Old Car Dealers in the Detroit Area

[lpg]

North Brothers Ford was at Fort and Cicotte in Lincoln Park. I remember going there with my parents when they purchased a new 1957 Ford Fairlane 500. The repair garage was located where Auto Zone is now. The other showroom was where the Lincoln Park Post Office is now. The post office stored plastic bins in the repair building after the dealership moved. Some kids got into the building and shot off fireworks and set fire to hundreds of those bins. It turned into a major fire.

[reddog289]

Funny thing I was thinking about North Bros Ford today. Was having my truck fixed there and was in the lobby reading about the history of the dealership.There was is a ghost sign on the side of the wall of their old building in Garden City.
I was also wondering about the Armstrong Buick that Shovelhead mentioned. Was that the one that ended up on PlymouthRd in Livonia?

[shovelhead]

Same Armstrong Buick.

Ellsworth Ford, wasn't that the dealer in Garden City before North Bros.?
My late uncle worked there as a tech in the 50's, later for North Bros., then as Service Manager. IIRC, he went to Crestwood Dodge in the mid 60's, then by '67 to Gorno Bros. Ford. Retired in about '75.

[reddog289]

With the Armstrong Buick question answered, I am throwing this out there. As in the case of Armstrong Buick , I belive they were Livonia Buick for a while before John Rogin bought the building. With dealers like Taylor Ford and Taylor Chevy Are they named after there cities for a reason such as GM or Ford ended up with them or because the "new owners" just decided that?. I miss the old Ray Whitfield Ford and Walt Lazar Chevrolet commercials

[econ expat]

Livonia Buick was operated by Poe [[minority dealer group that also had the former Dexter Chevrolet) for awhile.
Generic Dealer names- Chrysler has done this for a long time, GM and Ford try to do same- prefer not to have owner's names on the dealership.One of the 'ideas' Saturn used was to name dealerships by location rather than owners, like Toyota and Honda.
Taylor Chevrolet- I had heard that this dealership was also backed by GM, 'sold' to a minority dealer start up. It's probably part of the agreement that GM picks the name of the dealership?
Palmer Pontiac was mentioned- there was no 'Mr or Ms Palmer' operating that dealership either. When Porterfield Wilson's estate signed off, GM took back the dealership. Named it after somewhat nearby Palmer Park. The 'dealer' [[babysitter for GM until a buyer could be found) was Don McIntyre of Superior Pontiac.
And... lots of dealerships keep the same name long after the original owner is gone anyways.