themed apparel, New car dealers once thrived here 4 The Dallas Post NEWS Sunday, October 26, 2003 Autoworks (continued from page 1) ”» cars. Dickson said prices for col- lectible cars held up well in the “recession, or whatever it was we went through.” He thinks collectors saw cars as a tangible asset in an uncertain market, and they're fun, too. When finished, the facility ‘will offer more than just expen- sive cars. Monk said they in- tend to host events for car clubs and civic organizations, and Boback envisions a “hang- out” in the basement, with big- screen televisions and activities to keep children busy while mom and dad check out the in- ventory, which is anticipated to be 40-50 cars with a collective value of up to $2 million. Auto- accessories age of about 175 new cars - and 200 used each year. “It’s enough to keep us busy,” . he said. Richardson’s employs 12 people in the sales, service and parts departments. Memorial Highway (Route 415) didn’t exist when Richard- . son’s was established and Lake Street was the main route to Harveys Lake. When the new road was built, it went through Louis Richardson’s property, and the dealership had frontage on what is now a busy highway. About 1980, Richardson’s took over the vacant Himmler Theater next to the dealership, and it has been used for storage ever since. The Dallas Borough Munici- pal Building was once Jim Oliver's Hudson dealership EE A SR ARETE HE Before the building on Lake Street was Richardson’s, there was James Besecker Ford. Bob Besecker, whose real es- tate office is at the corner of Main Street and Memorial . Highway, a short walk from the | dealership, said his father . opened a Ford dealership in © 1923. “He built Richardson's | garage, i ” Besecker said. James Besecker and his wife | lived across Lake Street from the garage until 1936, when it . was closed in the depths of the I Great Depression. . The Beseckers moved to | Kingston, but came back to | Dallas in 1940, and James ~ Besecker eventually took a job ' at Jim Oliver’s Hudson show- room, which occupied the building that is now the Dallas Borough municipal offices. “They had a showroom | where the police station is . now,” Bob'Besecker said. He re- members visiting his father there, and seeing the now-ex- | tinct nameplate. “They were a little different — like an inverted bathtub. I remember when you got into it, you actually stepped down.” The years of World War II ~ were tough on the auto busi- ness, as production lines were . dedicated to tanks and other military vehicles. But as soon . as the war was over, there was a ready market for the new mod- els. “My dad bought one of the first new cars after they started making them again; a 1946 . Dodge,” Besecker recalled. Howard “Duke” Isaacs was another dealer who got his start in the years leading up to the war. His son, George, said Howard Isaacs was one of the youngest dealers ever when he began at age 21. Before that, “my father was delivering a milk route in the summer and selling pots and pans door to door,” George Isaacs said. In 1936, Bill Woolbert sug- gested that Howard Isaacs ap- proach the Kirby family in Wilkes-Barre, who held the Chrysler distributorship for this region, about opening a place in Trucksville. Send your news to The Post by e-mail. dallaspost@leader.net Digital photos are welcome, too! “The market is strong. “If you're not quick (to buy), you lose the cars.” Buz Boback Harveys Lake and gifts will also be available. The cars will come from a va- riety of sources. “We all have relationships with dealers,” Boback said, and each has bought and sold exotic person- al vehicles over the years. Dick- son, in fact, has 20 cars of his own, including a Porsche GT and a Ferrari 360 Spyder, his fa- vorites. The internet will also be a source of both buyers and sell- ers. “The last cars I bought were off the internet,” Dickson said, and he anticipates that half of Autoworks’ business will “be generated there. The dealer- ship will also buy cars at auc- tions and from local dealers and individuals, and will accept cars for sale on a consignment basis. : American cars from the “muscle car” era of the 1950s to the 1970s will be a good por- tion of the inventory. Those are the cars of the partners’ youth, and still hold their interest. “You hear that engine turn on, and you get turned on,” Boback said. “Those were the fun old days,” of hanging out at Stop ‘n’ Go in Wilkes-Barre and other hotspots for car-crazy teenagers. The men each have success- ful backgrounds in business. Dickson owns KMS Precision Sheet Metal in Luzerne; Monk's family has owned Monk Heating and Air Conditioning since his grandfather, Earl, started the business in 1915. Boback is winding down a 27-year career in radio and tele- vision advertising that began when a Trucksville collectible car dealership operated by Tiny Gould closed, leaving him out of a job. He will be the on-site manager of Autoworks. James Besecker established a Ford dealership on Lake Street in Dallas Borough in 1923. He built what is now L.L. Richardson's garage before going out of business during the Great Depression. “When he started out, he could only afford to buy one car at a time,” and couldn’t buy an- other until that was sold. Then things got worse when the war broke out, and there was noth- ing to sell. “When the war came, it was difficult,” George Isaacs said. Not only was new car produc- tion halted, parts and tires were “rationed. George Isaacs said, like other dealers, his father had to rely on repairs to keep the doors open, and to support one or two employees. He also snagged a small government contract to manufacture parts, using the repair equipment. Many years later, Isaacs recalled a couple who came from miles away to buy a new car from his dealership, which by then was selling hun- dreds on new cars a year. He was curious as to why they had bypassed so many