MrEarl, after seeing the Buick dealer photo with the Western Auto next to it I couldn't resist adding this attachment. In the Dec 1999 Bugle I did a story on the former Keller Motor Co dealership in Fayette, MO. A small dealer on the square in this upper mid-section of MO. So typical of a lot of small-town Buick dealers in the good old days. Thanks for adding your most recent pics. Always enjoy looking at them.

Thanks Steve. That's one of my favorite issues. Great article. If I get time I'll try and scan it for all to see. In the mean time here's Steves attachment.What I wouldn't give for that neon Dynaflow Drive

Well, for the sake of being nice I generally bid on all the photos from eBay that I post on here. This one started out to rich for me though. So I guess you can call me a thief this time. $124.00 with an hour to go. Can anyone explain this. here it is on ePay

Not a dealership, but I love this old photo



and while I gotcha, look what I bought on eBay.

I have been loving all the Buick dealership photos and cards Centurion and others have been posting but was always secretly jealous that there was never an image of a dealership with the Beautiful 1954's on their show floor. Well my heart skipped a beat one night recently when FINALLY I spotted this one on eBay. There was no way I would not end up with this card. I paid far more than I have ever paid for a card before but I couldn't let it get by me. Oh, I'm sure I'll see a bunch more for much less now that I have mine, ain't that the way it always works. So with no further ado... here it is
1954 BUICK, THE BEAUTIFUL BUY

MrEarl, I think I saw that postcard on epay and thought you were the 54 nut that's on here all the time. Good deal you got it. Doesn't matter what you paid for # of reasons: 1. It's got 54's and that's your deal 2. It appears to be in very nice shape AND its a linen judging from the little stripes down it. That makes it worth a lot because the linen PC's will always be worth more then the shiney ones. 3. You gotta buy Buick stuff that makes you (or me!) happy. I do it all the time. BTW, I have to report that Mrs. Ann Keller Slagle who lived nearby me here in KC recently passed away. She was the daughter of the owners of Keller Motor Co. In an earlier post on this thread I mentioned that was the dealer I did the story on in the Dec Bugle. She was a great lady. Always kind, always a good sense of humor and a generous sole to boot. We'll all miss her.
Steve

Steve,
Yea, there were two Buick nuts bidding on it and apparently I was the biggest.
Sorry to hear of the passing of Mrs Slagle.I think your description of her and her family is probably symbolized by what is barely visible sitting in the bottom left side of the garage door of this picture. Makes one wonder that perhaps this was her "best friend" at the time the picture was taken. I had not even seen it until I went back to view the picture after your telling of Ann's passing.

Another great ebay buy. This is one of my favorites

not sure how much I like this one though.

Anybody ever know ol' Mud.

Looking back, it's amazing how compact and efficiently designed those old dealerships were. I always loved the ambience that many of them had, which is totally missing from the "boxes with walls" that modern dealerships have become--regardless of brand. There was really something special in the way they looked and felt--at least to me. Newer and bigger is not always "better".

Sure, by some "modern" standards, they were allegedly "dumps", poorly lighted and maintained, several elevation changes in some cases, but they were also built out of stronger concrete than has existed for several decades now--typically. Yet the dealership employees were generally more friendly and kinder than in modern times where everything (including when to call the customers, as in "customer relations management") is computerized, where you shared information with the salesperson as you became friends because you wanted to rather than at the salesperson's insistence to fill up his computerized customer files.

And don't forget the "high security" given to new vehicles prior to show date! Those were the times! Thanks for the memories! Some great postcards and pictures in this thread and related articles!

Enjoy!
NTX5467

Perhaps you wouldn't have so much of an issue with the wagon if you saved your money from buying postcards

heres one just found on Ebay ,I dont think ive seen it here ?
http://members.sparedollar.com/resize.aspx?user=snoutchip&img=buick2.JPG&size=800

Don, the link you posted -- showing Holbrook Buick -- is just great!

Here's some artwork on a vintage matchbook cover, showing the facility of Sellgren Buick:

Brian, here's another machbook for ya

a

You familiar with this building Smartin. Gilbert Buick in St Louis

Great new photos, Mr. Earl. Here's a dealership I remember from years ago -- Moore Buick in Walla Walla, Washington:

And here's Reason Buick Co. of Santa Ana, California. Notice one of the early Opel imports from this 1959 postcard:

<img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://forums.aaca.org/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

I can't tell which photo is the one that is "Holbrook Buick" from Dearborn, MI. In that regard, I was looking at an old factory photo of the back end of a 1956 Buick Century and noticed a dealer tag on it. I zoomed in as best I could, and it appears to say "Holbrook".... something. I wonder if this is the same dealership?

Original photo attached...

zoom in of the dealer tag...

Now that I look at it more, I wonder if it says "Holbrook" on the top, and "Dearborne" on the bottom ? Interesting... If you go look on my website, I have the full hi-res version of the photo (courtesy of Walter Miller Autolit). The little clipboard sitting on the ground that identifies the car. This photo came with 3 or 4 other photos of the same car, some sort of "interior" study, with phots of the back seat and door panels.

Budd

The Sellgreen building is still there on Grand River, it's a used car lot now. I go past it often, and used to ride my bike past it in the 1970's when I lived near there, it was still a Buick dealership then.

There is currently some awesome signs and other Buick advertising including a magnificent stained glass, on eBay. this has got to be one of the nicest collections there is.

Buick signs on ebay

There is a former Buick dealership in Herkimer NY, that still has fading painted-on signs on the bricks "Valve-In-Head Eight" from the straight-eight era - maybe the dealer the Skylark I grabbed was sold at. (I should have driven by there on the way back home for a photo.. lol)