Historic Houston Car Dealers And Repair Shops

[MirrersTrucking]

Ok, hang on... When did Lawrence Marshall close and Landmark change names??? Does that mean Ray Childress is unemployed now? Is Mel Farr Ford still around? Also, what is the name of the Ford dealer on 59 that is or was just inside the North Loop?

[Ross]

Ok, hang on... When did Lawrence Marshall close and Landmark change names??? Does that mean Ray Childress is unemployed now? Is Mel Farr Ford still around? Also, what is the name of the Ford dealer on 59 that is or was just inside the North Loop?

 

Lawrence Marshall closed in 2009 http://www.chron.com/business/article/Vast-Lawrence-Marshall-auto-dealership-closes-1584646.php

 

Landmark closed in 2008. It didn't change names. The location on the North Freeway has been a blight ever since. http://abc13.com/archive/6378220/

 

[mkultra25]

 

Landmark closed in 2008. It didn't change names. The location on the North Freeway has been a blight ever since. http://abc13.com/archive/6378220/

 

I'll assume you haven't been by there in quite some time. The old Landmark complex was acquired in January 2011 by a John Deere dealer who relocated their heavy equipment dealership there after demolishing the old buildings and building new ones. I believe they subdivided the property with the intent to resell some of it, as the new dealership buildings don't take up nearly as much room as the massive Landmark complex did. 

 

The new dealership just opened recently. 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/hUbwZRTih7v

[Materene]

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

 

Would you be thinking it might have been Plaza Lincoln Mercury.  I worked there in 72 and Joe Woods was the service manager at that time.

 

[Materene]

I'll assume you haven't been by there in quite some time. The old Landmark complex was acquired in January 2011 by a John Deere dealer who relocated their heavy equipment dealership there after demolishing the old buildings and building new ones. I believe they subdivided the property with the intent to resell some of it, as the new dealership buildings don't take up nearly as much room as the massive Landmark complex did. 

 

The new dealership just opened recently. 

 

https://goo.gl/maps/hUbwZRTih7v

 

My last dealership job was in 89 and there at Landmark, I had worked there 3 times since the early 70s until that time.  I left the first workday after Thanksgiving 1989 and it was the last dealership I worked in, came back to where I live now and never will forget it, one of those fall cold rain fronts got hooked up with me and I drove in a driving rain all the way to Louisiana.

 

[Bill Lins]

Sam White Oldsmobile

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

Don't forget Sam Montgomery "The Rocket Man" Oldsmobile on Kirby Drive!

[Bill Lins]

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.

I think you're referring to the old Bob Robertson Chevrolet which was located at the outbound side of the Gulf Freeway @ Wayside.

[msteele6]

If she was at Bonnie's (the Foundry, the Beef and Barrel, Bonnie's Beef and Barrel ) it wasn't Bob Robertson's. Bob Robertson's was inside of Wayside (next to Queen of Peace). Bonnie's is outside of Griggs, you can't see that far.

[Lynn P]

I believe that your asking about Kitzman Chevrolet on Hwy. 290 at Rosehill Rd. area.

[Michelle C]

On ‎10‎/‎21‎/‎2015 at 8:40 PM, MirrersTrucking said:

Ok, hang on... When did Lawrence Marshall close and Landmark change names??? Does that mean Ray Childress is unemployed now? Is Mel Farr Ford still around? Also, what is the name of the Ford dealer on 59 that is or was just inside the North Loop?

The Ford dealership just inside the North Loop was a Bayou City Ford. It was a Big Ford truck dealership.

[kel d]

Before it was Timmers Chevrolet in Pasadena, (corner of Richey and 225) it was Boyd Mullen Chevrolet. One of my uncles bought a 1962 Chevy Impala SS (Roman Red) from them and in 1967 sold it to his inlaws, (my grandparents). 

[ggmsmolly]

There was the old Sam Montgomery Oldsmobile dealership on Gessner at 59.

[TonyaB]

On 11/20/2013 at 8:49 AM, GEM said:

Auto Sports Ltd.:Bought a Fiat there in the mid 70s...............

My dad, Bob Buford and uncle, Johnny Christi used to work at Auto Sports

[TonyaB]

My dad, Bob Buford and my uncle, Johnny Christi, were mechanics at Auto Sports. And their friend, Jim Masters, was the parts runner I believe.

[NenaE]

All I remember about auto dealerships growing up in the sixties is --- the HUGE Rocket neon sign on Gulf Freeway near Gulfgate (outbound), the auto import place with small cars and round glass showroom, on the Gulf Freeway (inbound, close to Prince's & Finger's) and the mcm auto showrooms on S. Richey (Pasadena).

[Specwriter]

6 hours ago, NenaE said:

All I remember about auto dealerships growing up in the sixties is --- the HUGE Rocket neon sign on Gulf Freeway near Gulfgate (outbound), the auto import place with small cars and round glass showroom, on the Gulf Freeway (inbound, close to Prince's & Finger's) and the mcm auto showrooms on S. Richey (Pasadena).

Bill McDavid Oldsmobile and Autosports Ltd. (Fiat, Alfa Romeo, TVR, and possibly others) on the Gulf Freeway. The showroom on South Richey was Timmers Chevrolet. Before Timmers it was Boyd Mullen Chevrolet. Here is the dealer name plate on a 1967 Chevelle seen recently at a car show.