other dealers to come to Trucksville. “Your father was the only one who didn’t gouge us,” after the war, they said. While the gov- ernment put price controls into place to prevent the practice many dealers demanded $300 to $500 under the table from buyers. But “Duke” Isaacs sold cars as they came available, in the same sequence in which they were ordered. And there George was no additional charge. In 1994, George Isaacs formed a joint venture with Ron Ertley, who had a large Cadillac and Oldsmobile deal- ership. Isaacs sold Chrysler, Plymouth and GMC trucks. His average of 600 new car sales bolstered the Motorworld su- perstore, raising its offerings to 13 new car lines. Isaacs stayed in the business for six years, and moved into real estate development, build- ing Pendragon Plaza at the in- tersection of Route 309 and Pi- oneer Avenue. The property now includes Grange National Bank, Verizon, Sheetz and oth- er businesses. New dealership wille create a ‘car strip’ Just up the highway from the future Autoworks International are two dealers that have found formulas for success in the crowded late-model used car market. Dreier Auto Sales is operated by Jeff and Diane Dreier of Dal- las. Started 27 years ago selling used Volvos and servicing that make, their dealership has ex- panded into sales of several Eu- ropean imports and service on “pretty much any import,” Di- ane says. Last year, the Dreiers con- structed a new garage on the Shavertown lot they had owned for 15 years, and consolidated their business there. Like their dealership, “the business is al- ways changing,” Dreier said, and mostly for the better. A little further up and across Route 309, Hlllside Auto Sales has also been upgrading its fa- cilities. Owner Bill Corgan feels the appearance of a dealership has a direct influence on its success. “Beautification is te number one factor,” he contends, be- cause it focuses the attention of people who are his best poten- tial customers, the ones who drive by every day. Corgan has been in the busi- ness for 36 years, and has oper- ated the Shavertown lot since 1989. He and his wife, Debbie, are the primary operators, which Bill Corgan says is anoth- er key to success. “The way to do it is to have a nice, hands-on operation,” stay in control and manage costs, he says. Diane Dreier also cited the growth in quality, both of vehi- cles and personnel, in the strength of used-car dealer- ships. “l see more professionalism and more of an orientation to- ward service,” she said, offering as evidence the annual week- long meeting of a national used car dealers association that is focused on training and educa- tion. The marketplace has changed dramatically, and now there are more good cars to choose from, and more sophis- ticated customers. “The 1980s were a sellers’ market,” Dreier said. “Now it’s much more of a buyers’ market.” The popularity of leasing has created a pool of late model, one-owner, relatively low mileage cars, Dreier said, so much so that most cars now “The 1980s were a sellers’ market. Now it’s much more of a buyers’ market.” Diane Dreier Dreier Auto Sales come from auctions rather than trade-ins at new car dealer- ships. Jeff Dreier goes to the auc- tion two or three times a week, and with his long experience as a mechanic picks out what he thinks are the best buys among the Saabs, Audis, BMWs and Volvos that make up the bulk the inventory. But he’s not ways successful, even at th Manheim Auto Auction, where 10,000 cars can go over the block in a single day. “There are times he comes back with nothing,” Diane said. Hillside Motors has become something of a Jeep specialist in recent years, and gets most of its cars offlease from Chrysler Financial Services. Debbie Corgan says they tried selling other SUVs, but found people wanted Jeeps. And it has paid off. “The SUV market is very strong,” she said. “We were just responding to the market.” ] Another big factor affecting dealers is the internet. The ease and speed of using ebay or Auto Trader.com has expanded their market to the entire na- tion. Recently, a man flew in from Denver to pick up an un- usual model of Audi at Dreier, and drove it back. “A lot of them are willing to buy them sight unseen,” Dian Dreier said. The dealership h sold cars to customers as far away as California this way. Auctions are turning to online sales as well, with some batch- es of cars only available on the internet. Hillside has had similar expe- riences, and Debbie Corgan says the people who come from far. away to look at cars often discover an area they knew Iit- with when they see it. They sold a Chrysler van to a couple from New York City who then bought a home at Harveys Lake where they plan to retire. “It (internet listing) brings a lot of people here,” she said. Spend Satur e’ In ‘LEADER J § AY nome PRES LEADER wwatimesieadeccon | Hortieuituse Conte ol apes y 4 phar » alee IRR Ft hos he 0 Sonvving the hwicape ROTRP oy thee fob we of overweleTing. Aap Javon Griffin of the John C. Pair » Hoywrille, Kan. He gots ks of suck wid vight agent aced com kr i rt ry ne ona A NEW YARD or ees fag tis yor x md oo Dockgrond we interestiog hark. Canvest As we aif enioy the bevels, fo ou bh See LEAVES, Pate 7D ADR FORUR x nese Ht. th th. es pr i pi fom me rok iyge DCD Sos Drogen, gions: Bowe common But maybe that’s Decatte you havn't yet tried to make them Swe’ i Gaoey” FiCK OF THE WEEK 3 fy 8 |” uk ue : GULDEN ASTER ed in the Saturday, October 18, 2003 AT HOME section of the Times Leader. For home delive ry, call 829-5000 or toll free 1-800-252-5603 Monday through Friday 6:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday 7:00 a.m. 12:00 TIME S +L, The Know how to plant a tree? Cook a parsnip? Design a garden? You'll find useful “Information in our new At Home section every week. ROA pk the (¢ com LEADER Cader
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