Historic Houston Car Dealers And Repair Shops

[plumber2]

It was probably River Oaks Lincoln Mercury. I saw a nice 88-91 Mercury Grand Marquis last week that still had the River Oaks Lincoln Mercury decal on the trunklid.

Was'nt it called Snelling Mercury at one time. I seem to remember a cougar image on their logos.

[sevfiv]

Yeah, Snelling Motor Co. was at 2955 Kirby which is now Whole Foods (new building). It was also Plaza Lincoln Mercury in the mid 1970s.

[Michelle C]

I mentioned in an earlier post that a lot of dealerships were located on Milam. I did a little checking and found that there were as many as eleven different dealership locations on Milam. Many of those locations were recycled over the years with different names like Central Pontiac later became Frank Gillman.

 

900 Milam Dow Chevrolet

1315  Meador Packard

1320 Jacoby Lincoln Mercury

1410 A. C. Burton Chrysler Plymouth

1613 Great Southwest Dodge and Plymouth

1621 Central Pontiac

1701 Southwest Chevrolet

1920 Douglas Nash

2120 Russell Smith Ford

2200 North Buick

2215 Al Parker Buick

 

 

[IronTiger]

I know one famously defunct 290 car dealership was Lawrence Marshall Hempstead...the road to Houston just never was the same again...

 

There was also Knapp Chevrolet near the Holiday Inn on Interstate 10, that went away during widening.  

[mollusk]

Knapp Chevrolet is still where it's always been, at Houston and Washington Avenues (not that GM didn't try to kill it during the auto industry implosion), and is even building a new showroom that promises to be properly corporately execrable.  The Katy expansion took out what had been Courtesy Chevrolet back ages ago.

[Purpledevil]

He's thinking about Courtesy Chevrolet which was wiped out by the Katy Freeway.

77-77 Ka-ty Free-way. Courtesy Chevrolet, Open Sundays!

[mollusk]

He's thinking about Courtesy Chevrolet which was wiped out by the Katy Freeway.

77-77 Ka-ty Free-way. Courtesy Chevrolet, Open Sundays!

 

Just - west - of - Post - Oak !!!

[Purpledevil]

Haha...hope it doesn't get stuck in your head for the remainder of the day!

...and if it doesn't, this one likely will. Yet another Chevrolet dealership that has graced the Katy Freeway service road for the better part of 40 years:

Westside Chevrolet, Ka-ty Free-way, Peek Road ex-it, Hou-ston. Westside Chevrolet, Ka-ty Free-way, Peek Road ex-it, Hou-ston.

Of course, Westside is still there, but with the death of the Peek Road exit, it was re-written in the song as "Grand Parkway exit, Katy". Now...when did the city limits for Katy change to include Peek Road and Texas 99????

[mollusk]

RICH-ard-son.  Chev-ro-let.  Greatest Dealer in the Great South-west. Richardson Chev-ro-let - Southwest Freeway at Hill-croft.

 

Earworms unite.

[mkultra25]

Haha...hope it doesn't get stuck in your head for the remainder of the day!

...and if it doesn't, this one likely will. Yet another Chevrolet dealership that has graced the Katy Freeway service road for the better part of 40 years:

Westside Chevrolet, Ka-ty Free-way, Peek Road ex-it, Hou-ston. Westside Chevrolet, Ka-ty Free-way, Peek Road ex-it, Hou-ston.

 

 

RICH-ard-son.  Chev-ro-let.  Greatest Dealer in the Great South-west. Richardson Chev-ro-let - Southwest Freeway at Hill-croft.

 

Earworms unite.

 

[mkultra25]

I know one famously defunct 290 car dealership was Lawrence Marshall Hempstead...the road to Houston just never was the same again...

 

"Aigs and Chevrolets are cheaper in the country!"

[Purpledevil]

Lawrence Marshall Chevrolet, we CLOBBER big city prices!

Wasn't "Eggs and Chevrolets are 'cheep'er in the country" the tag line for Buck-Buck-Buckalew Chevrolet in Conroe? You know, "just north of the big city prices"?

They had the little yellow chick that would hatch out of its egg, and start "cheeping", thus tying into the eggs liner?

[mkultra25]

Lawrence Marshall Chevrolet, we CLOBBER big city prices!

