The Real Smith Motors



There really was a Smith Motors Edsel dealership in my home town of Hickory, NC in 1957 when the Edsel was introduced. This ad contains the only photo I have found of the dealership building and is very bad, due to the fact that it came from a microfilm copy of the local newspaper.


An ad for the Grand Opening! Apparently, Hammond organ music drew big crowds in 1957!




At left is a newspaper article about the new dealership, complete with photos of the general manager, and the office manager. And on the right is an ad they ran the day before E-day. A later ad stated that more than 10,000 people visited the dealership during the grand opening to see the new Edsels (or to hear that organ music!)



The ad on the left ran when the first Citation convertible was sold at the dealership. It hit the paper on September 9, 1957. At right, a later ad mentioned The Edsel Show, with Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby!

Email: smith@edsel.net