An Automobile Odyssey

You are about to read a story of a man who started out in life with next to nothing and was able to achieve the American dream with notable successes in the automobile industry. The automobile was not invented in a single day or by a single inventor. Who exactly invented the automobile is just a matter of opinion. The history of the automobile reflects a worldwide evolution that took place over 130 years. Over time cars have had an enormous impact on our society and changed the way people lived, worked and enjoyed their leisure time.Much has been written about America’s love affair with the automobile. My love affair with the automobile was a lasting one. It was easy to fall in love with my first car, savoring the freedom that it would bring to my teen life. The exhilaration of traveling to distant places and discovering what life was about in my youth would be something that I will remember always.
My story began when I was born the son of Italian immigrants who achieved citizenship and was the youngest of five siblings by fifteen years. I was raised in a comfortable but modest environment in a small town in southern New Jersey and the only one of five to graduate high school.
My father, was a tough old country Italian who taught me something very valuable – the work ethic. I became aware of the moral benefit and importance of hard work and its ability to strengthen one’s character. Little did I realize back then as a teenager how far the work ethic would take me going forward.
Not having attended college, I recognized early on that the automobile industry offered unprecedented opportunities for someone with the drive and ambition to succeed, particularly in an automobile dealership. The automobile industry is one of the world’s most important economic sectors by revenue.
When I look back on my forty-seven years in the auto industry, I can recall my humble start as a parts counterman in a NAPA Auto Parts store. I was later hired as a Parts Manager for a local Lincoln-Mercury dealership. The job was a beginning that helped me to launch a highly successful career in the automobile industry. After managing the parts department for a year, I became an automobile Salesman, later was promoted to Sales Manager, then moved up to General Manager. The wealth of experience I had successfully accumulated in six years with a new car dealer operation had prepared me to go out on my own and establish a new business.
Through the years I would build my first dealership, purchase a second dealership, then retire early at age 55. After a short retirement, I built a third dealership and continued on for many more years until my second and final retirement.
The automobile industry has come a long way from its humble origins of horse and buggy conversion. The first gasoline powered production vehicle was credited to Karl Benz in 1886. The drivers of the day were adventurous, going out on dirt roads in every weather condition unprotected by an enclosed body.
In 1913 Henry Ford built the first moving chassis assembly line producing an affordable car for the masses. Fast forward to 2017 and the automobile has evolved into a powerful stylish comfortable vehicle powered by turbo-charged engines, hybrid power, electrics and hydrogen power.
We are soon entering an era of new technology with autonomous or self-driving cars What will the future hold for automobiles?
Let me tell you about an Automobile Odyssey . . . .