Wasn't "Eggs and Chevrolets are 'cheep'er in the country" the tag line for Buck-Buck-Buckalew Chevrolet in Conroe? You know, "just north of the big city prices"?

They had the little yellow chick that would hatch out of its egg, and start "cheeping", thus tying into the eggs liner?

 

Buckalew might have used the line too, but Marshall definitely did. After their abrupt closure, I remember a few comments along the lines of "I guess only eggs are cheaper in the country now".

[IronTiger]

Yeah, the "We CLOBBER big city prices" was popular too (that I remember). They had a pretty sweet spot set up, build a massive car dealership in the middle of nowhere and attract to TWO major metropolitan areas. Too bad the industry caved in. I wonder what they're going to do to the spot as it continues to deteriorate.

[Purpledevil]

Huh. Well, guess both dealerships used it then. Maybe I'm crazy, but I distinctly remember the clucking chick with "Buck-Buck-Buckalew" and would've sworn they used the eggs line. A high school friend of mine had a stepmother whose maiden name was Buckalew and she hated that commercial. I guess that's what made it stick over all these years.

Keeping in the spirit of the thread, has no one noticed that McMahon Chevrolet is being torn down as we speak? You might know it by the more famous/infamous name of Landmark Chevrolet, one of two Bill Heard properties here in Houston. Located on the North Freeway between West Mt. Houston and West Gulf Bank, it was known by many in these parts as "Landshark". Drove by it today, and they have turned the showroom, the used cars building, and the little building to the showroom's direct right, into rubble. They've also stripped the asphalt off the parking lot, all the way down to the dirt. The used truck sales office and lot, across Hidden Valley, remains untouched as of today. The huge garage in back of the showroom is about halfway down, while the body shop is still standing. The two Landmark buildings closest to the Super 8 motel and Moments Cabaret have been fenced off and don't appear to be part of the demolition effort.

If you want to get your last glimpses of it, better hurry. They are bringing it down quick, fast, and in a hurry. I just drove past there on Saturday, and everything was still completely intact.

[mkultra25]

Huh. Well, guess both dealerships used it then. Maybe I'm crazy, but I distinctly remember the clucking chick with "Buck-Buck-Buckalew" and would've sworn they used the eggs line. A high school friend of mine had a stepmother whose maiden name was Buckalew and she hated that commercial. I guess that's what made it stick over all these years.

 

This should look familiar, then:

 

 

Now I'm doubting my recollection, although the ad I remember didn't have the chick, and the "eggs" line was spoken by a guy with what was supposed to be a "country" accent. I can't find it anywhere, after an admittedly cursory search.

 

Keeping in the spirit of the thread, has no one noticed that McMahon Chevrolet is being torn down as we speak? You might know it by the more famous/infamous name of Landmark Chevrolet, one of two Bill Heard properties here in Houston. Located on the North Freeway between West Mt. Houston and West Gulf Bank, it was known by many in these parts as "Landshark". Drove by it today, and they have turned the showroom, the used cars building, and the little building to the showroom's direct right, into rubble. They've also stripped the asphalt off the parking lot, all the way down to the dirt. The used truck sales office and lot, across Hidden Valley, remains untouched as of today. The huge garage in back of the showroom is about halfway down, while the body shop is still standing. The two Landmark buildings closest to the Super 8 motel and Moments Cabaret have been fenced off and don't appear to be part of the demolition effort.

If you want to get your last glimpses of it, better hurry. They are bringing it down quick, fast, and in a hurry. I just drove past there on Saturday, and everything was still completely intact.

End of an era. Up until a week or two ago, I was driving right by that location several times a week. I'll have to go and have a look when I get a chance - my parents live very close by. A John Deere dealership is going up on that site, so they must finally be getting around to site prep for construction. The variance notice has been posted for quite a while on Hidden Valley.

[brhaltx]

The Tomball Bunch.

[Specwriter]

 

End of an era. Up until a week or two ago, I was driving right by that location several times a week. I'll have to go and have a look when I get a chance - my parents live very close by. A John Deere dealership is going up on that site, so they must finally be getting around to site prep for construction. The variance notice has been posted for quite a while on Hidden Valley.

 

Yea! Yea! and YEA!!! My parents also live near the McMahon/Landmark Chevrolet site. If for no other reason than it will lessen the run-off from those acres of paving I am glad to see it go. It was an awful eye-sore too.

