Dick Barker wrote:
> >
> >Larry, et al,
> >
> >After Chrysler closed down the Rootes operations (International
> >Automobiles) on the Left Coast, Ian Garrard made his livelihood selling
> >garage lifts.............................
Hello Gang:
I know this very well. I used to manage a car dealership, Studio City Volvo &
Saab, (Los Angeles, California area) and we used those exact lifts, which had
been purchased from Ian. That dealership was originally Haste & Hirsty Sunbeam
& Rootes Group Cars, and if you have an old Rootes dealer list you'll find it
in there. I've got a couple of photos of it from the 60's with a few Rootes
cars showing. They also sold, in those days, Triumph and MG, although it
originally was strictly a Rootes store when it opened in the 50's. The owner of
the dealership, Bill Hirsty, who still owns it as far as I know, knew Ian well
since he was the Rootes rep for the dealership. When Rootes went under, as Dick
mentions, Ian made his living selling those lifts and sold them to Mr. Hirsty.
When I ran the place, we had about 20 of them in our service department and I
used them every day for years. They were very useful and easy to utilize.
Unfortunately, after I left the dealership, these were taken out and, I
believe, sold for scrap metal value, although I think a couple of them did find
homes at other shops.
As an aside, Mr. Hirsty used to tell me he really liked being a Rootes dealer,
the relationship with the factory was great (not all car dealers get along with
their manufacturers) and he made good money on both sales and repairs.
Steve Sage
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