Mother Ships

I get upset when I hear about dealerships closing, so I’ve been spending a lot of time being upset these days. It seems as if a way of life is being stolen from us. The worse part for me is that the Mother Ships are going away and with them the heritage that makes up the world of a Car Man.

A Mother Ship is the dealership that made a difference in your life. It’s the place that you consider home even though many years might have passed since you worked there. I know that every Car Man has a place like this in his heart. Some of them work there for many years, even an entire career in some cases.

Earlier this week Good Chevrolet in Alameda, California went out of business. I never worked there, but I know that it was the Mother Ship for generations of Car Men. It had been in business for fifty-eight years—the same age as me. For many years you couldn’t buy a job at Good Chevrolet. Salesmen tended to stay there for many years. I believe I read that the sales manager had been there for thirty of those years. And now it’s gone.

This tragedy is repeating itself on an almost daily basis all over this country. Some of the dealerships deserved to go, I suppose. As we all know mismanagement is rampant in this business. When times were good, they managed to stay open because of the sheer number of people buying cars. When things tubed they were the first to go.

But it still makes me feel bad.

Personally I have two Mother Ships. The first one, of course, is Hayward Ford, in Hayward California. I have written about this dealership extensively so there is no need to go into it now. Suffices to say, I learned the building blocks of my trade there, and that’s something I can never forget.

My second Mother Ship is Shellworth Chevrolet in Vacaville, California. I lucked into Shellworth at a pretty low time in my life. There were a few things that were a little screwy about the place, but they took me in, gave me the opportunity to redeem myself financially, and gave me a home for many years.

I quit Shellworth three years ago to take my present job. I have often wondered if that was a good idea. When I visit my friends there, or even drive by it on the freeway, I am filled with good feelings and thanks that I had the opportunity to work there. The owner, Tom Shellworth, is a smart and capable guy. If he isn’t able to weather the storm that has been swirling around our industry, no one can.

Where is your Mother Ship? I’d like to know. What special place trained you, gave you a place filled with opportunities, friends and memories? If you’d leave a comment, I’d be glad to read it.


Talk to you later,


David


UPDATE: In May 2010 Shellworth Chevrolet was reinstated by General Motors.