from the Nov. 13, 1963 Buffalo Evening News

Back in November 1963, just nine days before President Kennedy was assassinated, Royal Rambler was throwing a three-day grand opening party at their 1790 Main St., Buffalo dealership. Door prizes, refreshments, and of course the complete lineup of 1964 Ramblers were there for all party-goers.

from the brochure, '64 Rambler Classic 770

I imagine one of the groups happiest about Royal’s grand opening was the folks who make and change the signs. Back in 1958 1790 Main was the home of O’Neill Motor Corp., a Ford dealer; in 1959 the name changed to Al Ives Ford; then came Royal Rambler, whose party would be short-lived — in 1967 the crew came in and put up new, Dowdall Lincoln/Mercury signage, which also didn’t last long.

1790 Main St., Buffalo N.Y. today

Eventually 1790 Main became home to Record Theatre, billed at its opening in 1976 as the world’s largest record store. And it’s still there today, although it’s been scaled back somewhat over the years, it’s still huge and pretty diverse.

…Jim Corbran, You Auto Know

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Now that the snow’s just about melted (until next winter, I hope!) we’re starting to once again see these old nuggets from the past, sitting in people’s yards, behind barns, and off the side of the road.

1956 Mercury Custom sport hardtop coupe

This week’s find was spotted recently in Olean, N.Y., a not-too-bad looking 1956 Mercury Custom sport hardtop coupe (although one wonders just what’s being hidden under that tarp!). The 1956 Mercs were a mild facelift of the all-new 1955s — “The Big M” as they were referred to in advertising. Total production for the ‘56 sport hardtop coupes was 20,857. The Custom was a step up from the base Medalist model, followed by the Monterey and the top-of-the-line Montclair. Prices ranged from $2,254 for the Medalist two-door sedan up to $2,977 for the four-door Monterey eight-passenger station wagon. Our black and white Custom sport hardtop coupe had an MSRP of $2,485.

...from the brochure

…Jim Corbran, You Auto Know

from the Nov. 1, 1955 Buffalo Courier-Express

In 1955 Volkswagen produced its one-millionth Beetle. And you could buy yourself a new “Amazing Volkswagen” (for a bit under two-grand) at Kelly’s VW, located at 2360 Bailey Ave. in Buffalo, as seen in the accompanying ad from the Tuesday, Nov. 1, 1955 edition of the Buffalo Courier-Express. Just like the actual car, the ad was smaller than most other dealer ads in that day’s paper.

the 1,000,000th Beetle

In 1955 VW also sold the Transporter (van & pickup), and the newly introduced Karmann Ghia two-seat sports car. The 1,000,000th Beetle was painted a special gold color, and traveled the world visiting VW dealerships.  Today the M&N Mini Mart occupies 2360 Bailey Ave.; Kelly’s ended up at several different Genesee Street locations near the airport before finally going out of business.

brochure cover

2360 Bailey Ave., Buffalo N.Y. today

…Jim Corbran, You Auto Know

(click here to see what else I’ve been up to)

from the Buffalo Evening News, Nov. 2, 1959

A few weeks ago we featured the old Tinney Cadillac building on Main Street. Just down the road a piece, almost right next door, was Streng Olds, at 2365 Main. It’s currently home to Canisius College’s Demerly Hall. You can be forgiven if you think you’ve recently seen Streng Olds — the old sign which stood outside the building for years presently sits in the outdoor lot of Gotham City Antiques, at 1942 Niagara St., where it’s also very visible from the Niagara Thruway.

original Streng Olds sign

2365 Main St., Buffalo N.Y. today

Back when this ad ran in the Buffalo Evening News on Nov. 2, 1959 the new 1960 Olds models had just hit the showroom. The white two-door Dynamic 88 with the red top was the cheapest new 1960 Olds you could buy – starting at $2,835 (the two-tone paint was, of course, extra), and 13,545 of them were built. The turquoise 98 Holiday hardtop sedan, which was featured on the back cover of the brochure, was a bit pricier at $4,159.

Oldsmobile as a brand disappeared after the 2004 model year. Streng Olds was

from the brochure, 1960 Olds Dynamic 88

absorbed by its former next-door neighbor, Braun Cadillac, and moved to Walden Avenue in Depew, which has also since closed.

…Jim Corbran, You Auto Know

(Click here and see what else I’ve been up to!)

1960 Olds 98

A while back I promised not to report another Saab story until the sale from General Motors to Spyker Cars NV was finalized. Well hallelujah! Earlier this week, on February 23, GM and Spyker completed the deal.