 

So a tractor and farm implement dealership is coming in its place. That is interesting. The smaller showroom building immediately next to the motel was originally Magnusson Volkswagen. The owner was a customer of my father's as was the owner of the Datsun (Nissan) dealership across I-45 near Canino.

 

[Purpledevil]

ROFL!!!

YES! I knew I wasn't getting senile! It's been YEARS since I've seen that commercial, mkultra, and many thanks for tracking that down and posting it.

SImply awesome....

[Libbie]

There was an Okay car dealership on the Gulf Freeway (maybe across from Gulfgate?) forever!  But no more. A boy I knew asked me out on a date in about 1967. He picked me up and drove me to Okay Cars, saying that he hadn't budgeted well enough for a movie or a burger, so he just took me to stare at the cars.  He had a great time! I didn't, much.  I married somebody else.  Twenty-five years later we went to Bonnie's Beef and Seafood on the Gulf Freeway and  I looked over and saw the little "Okay" flags flapping. It still looked the same. But it's not there any more.

[Brian Womac]

Anyone have photos of Sam White Oldsmobile? It later became Mossy Oldsmobile, and is now Stewart Cadillac, located in the block bounded by Main, McGowen, and Travis. I've admired the building on the corner of McGowen and Travis for years (the one with all the windows). It used to be Sam White's service department, but I've often wondered if it predated the dealership or not.

I remember when I was about four years old, my parents went to purchase a new Oldsmobile at Sam White. They wound up getting a '68 Delta 88 despite my firmly-held opinion that they should opt for a 4-4-2 instead, proof that I was into muscle cars at a very early age.

[JuliaBOldLady]

Anyone have any old photos of Frizell's Pontiac at Gulfgate?

 

[Specwriter]

Anyone have any old photos of Frizell's Pontiac at Gulfgate?

 

Here's one from the internet. I apologize for it being so small and blurry. I'm pretty sure the tan car in the foreground is a 1973 Pontiac Grand Prix.

The red Chevrolet Blazer with the white top must be a 1973 model or later as well. Notice that Frizzell is also an AMC dealership at this time.

 

"3040 Woodridge, next to Gulfgate; where you get a whale of a deal." Mascot was a cartoon whale.

Edited August 5, 2015 by Specwriter

[px4man]

My Mom bought a new '65 Chevy Impala station wagon at A.J.Foyt Chevrolet on Post Oak between W.Belfort and Willowbend where I met AJ himself on the sales floor that day. We used to ride our bikes up to the back and watch them work on some of their race cars, mainly dirt and stock cars.  We moved to Austin later that year and I drove it off the Mansfield Dam late one night after partying in the park. I've got some pictures if I can find them. 

[msteele6]

My parents bought a 1967 Pontiac Le Mans from Frizzells. I believe that Frizzell's original dealership was on Harrisburg across from the old Sears and Roebuck at Harrisburg and Wayside.

 

[Materene]

I worked at several in this list but I would like to see an Al Parker Buick photo early 70s .  The old location is now a new structure and the street that once ran down the side of the building was closed and added as one property for this new business.  The old customer and storage lot was across the street in 70 which is now part of this one property

[JLWM8609]

My Mom bought a new '65 Chevy Impala station wagon at A.J.Foyt Chevrolet on Post Oak between W.Belfort and Willowbend where I met AJ himself on the sales floor that day. We used to ride our bikes up to the back and watch them work on some of their race cars, mainly dirt and stock cars.  We moved to Austin later that year and I drove it off the Mansfield Dam late one night after partying in the park. I've got some pictures if I can find them. 

 

The Foyts are still in the car business. One of A.J.'s sons is currently the General Manager of Mercedes-Benz of Clear Lake.

[JJTiger]

Does anyone know anything about Van York Pontiac GMC that was located in Tomball?  I know the buidling is gone but the property is still empty.  My 79 Trans Am has their dealer tag on the trunk lid.

 

[Fore Right]

Sam White Oldsmobile

Tom Gray Datsun/Nissan on the Katy Freeway and "West Belt"

[ChannelTwoNews]

Does anyone have any information about Harry Shanks Chevrolet? Found a commercial of theirs on a mid 80's tape. One of the cheaper and more desperate ones out there - basically came off as "we're spending money to just become competitive!". This dealership was located at Hwy 6 & Beechnut,  later becoming Mike Hall Chevrolet and is now part of the Autonation group.