Well, no direct memory but my car still has the original license plate
frame from Carl Carlson in San Francisco. The original owner was the
fire chief in Sausalito.
Ron
58 MGA
don wrote:
> Back in the late '50s through early '70s, British car dealerships could
> be found in most US cities of any size, especially in California. Even
> before I got my first British car in 1965, I loved visiting the
> showrooms to admire the MGs, Triumphs and other British cars. Of
> course, I would always pilfer as many sales brochures as I could hoping
> to not upset the salespeople too much.
>
> I remember the BMC/Jaguar dealer in Napa on Soscol Avenue, which was to
> become Napa Valley Datsun when they dropped the British car line around
> 1967. There was a BMC dealer that tried again in Napa shortly after but
> didn't last long. I remember taking my MGA there for repairs in 1968,
> but I don't remember the name of the place. I do remember that it was
> very expensive to pay someone to repair my car, and after that, did most
> of my repairs myself. The name of it might have been Washborn Imports.
>
> In Santa Rosa, there was Ralph Vesper Motors on Santa Rosa Avenue which
> sold Triumphs and British Fords. I remember that dealership, because,
> as I bought parts for my old Anglia and Zodiac (c. 1966, '67), I was
> distracted by the siren's call of the sleek TR4s and Spitfires on
> display in the showroom. I still have a few pieces of the Triumph
> literature I took on visits to Vesper. Car dealers usually left their
> identification by irubber stamping their names and addresses onto the
> front or back of the sales literature. Vesper's name and address sill
> adorn my old Triumph brochures.
>
> The most interesting dealership to visit was always British Motors on
> Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco. They had Jaguar, Rolls Royce and the
> whole BMC line, and the cars they had on display were always of a high
> calibre. This was such a classy place that I always felt underdressed
> because I wasn't wearing a suit and tie. As an extreme British car nut,
> I was thrilled just to purchase parts there. I do have several license
> plate frames from there, which I think are a cool period accessory.
>
> Other dealerships that come to mind are Union Jack (BMC) in Hayward and
> British Motors in San Jose.
>
> Anyone else have any recollections of the British car dealer world in
> the area?
>
> Don Scott
> Calistoga
> 1962 MGA Mk II
> 1991 Miata BRG
> 1973 MGB GT
> 1962 TR4 (seeking)
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