Pontiac Dealership Pictures

[31pontiac]

 Liking all things Pontiac (as most of us do on here),  I thought it would be interesting to see pictures of different dealerships large and small. Most had their own style, signs , and architecture, as opposed to the standard corporate look demanded by today’s companies.

   My 2 pictures are of the Paul S. Spaar Pontiac-Buick dealership in Chapel, PA , my closest dealer as I was growing up.
  The first is the rear corner of the showroom on new car introduction day for 1949. 
   Second pic is the showroom in 1950. Always loved the huge porcelain and neon sign on the front!

   Post whatever you run across from personal photos to something you may have seen online.

     

 

[31pontiac]

These 2 pictures are of the same dealer in 1934.

[Frosty]

It's amazing to see even dealerships evolve over time, as times change. Very cool.

So does this building still exist today? Clearly it is no longer a Pontiac dealership.

[31pontiac]

   Frosty, these are 2 pictures of the same building today.

   Sometime in the late ‘60’s (I think) the neon sign was removed, the facade was updated, and a porch was added to both sides of the building to display more new cars. Those changes are still what you see today.

   The dealership changed ownership twice since the mid  ‘90’s but they were both dealers from 2 different cities and did not do well in this rural area. The last one closed in the early  2000’s. 
   Since then it has been a motorcycle shop and has housed 2 vintage / antique stores, which is its current state.

[Frosty]

Thanks for the update on the fate of the dealership. It's amazing how those things change. I can tell you since I bought my '86 Trans Am in November of '85, how drastically my local dealership changed in downtown Davison Michigan.

The dealership was called Belford Buick-Pontiac-GMC at the time. It sat at the corner of the main intersection in town, M-15 (State St) and Davison Rd/Flint St. This is where I ordered and took delivery of the Trans Am. A couple of years later the name changed to Jim Waldron Buick-Pontiac-GMC (the Belford family sold out to Jim Waldron). Shortly there after, Jim purchased some land 2 miles to the south on M-15, closer to the I-69 expressway and he built a new state of the art dealership there. He was pretty much land locked where he was downtown.

About 5-6 years after the shutting down of Pontiac, Jim Waldron sold his dealership to Grand Rapids-based mega dealer Todd Wenzel. The building has also had a slight facade change in line with GM's latest dealership mandates. The old downtown dealership building was razed to make way for a new grocery store, bank, and a small strip mall.

If the name Jim Waldron is a little familiar to you, it should be. He was the guy that wanted to buy Pontiac and GM wouldn't sell it to him. One of these days I need to interview that man and find out what happened - from his perspective.

[31pontiac]

  Thanks for your interest and comments Frosty.

   I do remember the Jim Waldron attempt to buy Pontiac and was hoping that he would acquire it and do the things with the brand to make them sporty and relevant that GM would not let them do.

   I for one would like to hear his story on his attempt and also his plans for Pontiac if it had gone through.

[Frosty]

As would I. That's why I would like to interview him. His son owns property in town so I might be able to talk to him first and get introduced to his dad that way.

My personal theory as to why GM didn't want to sell Pontiac, but wanted to sell Saab, Saturn, and Hummer, was that Pontiac was much more vertically integrated with Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac engineering and operations at the time than those other three brands were. GM would have had to expend a lot more time (and money) figuring out who was a "Pontiac" employee vs a GM employee and what faculties could be considered "Pontiac". It was a whole lot easier to do for Saab, Saturn, and Hummer. In the end, they only sold Saab (sort of). The rest were all folded up and closed down.

[64 kiwi boni]

i see there still is a chevrolet dealership next door Frosty 

https://www.google.com/maps/search/Davison+Rd%2FFlint+St./@43.0350166,-83.5184861,817m/data=!3m1!1e3

[JUSTA6]

2 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

i see there still is a chevrolet dealership next door Frosty 

https://www.google.com/maps/search/Davison+Rd%2FFlint+St./@43.0350166,-83.5184861,817m/data=!3m1!1e3

The Chevy dealership is right across the street from Maddens.  Some of the best sand Volleyball you can play in SE Michigan.  Many hours spent there and a few $$$$ made on CASH nite.😎

[Frosty]

4 hours ago, 64 kiwi boni said:

i see there still is a chevrolet dealership next door Frosty 

https://www.google.com/maps/search/Davison+Rd%2FFlint+St./@43.0350166,-83.5184861,817m/data=!3m1!1e3

It's up the street a little way's from the old Pontiac dealership Kiwi. That's Hank Graff Chevrolet, they've been in business for over 100 years in Davison. That's the Chevy dealership that my son is working at currently as an assistant salesman.

The old Pontiac dealership was on the very corner where the bank/credit union is today.

1 hour ago, JUSTA6 said:

The Chevy dealership is right across the street from Maddens.  Some of the best sand Volleyball you can play in SE Michigan.  Many hours spent there and a few $$$$ made on CASH nite.😎

How well I know Madden's.....

[31pontiac]

1969 handout showing the brand new Knopf Pontiac dealership in Allentown, PA. 
    Building has been redesigned several times and now sells Porsche and Mercedes.

[64 kiwi boni]

8 hours ago, 31pontiac said:

1969 handout showing the brand new Knopf Pontiac dealership in Allentown, PA. 
    Building has been redesigned several times and now sells Porsche and Mercedes.

And it make you think about what was new for sale on their yard in 69 !!! 🙄and what that ..... say ..... fire bird is worth today !!!! 

You certainly couldn't walk onto a car yard  today and say, that car is going to be worth over 1000% more in 50 ,years time !!...hahaha ... hind site !! oh if !!!

[JUSTA6]

Here is a shot at the one and only Pontiac retail store.  Factory Pontiac outlet.  Employee discounts.  They used to give away a matching model of the cars purchased.  I wanted the one of Dads GTO sooo bad.

[Frosty]

Like Pontiac, Buick also had a retail store in Flint Michigan when I was growing up. The Pontiac and Buick retail stores were owned by GM, and not a privately owned dealership! I remember my dad took delivery of one of the family's many Buicks from here. Today this building still exists. It a custom glass and window framing business.

 

[JUSTA6]

Check this story....Good read.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/the-pontiac-retail-store/

[Frosty]

The witer of this article is Jeff Denison, a retired GM designer and former POCI member. I've know Jeff for years. He has a gorgeous '69 Warwick blue GTIO Judge and a restored '71 Trans Am, restored by Scott Tiemann. Jeff is definitely a Pontiac enthusiast. He has become a Pontiac lecturer since his retirement, appearing at various Pontiac events around the country.