1961 New Car Introduction
1961 – Lewis Reed (left) and James Gartner, Salesman, stand in front of the new car showroom
New car introduction was always one of the most exciting times at Reed Brothers Dodge. It was a once-a-year celebration that everyone looked forward to attending. For the salesman, it meant additional car sales. To the dealership, it was another method to reach out to hundreds of current and potential customers, not only for new car sales, but also to advertise the dealership’s other services. Many sales were made during new car introduction by those customers who had to be the first on their block to own one of the new models.
The car on display is a 1961 Dodge Polara 4-door sedan, Dodge’s top-of-the-line full-size car. The new look featured a wide, concave grille with low-mounted quad headlights and the curious reverse-slant fins. The name Polara is a reference to the Polaris star, in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race during the early 1960s. In its various forms, the Polara name was used by Dodge until 1973, when its position in Dodge’s line-up was replaced by the Dodge Monaco.
To attract drive-by motorists, large signs were placed in the showroom windows hyping the new year models: Dart, Lancer and Polara. Back in the day, there was tremendous brand loyalty. Customers who bought Dodges, usually bought them for life. In fact, many former customers traded every year and would buy a car on the spot. In the 1960s, new car introduction was a much more important part of the American automotive buying habit. Today, it’s a thing of the past.
The photo was taken from the corner of Rockville Pike and what is now known as “Dodge Street”. The state of Maryland named the connector street behind the dealership’s original location, Dodge Street because Reed Brothers was located there for 56 years (1914-1970).
Not Just a Dodge Dealer
Lewis Reed’s Rockville Garage sold more than just Dodges. During the early years, Reed Brothers represented several franchise nameplates along with Dodge, including Oldsmobile, Hudson and Essex. The Hudson and Oldsmobile were sold at Reed Brothers from roughly 1917 through 1921.
In 1930. Reed Brothers added the Plymouth line. The first Plymouth was built in 1928 and Plymouths were sold at Reed Brothers until 1969, when the brand was given to the Chrysler dealers.
This photograph of the original 1916 Rockville Garage shows a 1916 model 44 Oldsmobile with V8 and sedan body parked in front. The original owners of Rockville Garage are standing in front. From left: Roy Warfield – Lewis Reed – Griffith Warfield.
Below is new car showtime as fair-goers get their first glimpse at the latest models that Rockville Garage had to offer. Identified by the triangle logo on the grill and the number of passengers seated in it, the car below appears to be a 1918 Hudson Super Six Seven Passenger Touring.
Anybody for a demonstration drive? 1918 Hudson Super Six Seven Passenger Touring
Hudson Super Six, Oldsmobile, and Dodge Brothers Motor Cars on display
Rockville Garage, 1918 – Hudson Super Six, Oldsmobile, and Dodge Brothers Motor Cars on display at Rockville Fairgrounds. Lewis Reed is seated in the drivers seat of the Rockville Garage Service Truck.
1918 Rocvkille Fair Grounds
The first advertisement below, distributed by the Oldsmobile Sales Company in the Sunday, June 29, 1919 edition of The Washington Post is probably one of the first ads in which the Rockville Garage appeared. Dealers are listed in fine print at the bottom: note Rockville Garage, Rockville, Md, highlighted in yellow. (click on image to enlarge)
Washington Post 1919
Suicide Doors
Reed Brothers Dodge owned a 1928 Dodge Brothers Standard Six with rear-hinged suicide doors.
1928 Dodge Brothers Standard Six
So why are these doors called suicide doors? Did someone commit suicide with one? What’s suicidal about a door?
The theory is that the forward motion of the car could cause the door to fly open, possibly causing the unlucky person sitting next to the door to be pulled out of the car, or the door itself could be ripped from its hinges. It’s debatable as to whether this was speculation or reality, but cars of this era did not have seat belts, so there was nothing to hold a passenger in the car.
The term “suicide doors” was therefore placed on vehicles with the rear-hinged door configuration, the theory being that anyone inside was on a suicide mission because of the design.
Farming Out Business
During World War II, Reed Brothers Dodge had no new cars to sell for three and a half years. When manufacturers halted car production and many dealers went bankrupt, Lewis Reed converted his car showroom into a display room and sold GE washing machines and other large appliances to fill the gap. After the end of World War II, the car boom came and the automobile assembly lines were back in action. The first car after the war was the 1946 Dodge, which sold for about $800.
