Rollin says he cannot e-mail the list directly so he sent this to me and I
am forwarding it.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rollin Bard" <Rollin.Bard@xxxxxxxx>
>
> Hi Hugh and Therese:
> Yes, my dad became a Chrysler Plymouth dealer in 1952 after running a
Dodge
> Plymouth store from 1947. He retired in 1984. I grew up in the dealership
> and have lots of memories. One year, we sold 8 Imperials, more than any
> other dealer in West Virginia. That may have been in 1958. I would wash
> and wax the new Imperials and put them in the showroom. We never had more
> than two at a time being in a small 8000 population town. We had one
> customer who owned a General Tire shop and would buy a new one every two
or
> three years.
> And yes, Chrysler Corp caused us a lot of grief over those 30 some years.
> Poor quality, not giving us hot cars (rare), making us give up the
> Studebaker franchise in order to get the Valiant franchise (1959), water
> leaks in 1957, too many dealers close to our poverty stricken area, near
> bankruptcy of Chrysler, terrible performance after the gov't started
telling
> manufacturers how to build the cars for smog control. I went to work for
> Chrysler in Detroit in 1964 and stayed until 1970. Actually worked at the
> Jefferson Ass'y plant in 1965 when my 66 LeBaron was built. On lunch
> breaks, I would walk around outside in the "sickbay". You never saw such
> bad body quality that had to be repaired before shipment. But as a
dealer,
> I saw poor quality come through. Question: is it cheaper to have the UAW
> factory workers fix the defects or have the dealer fix it under warranty?
> After all is said, I always thought the 65 and 66 Chrysler products were
the
> best they ever built. And that is why I am proud of my 66 Imperial. No
> smog control and easy to repair. I haven't started yet, but I know I am
> going to have fun.
> I sent this to you directly because I can't seem to get anything published
> on the Mailing List.
>
> Rollin Bard
> Fort Worth area
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