Back in 1979, I was a salesman for Walt Bennett Ford in Little Rock, Ark. One August morning I greeted a young man and his parents. The young man said he was looking for a Thunderbird or a F-150 4x4 pickup. After test driving six Thunderbirds ...

Unfortunately, turn over in our business is an all-too-frequent occurrence. We had a controller who worked for us for a number of years then suddenly announced one Friday that the following week would be his last. He was a popular employee with a great personality and conversed as easily with the dealer or upper management as he did with ...

After reading "The Bomb" in the June issue, I recalled an incident that happened some years ago. I had a customer, an attorney, Joe, who drove a 15-year–old, beat-up Cadillac that he refused to get rid of and lovingly referred to as the “Old Bomb.” When he needed service, Joe would pull up out front, and I'd jump in his car and drop him off at his office a few blocks away ...

The sign above the car lot read, “Yes we have cars under $1,000.” No big mystery here, we’re talking about basic transportation—not how far or how fast, just that it runs. This is a niche that definitely needed filling 20 years ago. Bob always greeted people with