Car salesmen back in the 1940s would drive as far as 35 miles to deliver cars to their spread-out farmer customers. Lewis Reed allotted specific sales territory to his salesmen in four different directions from the dealership. The salesmen spent all day in the outlying areas, because the farm people in Poolesville, Rockville, Barnesville and Spencerville had no time to go to a showroom. Lee Gartner (Lewis Reed’s son-in-law) spent his summers on his grandfather’s farm and it was Mr. Lewis Reed who brought his grandfather’s car to him. Three of the four salesmen at the time were Francis O. Day, Raleigh S. Chinn and Benjamin Thompson.
At that time, Reed Brothers was selling about eight new cars a month and most sales resulted from knocking on people’s doors. It was direct person to person sales contact, relationship building and trust – all built and sealed on a handshake.
1946 Dodge Deluxe Fluid Drive
This 1946 Dodge Deluxe 4-Door Sedan Fluid Drive was a vehicle from Reed Brothers private collection of automobiles and was one of the first cars my father (Lee Gartner) sold as a salesman at Reed Brothers. When the original owner (Lewis Bell) could no longer drive, my dad purchased it back from him. As the story goes, Mr Bell nicknamed the old car “Charity” because it was the only car he ever drove and it always got him where he wanted to go.
Being married to Lewis Reed’s daughter and next President of the dealership had its perks. My dad could have had his pick of any new car on the lot to drive as his personal company car, but what did he choose to drive around most of the time? You guessed it … “Charity”.
Depending on your age, there are any number of ways for a parent to embarrass their children, and one of the easiest ways was via the kind of vehicle they drove. When I was a kid, nothing screamed “uncool” louder than this old car. I remember when I was a teenager, my dad drove me to school one day in “Charity”. The good thing was that this car was so big that I had plenty of room to duck down below eye level and not be seen by the outside world.
The first car after World War II was the 1946 Dodge, which sold for about $800, but with many options (Fluid Drive, radio, heater, clock, cigar lighter, antenna, sun visor, turn signals and seat covers), it probably sold for a couple hundred dollars more.
The 1946 Dodge featured numerous improvements over pre-war cars; the big news, though, was the new “All Fluid Drive”. The fluid drive transmission could be driven like an automatic, but it was simpler, less expensive, more efficient and more reliable than the full automatics available in the late 1940s. The Dodge engine was a 3.8 liter flathead 6 with a manual transmission or optional fluid drive. A new starter was operated by a button on the dash.
Photo captions are some notes from the brochures.
The steering wheel got a new horn-blowing ring and center ornament and new plastic control buttons were centrally grouped. The optional turn signals were put in their current position to the left of the steering column. Other options included a clock, radio, heater, and backup lights.
A new optional electric clock put the setting button onto the clock instead of in the glove compartment.
New instrument panel with brighter, safer non-glare edge lighting, with sharpened contrast that makes dials easier to read.
Inside, plastic was used for door knobs and controls on the instrument panel. Rotary door latches allowed for closing doors lightly; spring tension kept the doors closed. Rotary door latches have a continuous “take up” to keep doors snug … door handles are safety-curved to prevent catching of clothing and prevent injury. Window and door moldings have a rich woodgrain finish.
Room Galore! Just look at that wide expanse of cushion … much like your Davenport at home. You’ll appreciate the additional comfort of these rear seats which are almost 8 inches wider. Front seats, too, are a full 6 inches wider. Dodge is in reality a “three-couple” car in which SIX BIG PEOPLE can ride in comfort.
While taking pictures I caught part of my reflection in the chrome. I’m not all that great of a photographer and even trying to hide behind the trunk latch didn’t quite work out.
Super size trunk! Designed to add more usable space. Floor is level with opening – luggage slides right in.
Dodge branded hubcaps “set off” the appearance of the car.
Dodge ram hood ornament and crest. This one had separate horns, and was a popular aftermarket accessory for Dodge trucks well into the late 1960s.
Hood is stamped with the Dodge coat of arms and “DODGE”. Dodge used a crest (the Dodge family coat of arms), starting in 1941; the Dodge coat of arms referred to changed shape in 1955, 1956 and 1957 before fading away at some time after 1960.
Here is the1946 Dodge Deluxe parked on the street at the Kentland’s Mansion
To commemorate Mary Jane and Lee Gartner’s 50th wedding anniversary on April 10, 1998, the dealership spruced up the vintage ’46 Dodge. Richard, the eldest son of Lee and Mary Jane, chauffeured his parents to and from the Kentland’s Mansion in this car for their Golden Wedding Anniversary celebration.
Mary Jane (blue coat) & Lee Gartner (red tie)
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Copyright Notice
Reed Brothers Dodge History (1915-2012) by Jeanne Gartner is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.
Reed Brothers Dodge History 1915 – 2012 
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