After the 10-year operation of Barrett-Ballard Motors ended in the sale of the business, the new Phillips Lincoln-Mercury opened its doors at 1 Ross Ave. The new owner was Philip Kay of West Hartford, Connecticut, who had been Treasurer and part-owner of Kay-Corey Oldsmobile on Main Street. The dealership was situated between South Canal and Jackson Streets.
After completing his education, Philip Kay worked in the wholesale produce business for about 6 years before turning his attention to the used car business in Hartford. A year later, he served in the Air Force for 3 years during World War II. After leaving the service, he opened his own used-car lot in Hartford in 1946, which he operated for several years. He became a part-owner of the previously mentioned Holyoke Oldsmobile dealership in 1954 and sold his interest 2 years later.
The new Phillips Lincoln-Mercury dealership began operating on a limited basis in early 1957 and officially opened for full-time operations on February 14, 1957. An open house was planned for the following week, during Washington’s Day weekend. Mr. Kay planned to invest about $10,000 in remodeling the facility.
The dealership featured a showroom, a 9,000-square-foot repair facility, and a 72,000-square-foot used-car lot on Maple Street.
The dealership was similar to its predecessor with one major exception. The company added English Fords to its new car inventory. A 1958 ad identified features such as being easy to handle and park, and getting 35 miles per gallon of gasoline, a noteworthy number for its day. The car was smaller than many, including the Lincoln and Mercury lines, and featured a Glide-ride suspension that smoothed the ride over rough roads. The car was built with many American parts for ease of repair, forsaking European metric sizing, which required special tools. There were 12 different models to choose from.
By 1958, the dealership was selling 400 cars per year. Mr. Kay was presented with a triangular-shaped electric watch by television host and New York Daily News writer Ed Sullivan. The presentation was in honor of the dealership reaching the highest Lincoln sales quota percentage in New England during two months in 1957. The watch’s triangular shape was symbolic of the dealership’s triangular land shape parcel at High and Maple Streets and Ross Ave.
More changes were soon on the way, and the next installment discusses the successor dealership, Bell Lincoln-Mercury.
Citations:
Newspapers.com (paid subscription): Citations: Holyoke (Massachusetts) Transcript & Transcript-Telegram; Springfield (Massachusetts) Republican; publication dates and pages are shown.
Ancestry.com (paid subscription): Price & Lee Holyoke, Massachusetts, City Directories
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