Then and now: Car dealerships used to flourish
Shelby Ford
One of the early new car dealers in South Lake Tahoe was Bob Murnane Ford of Placerville which operated a one-person extension sales booth near the Y in the mid-1960s.
Springmeyer’s Garage (the old stencilled “martial arts” beige building on Highway 50, about to be razed) was an International Scout dealer.
Neddenreip of Minden/Gardnerville also tapped into the Tahoe market.
Pardee Volkswagen
But achieving unique distinction in the 1960s was local Emil Pardee Volkwagen & Porsche, the South Shore’s first full-size new car dealership, with sales and service and its own new building. Reportedly, South Lake Tahoe at one time had more Volkswagens per capita than any other area.
Decades later, the building changed to a Chevrolet dealership before closing.
Today, the revamped building is part of the Les Schwab Tires facility.
Les Schwb
Whiteside Chevrolet
Whiteside Chevrolet of the 1960s on Lake Tahoe Boulevard at Julie Lane later became Shehadi Motors Chevrolet & Toyota.
Today it is Cardinale Way, the lone remaining new car dealer in South Lake Tahoe.
Shelby Ford (of Carroll Shelby fame who also owned the Sky Terrace Motel and Restaurant on Highway 50) was between the Whiteside and Pardee buildings in 1969. It is DIY today.
Cardinale Way
No photos, but I should include that in the 1980s
DIY
South Lake Tahoe also had Vic Bates Oldsmobile & Buick on Lodi Avenue, which became the library and theater of Lake Tahoe Community College before its present incarnation as The Attic thrift store of Barton Auxiliary; Don Weir Dodge on Tata Lane is the Kmart Garden Center today; the large two-story Honda dealership of the 1980s on Highway 89 now houses El Dorado County offices for engineering and other services; Bob Bellemore sold used cars on the corner now occupied by Bank of the West; Terry Libbon sold used cars on the lot on Highway 50 at Winnemucca, now Auto Bazaar.
— Bill Kingman
Photo credits: David Borges took the older photos; Bill Kingman the newer ones.
Wow!! That’s a real walk down memory lane. Thanks for sharing. Also seems to me there was a jeep dealership maybe, in or near, the old paint store near Winnamucca Street?
Good one Bill! I’d forgotten some of those car dealers names, but after reading your article it all came back. One I didn’t forget was Pardee VW. They had the coolest light blue Karman Ghia on the showroom floor. It was loaded with every avaiable option and aftermarket part available at the time. Nice car!. I ended up buying a used Corvair which set the tone for the rest of my car buying years. lol!
My Dad used to go to Springmeyers for repairs on our International Scout.
Thanks again, OLS
I was up here many times when I was a boy in the early ’50’s. I helped my dad build 2 cabins then. My wife and I now live here and absolutely love it. Thank you Bill for posting these very interesting articles.
My mom used to work at Pardee when I was in high school. I also bought my first new vehicle at Shelby Ford (although I don’t think it was still Shelby by then). Plus, before it was Vic Bates, the building on Lodi was the Jeep dealer that Les mentioned. I can’t remember the name of the family that owned it, but they kept the building after they closed down.
DaveH — thanks for the Lodi info!
Old Long Skiis — I traded my 1963 white Corvair at Whiteside…did YOU buy it? (CA plate AKB131)
It’s a small world, and this is such fun.
Interesting. Thanks guys!
Then & Now is my favorite part of Grab Bag.
thanks so much Mr. Bill, & OLS