Extant K-F Dealers

[dragondust]

Is there anyone aware of a K-F dealer that is essentially still in business from shifting automotive brands until the present?

[G.B. (All Vinyl Dragon)]

Welcome to the Forum.
Here in the Forum We had someone working on this.

If You have a Dragon or other K F product , Please Post.

Welcome

[darrin145]

Is there anyone aware of a K-F dealer that is essentially still in business from shifting automotive brands until the present?

There is a dealer who first opened in Syracuse,NY which is now in Cicero,NY that started in 1937 selling used cars. Grant A. Burdick & Sons morphed into Glenn's Sales & Service after WWII. Glenn sold Kaiser/Frazer and Packard vehicles. Then in 1954 he obtained the Rambler franchise. Today the family run business operates as Driver's Village, a VERY LARGE dealership with 21 brands.

[DTort96646]

Yes, Dan's Jeep Chrysler in Westborough, MA. Kaiser Frazer in 1951, Kaiser Jeep in 1953, and Jeep Chrysler Dodge SRT in 2018. Same family since 1942.

[dragondust]

Thanks, guys. I think some kind of commemorative award from our club would be a fitting tribute to these enterprises who kept going--building on the product line we honor within our organization.
And...to the gentleman that wants my "Dragon" added to the list, I can only say that I want one in the worst way. My handle on this forum was conjured up because of my great interest in these wonderful models.

[mbflemingkf]

Dust, where are you located...saw your reference to the "South"?  I'm in NC.

Mike
 

[dragondust]

My suggestion was based on a personal one--that I hope other members may share--that these dealers had the temerity and business sense to continue in a challenging market. I doubt that they "didn't give a darn" because you can't keep a dealership running all those years and not care about customers in addition to what you are selling. And, from that care, you get continued sales. K-F stressed service in a rather dynamic way and early on. Despite the fact that these products disappeared from the American marketplace (while the Willys Aero and the Kaiser Manhattan-based Carabella soldiered on in South America), the years spent building a customer base allowed these dealerships to continue with other products, including distant relatives like the Jeep brand. I say kudos to those businessmen and it is a great testament to them that they have made money; and, I contend, that they do "give a darn"! From a historical viewpoint, perhaps we should acknowledge them.  Just my view. I have been lucky to know four families of car dealers in a very close way. I can guarantee that all of them cared very much about what they sold, how they sold it, and how they cared for it after the sale. By the way, I am in Palmetto, GA, which, according to the list, had a dealership in 1951 on our main thoroughfare!

[Terry T]

Is there anyone aware of a K-F dealer that is essentially still in business from shifting automotive brands until the present?

I learned a new word because of this thread.

THANKS

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

If a dealer was forced out during the 1953-55 period (when Kaiser-Willys Sales Corporation began cutting car dealers in favor of Jeep dealers if territories were overlapping or duplicated between the K-F and Willys-Overland dealer systems) that is one thing.  However, across the country there were many Kaiser-Frazer dealers who established good CSI (Customer Satisfaction Index) & developed a good track records & were happy to jump ship at the first opportunity (such as Judy Motor Company in Gallipolis OH who went to Buick in 1948) and only looked back to use their new car K-F sales as a prospect list to get the customer into the new brand they took on.  Some dealers spent 2 or more years trying to get out of Kaiser-Frazer into another brand (such as Mr. Tonkin in Portland OR who began to pester Chevrolet for a franchise as early as 1951...that comes from family members contacted in 2010).   

To be fair to those who used the Kaiser-Frazer program as a steppingstone, it was good business sense to go with a company that offered more potential than stay with a brand that after the summer of 1951 seemed a dead end to them.  No doubt, if you research the history of the dealership you will find the next stop was Studebaker, Packard or Hudson which was soon followed by another switchover to a big 3 line (like Earl J. Lance in Elyria OH, just outside Cleveland) that they stayed with until the K-F man died and others took over the business.   I know of at least 1 Wisconsin dealer who took on K-F in 1948 and terminated his franchise within 6 months when Nash Motors offered him a franchise.  It should be noted that many of the old operators who made the switch from K-F or Willys were cut between 2006-2009 by the Big 3, especially those with a Chrysler Corporation franchise at the time as territories were once again consolidated.  Case in point, a 1957 Chevrolet TV commercial spoke of the 7,000 Chevy dealers across the United States (48 states at the time).  Now there are less than 3,000 Chevy dealers in operation in the 50 states.   

