Category:Sands Chevrolet, Allentown, Pennsylvania

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Sands Chevrolet was a short-lived Chevrolet dealership in Allentown, located at 2300 Hanover Avenue. It lost it's franchise from General Motors in October 2010 when GM was consolidating and eliminating many of its dealer franchises in a financial collapse. The Chevrolet franchise it held, however, was the oldest in Allentown and one of the oldest in the United States; the franchise originally being provided by General Motors in 1926 to Leigh Valley Chevrolet 84 years previously.

The history of the firm began in 1913 when the Lehigh Valley Motor Company selling Studebakers at 17-19 Church Street. in 1926 it became a General Motors Chevrolet dealership. The dealership moved to 625 Linden Street in 1930. In 1932, Lehigh Valley Chevrolet reorganized and became a Chrysler dealership; moving to a new location. The Chevrolet franchise was taken over by two former partners in the organization, the Shadt brothers, and the dealership became Town Motor Company. Town Motor Company remained at the 625 Linden Street location.

In April 1954, the Allentown Central Business District location became too confined for the business and it moved to a new, larger location on the East Side of the city, building an expansive dealership of several buildings at 1211 Hanover Avenue. Five years later, in May 1959, Town Motor Company was purchased by a group of investors from Philadelphia and became briefly known as Don Allen Chevrolet, and in February 1960, it was renamed Ed Newman Chevrolet.

The dealership again changed hands in November 1969 when it was purchaced by Jack Boody, another Philadelphia-based dealer who continued operations on Hanover Avenue. After selling the dealership to Boody, Newman worked for Jack Dankel, owner of the Chevrolet dealership at 19th and Tilghman Street for several years before retiring to Punta Gorda Florida. He later passed in Allentown in June 2002 at age 85.

In September 1980, Boody was going though financial straits and sold the dealership to James H. "Bud" Bennett of Allentown, who operated it jointly with his existing Toyota Dealership. Boody retired and later passed in Northampton in November, 1986. Bennet had been a car dealer in Allentown since 1951, selling a variety of imported cars. He renamed the dealership J H Bennett Chevrolet/Toyota, although the lot only sold Chevrolets, the Toyotas being a separate dealership at another location. Bennett moved the dealership to a new, more modern location at 2300 Hanover Avenue in January 1984.

In July 2005, J H Bennett passed and the dealership was taken over by his son, Bob Bennett. It was sold by Bennett in August 2007 to Terry Sands, and it was renamed Sands Chevrolet. Sands had expanded his dealerhip group from Red Hill in Montgomery County, whos familly had a Ford dealership since 1927, and had previousy expanded adding Chrysler and Jeeps. Sands Chevrolet closed as part of the reorganization of General Motors due to the Great Recession in October 2010, and lost the Chevrolet franchise. The dealership reopened as a used car dealership called Right Choice Autos, which remained part of the Sands Automotive Group, although unaffiliated with Chevrolet.

With the demise of the dealership, Chevrolets in the area are now sold by Outten Chevrolet at 17th and Tilghman Streets along with Scott Chevrolet on Lehigh Street.

Media in category "Sands Chevrolet, Allentown, Pennsylvania"

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