The very next day, GM announced that the pending deal they had to sell the Hummer brand to the Chinese manufacturer Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machines, was — are you ready — DEAD! Tengzhong is claiming they failed to get final approval for the acquisition from the Chinese government. So now the Hummer death watch begins.

And I won’t report any more about it until it’s over, one way or the other. Enough is enough!

…Jim Corbran, You Auto Know

...from the Nov. 2, 1959 Buffalo Evening News

By the time this Buffalo Evening News Edsel ad ran in the editions of Nov. 2, 1959 it had already been decided in Dearborn to kill the brand. The 1960 models were in the showrooms, but the marque had been pared down to a single series, the Ranger, and was nothing more than a Ford with a mild restyle job. The leftover 1959 models, two of which were offered in this ad from Kirchmeyer — “Western New York’s Largest Lincoln, Mercury, Edsel, Continental, and German Ford Dealer” — were being offered for “only $1,995.” Even in 1959 you needed to read the fine print. The price was really $1,995 plus your average 1955 Ford, Chevy, or Plymouth trade-in. The ‘59 Edsels sold new for a low of $2,629 for the Ranger 2-dr sedan, up to $3,072 for the Corsair convertible.

...from the brochure, 1959 Edsel Ranger

Kirchmeyer was located at 3445 Delaware Ave. near Sheridan Drive in Kenmore. They moved there in 1959, having been previously located at 1170 Main. St. In 1963 the building became home to Kenton Dodge, and in 1974 Pioneer Dodge. It is currently the home of Premier Wine & Spirits.

3445 Delaware Ave., Kenmore NY today

…Jim Corbran, You Auto Know

...from the Buffalo Evening News, Nov 4, 1963

When this Buffalo Evening News ad ran in the November 4, 1963 editions, Brost Motors Inc. was a Dodge and Simca dealer (Simca was a French division of the Chrysler Corp.). In 1965 Brost became a Ford dealer at the same 1285 Main St.

1285 Main St., Buffalo NY today

address in Buffalo. By 1970 they had moved to Broadway in Alden. The Main Street building is currently home to William S. Hein & Co., which serves the law library and legal community by publishing, reprinting, and providing printed, micrographic, and electronically-formatted materials.

...from the brochure, 1964 Simca 1000

...publicity shot, 1964 Dodge 880

The 1964 Simca 1000 in the ad listed for just $1,595, while the Dodge 880 Custom convertible in the photo sold for more than twice that at $3,264.

…Jim Corbran, You Auto Know

(click here to see some of the things I see driving around Western New York every day)

Buffalo Evening News ad, Nov. 7, 1961

Back in 1961, when this ad ran in the Buffalo Evening News, A. I. Hubbard Motor Sales was carrying a rather unusual combination: Checker and Rambler. The Checker, sold primarily as a taxi, was trying to broaden its market by positioning itself as an “upscale” car. It was roomy, and durable, but not very stylish, so not many people took the bait. The last Checker sedan, mostly unchanged from the original 1956 model, rolled off the Kalamazoo assembly line in July, 1982.

Rambler, which lasted a bit longer (although the name disappeared after the 1969 models, when all former Ramblers were known as AMCs), eventually met the same demise as Checker. The 1987 Eagles were the final AMC cars to be built; AMC’s Jeep brand was sold off to Chrysler — and that was that.

The Hubbard dealership is currently the site of a collision shop, and according to the sign in the window, is for sale.

…Jim Corbran, You Auto Know

1961 Checker

1961 Rambler Ambassador

170 W. Ferry St. today

…but, making national headlines isn’t necessarily a good thing. The article in the accompanying photo appears in the February 8 issue of Autoweek magazine (which, when you come right down to it should really be named Auto-every-two-weeks, seeing that it’s published every other Monday).

...from Feb. 8 issue of Autoweek

Having spent some time in the auto sales business, I think I can say that Culligan, unless he held a gun to someone’s head and took the money out of their pocket, wasn’t doing anything that unusual in the used car business — which is pretty much why I got out of it.

In a tradition that dates back to 1975, BMW today announced that internationally renowned American artist Jeff Koons will be  creating the latest BMW Art Car, 17th in the series, to be revealed later this year. Past project artists include Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, and Frank Stella. Many of these cars/pieces-of-art have been exhibited in renowned museums throughout the world including the Louvre, the Guggenheim Museums, and the Shanghai Art Museum. They have been displayed at the BMW Museum in Munich, between 2006 and 2010 and many went on a world tour throughout Asia, Russia, Africa, India, the United States and Mexico.

Andy Warhol's 1979 BMW M1 Art Car

…Jim Corbran, You Auto Know