If you want to recognize a dealership still in operation, do your homework well to see when the K-F association ended & why.  A dealer who stayed to the end (1954-55) and did not sell their parts stocks & special service tools back to Kaiser-Willys Sales Corporation (so they could provide service support for the K-F owners until they traded their cars in) showed proper respect for brand and product.  A dealer who jumped ship at first opportunity or tried for years to get into what they thought was a better program is another matter.

[G.B. (All Vinyl Dragon)]

Well said .....
I know of Some Dealerships lost Jeep cause when they sold to Chrysler Dodge everything moved to that Dealer in Your Town.

They Lost Oldsmobile, & Now only have GMC.

[dragondust]

Exactly...and those are the dealers I had in mind. Are any active dealers (selling other product now) known members of our organization? They, obviously, would be those of the typology who might be honored in some way. I defer to members and learned historians like you, Jack, for information such as this. As a "newbe"...I am full of questions and ideas; I'm the proverbial kid in the candy store so be patient. I have always loved these cars, and I should have supported and learned from KFOC resources many years before now, but at least I am on board. I have yet to make a meet or own a K-F product, but I am very impressed with the warm and friendly reception I have received from club members! I just renewed and shoved my electric bill aside for awhile. Priorities!

[DTort96646]

I can tell you first hand that our first auto franchise was Kaiser Frazer. My Uncle was the dealer principal and flew to Willow Run, MI to drive back to Westboro, Ma his first vehicle. It was a black 1951 Frazer 4 door sedan. When Kaiser bought Willys in 1953, we took on Willys as well. In late 1954, customers ordered new Kaisers and gave deposits for the new models. My uncle was told to return the deposits in 1955, because the 1955 Kaisers would not be released for sale. Only then did we take on American Motors. We had no other options at the time. When Chrysler bought American Motors, we still had Jeep and then took on the Chrysler and Dodge line. The main reason Chrysler cut some dealers was because they had poor customer service. We had several dealers in our area with franchises terminated because of their poor reputations. GM did the same but for poor sales and finance reasons. In 2003 Chrysler Corporation recognized us as one of the oldest continuously operation Jeep dealers in the country. I'm sure some of the Kaiser Frazer dealers couldn't wait to bail out, but by the same token, I'm sure several others were caught in a lurch when sold cars were not released. I still have several K F tools and we threw out lots of K F parts in the 60's. By the way I currently own the last Kaiser we sold, a 1954 Kaiser Darrin #1357, and a 1951 Frazer Manhattan 4 door hardtop . I've been a member since 1968. We are listed in the dealer list on the KFOCI Handbook CD version 5.0. #2664, Dans Service Station, Westboro, MA

[dragondust]

DTort, this is a fantastic story and just the scenario on which I based my suggestion: honoring selected dealerships who stemmed the tide and consistently gave customers the very best service in a marketplace fraught with just the opposite [as you pointed out]. I hope we can get more of your recollections about your K-F-W era tandem with photographs should you have them. Again, being new, perhaps this has already been done in a prior issue of our Quarterly. If not, however, it is certainly something I hope we will consider.  And, right here and now, with no plaque in hand, I salute you!

[dragondust]

Speaking of the KFOC Handbook CD version, mine came damaged and will not read completely. How do I get another one?

[kaiserfrazerlibrary]

The CD was designed primarily for computers using MS/DOS (Microsoft) rather than Apple operating systems.  While Apples offers conversion prototols to use some Microsoft products (or things created via MS/DOS) there can be problems if you're unable to use the interactive Table of Contents.  Otherwise, you can ask the Club Secretary for a replacement if yours was damaged in the mail.  For more info and possible fixes, please either call me or email me.  I'm listed in the Monthly Bulletin.

Jack Mueller