Pontiac dealer on the north side of Orchard Lake Road. Closed in the early 70's. Their claim to fame was the parts department was open 24/7/365. Went once on Thankgiving night to get a set of points for my Chevy. Had to, quit on the road.

An earlier post asked about the Buick dealer at the Lodge/7 Mile. Morris Buick, the last incarnation was Prat Buick in the late 80's. Near Woodruff Oldsmobile and Gene Bell Chevrolet. Woodruff closed in about 1990, I worked the termination invertory in there. There was a basement there, flooded with about a foot or two of water. Gene Bell, not sure when they closed, they were still around when I left Michigan in '79.

[douglasm]

Today's dumb question. Does Falvey Motors [[sp?) in Ferndale still exist? They were Detroit's BMC dealership, and also had a VW store on Woodward near 8 Mile.

[econ expat]

Today's dumb question. Does Falvey Motors [[sp?) in Ferndale still exist? They were Detroit's BMC dealership, and also had a VW store on Woodward near 8 Mile.

Doesn't seem like a dumb question. Until recently, dealers slipped away quietly and almost forgotten. Mergers, bankruptcy, expansion, etc.

The VW dealership on the east side of Woodward in Ferndale became a Honda dealership maybe late 80's. That Honda dealership was not owned by Falvey's though- at the time the Honda dealership was relocated from Livernois [[Porterfield Wilson)- it was owned by Porterfield Wilson's widow.

Falvey Motors ended up in Troy, in the motor mall. "In the shadow of VW Headquarters so we have to excel". That VW franchise eventually ended up being owned by Suburban. The VW building was also a Jaguar dealership, now owned by Elder family/ Troy Ford.

There are no more Falvey dealerships around Detroit.

[jgavrile]

Shovelhead, yea I stand corrected on Merollis. But there was some Chevy dealer on Joy rd. That I can remember in the 60's????

[jgavrile]

There use to be a Buick dealer on Hamilton , near Glendale in Highland Park. Can't remember the name though

[jgavrile]

A few other dealership names;
Gib Bergstrom--maybe a Ford dealer?
Cliff Cannon Ford --Woodward & Glendale
Charlie's Olsmobile Cadillac
J.B. Cote Ford-- Woodward & Virginia Park

[reddog289]

So much for my time on the computer, This has brought up the fact I need to get the scanner running. Matick Chevy in the Topps building, Paul McGlone Chevy which I belive became Matick, as for Wayne car dealers I have never heard of an Edsel Dealer here in Wayne , Yet I hear that the Wayne Sew & Vac was a Studebaker Dealer at one time.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Does anyone have any pictures or memorbilia from Taylor Chevrolet in Walled Lake? my 1963 Chevy II came from there, still has the sticker in the glovebox and I have the warrenty/maintenance coupon book that was in the glovebox when I bought the car in 1980 [[for $100).

Funny you mention that 63 Chevy II, I was driving down Farmington Rd about 2 days ago and saw one identical to the one in your picture, parked in a driveway. That was some deal for $100.00, looks clean as a whistle.

[catch22]

So much for my time on the computer, This has brought up the fact I need to get the scanner running. Matick Chevy in the Topps building, Paul McGlone Chevy which I belive became Matick, as for Wayne car dealers I have never heard of an Edsel Dealer here in Wayne , Yet I hear that the Wayne Sew & Vac was a Studebaker Dealer at one time.

Wayne's Edsel dealer [[such as it was) occupied the small building on the east side of Wayne Road just north of Glenwood. It was previously a used car lot [[and became one again for a while once Edsel disappeared). It was owned by Spitler-Demmer. Probably was only a sales office, with service done at the Ford dealership. I do remember the Edsel signage out front.

[jgavrile]

I remember an Edsel dealer on Woodward ,somewhere South of Boston Blvd. Maybe down near Grand Blvd?? Anyone recall that?

[dharma4313]

My earliest memories include black-and-white TV cartoon commercials, the Blatz one with the smartly-marching keg, bottle, and can. And this one: "Get on the right track, to Nine-Mile and Mack, Roy O'Brian will blaaah-blah-blah-blaaah". But, after googling it, I guess this is well-plowed ground.

[reddog289]

Thanks for the info Catch, Had to picture that corner.The Edsel dealer would have been in front of the old Washington School.
As for the Matick/McGlone Chevy site. I google mapped it and indeed it was a chunk of property on Joy rd. That was my boundary on my bike when I was little. My Grandmother moved out of that area in 79 and the Chevy dealer had moved by then.

[jackie5275]

I remember Zubor Buick being in Lincoln Park at Dix & Southfield. Now it's a Kroger. Does anyone remember the used car dealer Don Foss? "Your job is your credit". He seemed to be white hot for about an 18 month period, did alot of expansion, then seemed to vanish.

[Ronjm23]

I too remember Walker Buick in Lincoln Park. That was where i bought my 1st brand new car, 1968 GS400 Skylark. That baby could move. Wish that I had it now.

[Ronjm23]

I also remember Noth Brothers Ford in Lincoln Park. Bought my 1st muscle car there in 1965. It was a red 1962 Pontiac Catalina convertible, 389 tri-power 3 speed stick floor mounted Hurst shifter. Got about 12-15 mpg but boy could it fry tires. I recall after I picked up the car good old North Bros had about 1/2 gallon of gas in the tank. I did not make it to the 1st station before it ran out.

