Looking to interview car dealers/salespeople active anytime during the 1950s-70s

[HarryEvans]

I'm writing a series of articles and I'm looking to interview anyone involved in a car dealership from the 1950s to the 1970s; salespeople, owners, mechanics, etc. It may not be you, but maybe a friend or relative? If you know anyone who might be able to tell some stories, answer a few questions, I'd love to hear from you. Send me a PM and we'll arrange things from there.
Thanks!

 

[Alex Snyder]

What is the article about? Give us a few more details before we give our grandfathers up!

 

[HarryEvans]

What is the article about? Give us a few more details before we give our grandfathers up!

Hi Alex,
The articles will be about the challenges of selling one-year only models, when vehicles changed styles drastically from one year to the next and previous models rapidly became outdated. I'm looking for insight into any type of dealers, GM, Ford, Chrysler and the independents, and then information about the ordering process and trade-ins during those times. Any anecdotes, memories, unusual customers etc would be wonderful. Challenges, solutions, thoughts about the companies themselves in those times, it would all be important. I understand that these are valuable insights that will help us to better understand the history behind the classic cars we cherish today, but the cars are simply objects - only the people involved can tell the stories.

If you know of anyone who would be willing to chat, it would be greatly appreciated. Anyone involved would receive copies of the printed version, and I'm happy to share the copy before publication so that everyone feels comfortable, but it's purely an insight into that time period. I would like to capture this information before it's too late.

thanks
Harry

 

[Alex Snyder]

Thanks Harry - if my grandfather (founder of the Checkered Flag Auto Group) were still alive, I'd connect you two.

He had some phenomenal stories about trying to sell 1960s British cars when they were breaking and getting laughed at for picking up "dumb little Japanese cars" like Honda and Toyota in the middle of a Navy town (Norfolk, VA) with so many WWII veterans around.

 

[NIOMARVIN83]

Harry Evans is writing articles about the car dealership industry from the 1950s to the 1970s and is looking to interview people who were involved, like salespeople, owners, or mechanics. He's interested in stories about selling cars that were only made for one year and quickly became outdated as new models were introduced each year. Harry wants to learn about the challenges these dealers faced, how they handled orders and trade-ins, and any memorable customers or events. If you know someone who might have insights or anecdotes from that time, Harry would appreciate hearing from them. He promises to share the articles with those interviewed before publication to ensure they're portrayed accurately.

 

[jscole86]

Harry Evans is writing articles about the car dealership industry from the 1950s to the 1970s and is looking to interview people who were involved, like salespeople, owners, or mechanics. He's interested in stories about selling cars that were only made for one year and quickly became outdated as new models were introduced each year. Harry wants to learn about the challenges these dealers faced, how they handled orders and trade-ins, and any memorable customers or events. If you know someone who might have insights or anecdotes from that time, Harry would appreciate hearing from them. He promises to share the articles with those interviewed before publication to ensure they're portrayed accurately.

thanks for the clarification...

 

[ryan.leslie]

Will you post your article here when you finish it @HarryEvans? I'd like to read it.

Unrelated, but can you imagine the articles AI will write in 2065 about selling through COVID?

 

[Carsten]

Necro post brought back to life by a bot.

 

[ryan.leslie]

Necro post brought back to life by a bot.

It's been a couple of years now... that article should be close to finished.

Good catch @Carsten. They got me this time. I didn't even look at the dates.

 

[Alex Snyder]

We've allowed @NIOMARVIN83 to post this kind of stuff too long. He's been given a short period of time to give us a reason to allow him to stay on DealerRefresh.