While much of the nation worries about snowy or icy driving conditions in January, Scottsdale is all smiles.
This month we welcome tens of thousands to our renowned classic car auctions and shows, held under sunny skies and dry conditions conducive to collector cars. But you can’t talk about classic cars without talking about classic and historic car dealerships, the ones that have literally been the driving force behind our love affair with motor vehicles throughout Scottsdale’s history.
Consider these memorable motor traders:
• Motor vehicles appeared in the United States in the 1890s and in the Phoenix area around 1900. By 1905 there was a motorized “stage” (bus) between Phoenix and Scottsdale over horse trail routes without asphalt Car racing was a popular attraction at the Arizona Territorial Fair; Famous stock car racer Barney Oldfield was a big draw and whetted the appetite of Arizonans to own a car of their own.
• Phoenix hosted an auto show in 1912. A highly publicized road race took place between San Diego and Phoenix; the winning time was 19.5 hours. Arizona Highways began publishing in the 1920s to promote the use of the state’s developing highway system. Each of these events boosted car dealership sales.
• Scottsdale businessmen EO Brown, Charles Miller, William Kimsey and Wilford Hayden were among the first local automobile owners in the 1910s. Their Model Ts served as transportation and as engines to run mining equipment agriculture and livestock. Today, cars drive down Scottsdale streets that bear his name.
• Scottsdale’s first auto dealership was opened by Walter Smith about 1918. Roy and Glenn Peterson opened their Scottsdale Motors dealership and repair center in 1935 on Scottsdale Road.
• World War II brought tire and gas rationing to cities and rural America, and Detroit was retooled to manufacture military vehicles. No new cars were produced during the war years. Auto repair shops in Scottsdale flourished, recycling parts and cars as they could. For example, “Scotty” Scott turned his blacksmith shop into a vehicle repair facility. After the war, as the auto industry worked to resume manufacturing cars for consumers, rebuilding and extending the life of existing/pre-1941 cars was vital to meet demand from the North – Americans hungry to drive and travel. Arizona State College took over the former pilot training base Thunderbird Field No. 2 (on land now occupied by the Scottsdale Airport and Thunderbird Seventh-day Adventist Academy) and operated a voc technology school for returning veterans. Among the courses offered were car repair, air conditioning and upholstery.
• Catering to the increased demand for new and used cars, car dealerships opened in Old Town Scottsdale. Scottsdale’s first postwar bank, the Bank of Douglas, also recognized the desire to buy cars and offered loans to potential buyers. Most dealers combined the owner’s name with the make of the car they were selling. Familiar names included: John Woudenberg Pontiac, Gray Madison’s Paradise Motors (claimed in a 1959 ad to be Scottsdale’s only franchised new car dealer), Money Jeep and Olds, Peterson’s Scottsdale Motors (Dodge and Plymouth), Spur Auto Sales (used cars), Valley Motors, Car Corral (the only used car dealer in town in the early 1950s), Loose Auto Agency, Slim Kemp’s (used car) Sales and Service , And others.
• By the 1960s, Scottsdale had grown as a city to 75 square miles with a population of just 44,000. Almost every household had at least one car. Auto dealers recognized a desirable consumer base in Scottsdale and saw very little regulation of where they could locate. Within days of becoming Scottsdale’s first planning director in 1963, the late George Fretz found himself embroiled in his first zoning controversy. A major car dealership wanted to locate on Scottsdale Road, just south of Chaparral, which would have set the stage for a “strip commercial” to the north along Scottsdale Road. Through his advocacy and tenacity, Fretz and the city council devised a new “residential-resort” zoning, which created Scottsdale Road as the landmark thoroughfare it is today.
• From 1918 until the 1960s there were auto dealerships in downtown Scottsdale: Gray Madison’s Paradise Motors at the southwest corner of Scottsdale and Camelback roads may have been the last (until recent years when Scottsdale Fashion Square and the surrounding area began to host dealerships). Madison and others moved to McDowell Road where there was more land for their inventory and where people came to shop at the new (1969) Los Arcos Mall.
