Don Kinas passing

[Barney Eaton]

I just learned that Don Kinas of Plymouth WI passed last July 15 2016. I posted it on the Buick General but failed to put it here.  I don't think Don was much with computers so he never posted here.

He was one of the BCA technical advisors...for Buick Reattas.

Don had worked at several car dealerships and was a Buick man to the core. He was very quiet and you almost had to pry an opinion out of him.

I had hoped to see him this summer at Brookfield.

Below is a link to an obituary

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sheboyganpress/obituary.aspx?pid=180732023

[Bushwack]

Sorry to hear of Don's passing. Never had the chance to meet or speak to him but I heard he was a well respected man of few words.

 

Having read his obituary, it states he worked at Lou Ehlers Buick after he got out of the service.  Coincidence, I think not but in Los Angeles from circa 1955-2010, there was a Lou Ehlers Cadillac (also briefly a GMC & Buick dealership in the 1970s),  Until the mid 1980s, celebrities and those in a certain tax bracket bought their Cadillac(s) either from Lou Ehlers on Wilshire Blvd (in the ritzy Hancock Park area of L.A.) or Hillcrest Cadillac in Beverly Hills (also on Wilshire Blvd).

 

Hillcrest opened in Beverly Hills in 1927 and closed around 1986 as more people were buying luxury brands from anywhere other than American made (the location has been a Lexus dealership since 1990).  Lou Ehlers Cadillac eventually closed in 2007 also as people were buying BMWs, Lexus & MBs and ignoring domestic brands (its closing was first announced in 2005).  Buildings on the site were demolished and replaced with a very, VERY large BMW dealership (http://www.bmwofbeverlyhills.com/).

 

On a related note, in a city the size of L.A. (including Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, Bel-Air, Culver City, Venice) - portions of the city west of downtown to the ocean (where the average household income is high), there is only one Caddy dealership (Martin Cadillac in West Los Angeles). And Martin Cadillac sales have been abysmal the past few years (per the dealership). Yes, one Caddy dealer serving the westside and mid-Wilshire area with a population of 950,000.  ...and Martin Cadillac will be closing its doors this summer to be replaced with multi-story office buildings/business park (land value too much to keep it as a dealership).

 

Went off on a bit of a tangent. Being born, raised and living in Los Angeles, I remain astonished there's only one Caddy dealership serving 950,000.

On the flip side, I see more high end BMWs, MBs and Lexus (and even Bentleys) on the westside than I do Cadillacs or Lincolns. Why Caddy doesn't/hasn't made a push for a presence in affluent areas of L.A. remains a mystery. 

 

Times of changed (at least here in SoCal).