[douchy]

I swear that the Sunshine Honda dealer that was across from Lees Famous Chicken in Plymouth was a AMC dealer at one time. Ive been going to Lees since I was a kid back in the early 80s and remember that dealer selling Renaults along with AMCs. Back about when the LeCar came out.

[red-ryder]

a.s. poole plymouth/ desoto wayne

ALSO...... beglinger oldsmobile became beglinger-massey olds/ cadillac.
then don massey cadillac.................[ i've got more info on don massey that i'll add later]

[catch22]

A few more in Wayne, the Dodge dealer on westbound Michigan Ave, in front of Dynamite Park. Its now a church. John Rogin Buick was at the corner of East Michigan and Wayne Rd.

Was Action Olds on Plymouth in Livonia?

The Dodge dealer was Ed Carpenter. I think they were on Ford Road in Dearborn Heights before that [[between Gulley & Telegraph - it's now a Discount Tire store).

Action Olds was on the north side of Plymouth just west of Farmington. The building is currently empty except that Hertz car rental occupies their former used car lot.

[catch22]

I remember Zubor Buick being in Lincoln Park at Dix & Southfield. Now it's a Kroger. Does anyone remember the used car dealer Don Foss? "Your job is your credit". He seemed to be white hot for about an 18 month period, did alot of expansion, then seemed to vanish.

Yeah, they seemed to be all over for a while. Don't know what happened to them. There was a Foss store in Redford on the north side of Grand River a couple blocks west of the old Redford Hospital. Google street view shows that it's still a used car dealer of some kind.

[shovelhead]

Shovelhead, yea I stand corrected on Merollis. But there was some Chevy dealer on Joy rd. That I can remember in the 60's????

That was George Matick, before the Redford Township move.

The Don Foss location on Grand River at one time Sellgren, then Denton, then Stella Buick. They moved in the late 70's to Grand River @ Ten Mile in Farmington Hills across from Bob Sellers. Built on a hill overlooking Grand River. The site of the Wixom Tavern, later Halsted's Orchards as that corner was all apple trees. I lived near there from '59 to '70.

[econ expat]

I swear that the Sunshine Honda dealer that was across from Lees Famous Chicken in Plymouth was a AMC dealer at one time. Ive been going to Lees since I was a kid back in the early 80s and remember that dealer selling Renaults along with AMCs. Back about when the LeCar came out.

Good memory.
I think that corner was Fiesta AMC before Sunshine Honda
Mid 80's when Alliance was a hot seller for the high MPG all the smaller AMC/Renault dealers disappeared..

[econ expat]

Action Olds was on the north side of Plymouth just west of Farmington. The building is currently empty except that Hertz car rental occupies their former used car lot.

Ironic twist
Up till mid-80's Action Olds tried to buy out Olson Olds in Old Redford, Olds were hot sellers and Action held onto their territory!

Then Action invested big in selling Yugos, Isuzu trucks, and part ownership of Vixen motor homes. Must have lost big $, Olson ended up buying Action instead.And perhaps got the cash out with the end of Oldsmobile. They were probably selling way more Nissans than Olds the last few years there.

Must have been tough for Olson's business at the end- it was public knowledge the building[[not business) was listed for sale, for a couple years before they closed.

[Detroitej72]

From the Hall Of Fame Threads, my original post:

I don't think this has been covered on an exclusive thread, so I thought I'd start one. Can anyone provide info on dealerships that used to be scattered around the city. I remember Raynal Brothers Dodge & Plymouth on Chalmers at Harper. The sign used to say since 1925 and they closed sometime in the early 80's. Now the Dodge showroom is a custom car shop and the Plymouth is Focus:Hope. The east side also had Dick Green Chrysler on Gratiot, Ver Hoven Chevrolet at 6/ Van Dyke, Jerry Mikowski Buike on Harper near Whittier. There also was George Bente on Jefferson where the powerhouse gym is now. I can't remember for the life of me what he sold, I think it was Pontiac? I remember on west Eight Mile Charles Harrel Chevy, only because he bought one of the Fisher Mansions in Palmer Woods only to have it burn down. I recall it caused some to raise an eyebrow because he made out like a bandit on the huge insurance policy on the home. His dealership closed shortly after and he moved to Chicago.

Anyone else have memories of dealerships in Detroit? Also if you could say what happened to them.
Also any info on Ed Davis, the nation's first black new car dealer? What was the location of his Chrysler dealership?

[MikeM]

You might have missed it, but the second response after your question was from Viziondetroit:

the location of the Ed Davis dealership is at Sexter and Elmhurst. It is owned by the State of Michigan and is a community center. I worked there in 2002 and even though they made some mods on the inside, you can still tell what was there and so forth like the service dept, show room etc. The lots are still outside where the cars used to sit. The building is in very good condition and serves the community well.

He spelled Dexter incorrectly, but it was at the southwest cornr of Dexter and Elmhurst. Then just beyond halfway down the first page, I posted a scan of his Yellow Pages ad, after Ryanal and Dick Green.

[Detroitej72]

I posted a scan of his Yellow Pages ad, after Ryanal and Dick Green.

Any info about Ryanal Brothers and/ or Dick Green Chrysler Plymouth?