• After several decades of operating in McDowell, car dealers and the city branded the area the “Motor Mile.” Among the names formerly known: Arizona English Motors, Nowak Used Cars, Scottsdale Imported Cars, Max of Switzerland, Bud Beck Pontiac-Kia, Bud Brooks Cadillac, Madison’s Chevrolet, Ray Korte Chevrolet, Jack Ross Lincoln Mercury, Kachina Cadillac, Scott Toyota, Chapman Autoplex, Linda Brock Auto, Pitre Buick-Hyundai, Pitre Chrysler Plymouth-Jeep-Eagle, Pitre Isuzu, Powell Volvo-Mazda, Scottsdale Acura, Scottsdale Honda, Scottsdale Hummer, Scottsdale Porsche Audi-Jaguar, Scottsdale Lexus, Scottsdale Mitsubishi, Nissan , Bill Heard Chevrolet and more. Interestingly, Russ Jackson, co-founder of collector car auction Barrett-Jackson, located his car wash among McDowell Road car dealers in the 1960s.
• While the McDowell Corridor is still home to some auto dealerships, many auto sales operations have gravitated north, following commercial and population growth and the Loop 101.
• Werner Schumacher (Mercedes dealership-1985 on North Hayden Road) and Lou Grubb (Ford-1988 on Frank Lloyd Wright) were the pioneer car dealers at Scottsdale Airpark in the 1980s; many followed. Familiar names include Van Chevrolet-GEO, Lund Cadillac, Earnhardt Hyundai, Cavallino Classics, Ed Moses Doge North Scottsdale, Gephart Classic Cars, Legend Cadillac, Lotus Cars of Scottsdale, Madison Motors, Pinnace Nissan, Right Toyota, Saturn of Scottsdale, Sun Pontiac and others.
• When the airpark reached construction and dealers had no more room to expand, many moved north of the Scottsdale Airpark to the former Arabian horse property on the west (Phoenix) side of Scottsdale Road, as well as on the east side of Scottsdale Road (in Scottsdale). Familiar names: Penske (17 different car models/makes and the Penske Racing Museum), Bell Lexus, Bentley, North Scottsdale Mercedes (formerly Schumacher) and more.
• In 2017, the Scottsdale Auto Showroom opened at Indian School east of Pima Road on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community Land and is home to several makes of cars.
• Several car designers/manufacturers have called Scottsdale home and introduced new models here. Malcolm Bricklin moved his headquarters to Scottsdale in the 1970s, shortly after debuting his innovative gullwing sports car. Three of the sports cars were leased to the Scottsdale Police Department for $1 a year, but were returned to the company in less than a year when Bricklin ran into financial difficulties, causing replacement parts were difficult to achieve. Today, anything “Bricklin” is a collectible. Automakers Tucker, Duesenberg and Shelburg lived here at one time.
• The Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction began in 1967 as the Unsold Auto Show, Fiesta de los Autos Elegantes. Held at Scottsdale Stadium, it benefited the Scottsdale Library and local charities. In 1971 Barrett-Jackson moved to the Safari Resort on Scottsdale Road and began auctioning classic vehicles. As the event grew, it was moved to Phoenix Muni Stadium, where it was held annually from 1977 to 1988. Scottsdale Mayor Herb Drinkwater lured the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction to Scottsdale, where the auction and show have been held at WestWorld since 1989.
• Other classic car auctions in the Scottsdale area have included Kruse, Gooding, Russo and Steele, RM Sotheby’s and Bonham’s. Combined with Barrett-Jackson, its local economic impact is enormous.
• Options in the 2020s for buying a vehicle: Carvana car vending machines, online-only car sales with home delivery, waiting lists for electric vehicles. Arizona has also been a proving ground for self-driving vehicles.
• Car dealers have also been community leaders. John Woudenberg was mayor (1964); Glenn Peterson (1953), John Woudenberg (1962-64) and Virginia Korte (2013-21) served on the Scottsdale City Council; CM Bud Brooks chaired Scottsdale Memorial Hospital Board of Trustees; Bud Brooks and Virginia Korte served as Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce board chairs; Max Haechler has been president of the Scottsdale-Interlaken Sister Cities Committee for years and has served as the Consul of Switzerland in Arizona. Linda Brock served on several local boards and commissions. Gray Madison was a founder of the Paradise Valley Country Club and a promoter of golf events in the Scottsdale area. Lou Grubb was also a great promoter of golf and a philanthropist.
It doesn’t matter if your car craving is a classic, a cheap ride, a sleek convertible, or a kid-friendly SUV, there’s a car dealership in Scottsdale waiting to serve you.