 

Edited February 19, 2018 by Specwriter

[Pamela Mistrot Ros]

My father was a used car dealer in the 1950's. Washington Avenue was "Used Car Dealer Row". His car lot was called "Mistrot Brothers". It was located about in the middle of Washington Ave. As a kid I remember all of the rows and rows of clear incandescent light bulbs hanging over the cars. Cars so brightly polished that the light bulbs reflected on them. Also, brightly colored pinnet flags waving overhead to attract customers. All of the cars had the price painted on the windshield. At the dinner table, Daddy always talked cars and about the other car dealers of the time. I think my father was once president of " The Greater Houston Car Dealers Association" And somewhere in all of my memorabilia, I have something listing him as such. I added his picture from the 1950's.

[Ross]

For some reason, I've had the Chick Smith jingle in my head - "Chick Smith Ford, a little bit North of FM 1960, right next door to the Goodyear Blimp Base".

 

In the 1910's, my great grandfather worked at a car dealer in the 1900 block of Main, I think it was an Overland dealer. Later, it added Willys. 

[vpla001]

anyone have pictures or footage of 

Sam Montgomery Oldsmobile ("Sam the Rocket Man") 

 

•  
• Quote

[Dagnabbit]

On 9/14/2017 at 12:18 PM, ggmsmolly said:

There was the old Sam Montgomery Oldsmobile dealership on Gessner at 59.

 

I believe you're getting your Sam's mixed up, the dealership at Gessner and 59 (actually the main showroom was on Beechnut ) was Sam White Olds.

[Rob Byus]

A couple of Dealers not Mentioned, Jack Roach Ford, 615 Broadway,  And the reason that Mosehart & Keller Studebaker was one of the oldest if not the oldest is, Before they built cars they made horse and buggy wagons. Gulf Coast Edsel was on Kirby Dr And before Southwest Lincoln and Mercury was Southwest Lincoln Mercury . it was Southwest Dodge

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

Stacking them deep and selling them cheap. 

The car on the left is a '32 Model B, the rest are '31 Model A

[mollusk]

Agreed that the Radio Special is a '32, but it's more likely a Model 18 since Ford sold way more of the new V8s than they did the 4 cylinder Bs.  The one on the far left end looks more like a '35 or '36 Fordor... probably '35 since they moved to next to the Tower Theater around 1936.

[WillowBend56]

A.J. Foyt Chevrolet where I bought my 1978 Chevy Nova!

[cowboybud]

On 9/13/2015 at 11:00 PM, ChannelTwoNews said:

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.

 

Now Classic Chevrolet.

[thedistrict84]

Been catching up on the Historic Houston posts the last few days when I was lucky enough to still have power, and thought of a few questions for everyone here:

• Does anyone remember Pearson Chevrolet in Alvin? I didn't see it mentioned in this thread. I remember going there as a kid in the late 1980s, when my dad was a salesperson there. I think it was at Highway 6 and Business 35, current location of a Ron Carter facility. I seem to recall the franchise being purchased by Ron Carter sometime in the 1990s, with the Chevrolet dealership subsequently relocated to the then-new Ron Carter Autoland (or whatever it is/was called) at FM 528 at Highway 35. My grandfather bought a brand new 1968 Camaro there, which currently resides in my garage (with the original dealer emblem still intact on the trunk lid).

• Anybody happen to recall which individual dealerships sold Yugos in Houston? From what I've learned, there were virtually no standalone dealerships, as the vast majority of franchises were purchased by existing dealers (typically GM) to be sold through their existing lots, probably in part as a way to get people in the door given the absurdly cheap price of the cars. The other bay of my garage is occupied by an all original 1987 Yugo GV, but it came from Ohio (and is somehow rust free!). If there was a Houston Yugo dealer out there, I'd love to possibly track down some memorabilia from it. 

• On a related note, I do know the Yugo parts guy who decamped to San Angelo some time ago used to have a facility off of Shepherd (he's still selling parts, mostly NOS OEM stuff he bought from the dealers when they folded back in the early 1990s). Curious where that might have been.

Thanks in advance!

[mkultra25]

35 minutes ago, thedistrict84 said:

The other bay of my garage is occupied by an all original 1987 Yugo GV, but it came from Ohio (and is somehow rust free!). If there was a Houston Yugo dealer out there, I'd love to possibly track down some memorabilia from it. 

That's got to be a rarity. Can't imagine too many of them survived in decent shape given their target market of people wanting a new car at a used-car price. 

 

[thedistrict84]

13 minutes ago, mkultra25 said:

That's got to be a rarity. Can't imagine too many of them survived in decent shape given their target market of people wanting a new car at a used-car price. 

To be fair, when I say "all original" I just mean it has been kept stock (aside from FIAT X1/9 wheels added to it by the previous owner). I've had to replace quite a few things over the five years I've owned it, but I finally have it to a state that I would characterize as "well-sorted." 

I've only seen three others in Houston, ever. One I spotted in a salvage yard off of Mykawa back in 2000-2001, a GVX (the "performance" model) that blew past me doing 80 on I-10 east at Lockwood circa 2005, and one still in the possession of the owner of a certain engine and transmission repair place in the East End with a catchy jingle and slogan.  

[JLWM8609]

5 hours ago, mkultra25 said:

That's got to be a rarity. Can't imagine too many of them survived in decent shape given their target market of people wanting a new car at a used-car price. 

 

Tony Gullo has one in his personal collection in Magnolia. I was afraid to look at it the wrong way lest it fall apart!

[Tumbleweed_Tx]

I helped form the local Fiat club 20 years ago, and we never had a Yugo owner as a member for the 10 years I was around...

The guy who had the Yugo parts place was Jay, he started out on Jones Rd near 1960, then moved to Eldridge Road somewhere north of 1960. I had the misfortune of meeting him the day after Clinton bombed the Zastava factory. I'm like, dude, i just need a hood for my Spider, I don't need the long rant... lol