James Wood Motors
in Decatur Celebrates
Decatur, Texas • Wednesday, November 16, 2011
2
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
CHEVROLET | 100 YEARS
Making The Wood Way Work for You...
Managers for James
Wood’s Decatur dealerships include (standing
from left) Mark Sanders, Cecil LeMond, Eddie
Hale, Roy Young, Judy
Tait, Ted Moore, Mark
Dobbs, Tom Keenan, Chad
Huddleston, Roger Hitt,
Rick Bramlett, Raymond
Wood and Cody Burkhart.
Seated are Randy Bounds,
Robin Garrett, Audra
Rhine, Greta McDaniel,
Amanda Williams, Susan
Miller, Carey Williams
and Asa Johnson Jr.
Not pictured are Richard
Flynt, Rusty Ford, James
Ray Garrett, Jeff Horn,
Andy Hudson, Nick Huff,
Melanie Jones, Judy Lewis,
Rusty Rice, Brandt Wicker,
and James Wood.
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WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
CHEVROLET | 100 YEARS
3
Mr. Chevrolet
M
ost people know the name
Chevrolet, but few people
know much about the man
behind the Chevrolet brand.
The Chevrolet car company is
actually named for one man —
Louis Chevrolet — a dare-devil
who came from France to
America and became famous as
a racing driver.
SOME FACTS ABOUT
LOUIS CHEVROLET:
! As early as July 16, 1895, Louis Chevrolet was the winner of a
French cycling race as reported in the “Journal de Beaune.”
! In May 1905, Chevrolet’s name first appeared in press reports in
connection with motorized races. Driving a massive Fiat racer at Morris
Park, N.Y., Chevrolet broke the track’s flying-mile record with a 68-mph
run. He then went on to win a three-mile flying-start race at the same
event.
! During the 1906 speed trials at Ormond Beach, Fla., Chevrolet drove
a French-built Darracq race car, powered by what was at the time a
spectacularly powerful 200-hp V8, to a then world-record speed of
118.7 mph.
! On March 5, 1909, Chevrolet was engaged as a driver for William C.
“Billy” Durant’s famed Buick racing team. Subsequently, Chevrolet’s
successes as a race car driver multiplied. While brothers Arthur and
Gaston would also race professionally, Louis generally lead the
Chevrolet team when they competed together.
! Despite all of the spectacular successes, Chevrolet paid a price
for his racing career. Celebrated in the American press as “the
dare-devil Frenchman,” he is said to have spent nearly three
years in hospital beds as the result of various accidents. When
the youngest Chevrolet brother, Gaston, died as the result of
a racing accident in 1920, Louis vowed to never race again.
Congratulations to James Wood
from One Community
Leader to Another
Member F.D.I.C. • Equal Housing Lender
Like James Wood, we are proud Wise County is Our Home
www.northtxbank.com LOOK LOCAL TO NORTH TEXAS BANK FOR YOUR NEXT AUTO LOAN
4
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
CHEVROLET | 100 YEARS
Chevy Runs Deep in Wise
In the beginning, James
Wood Motors was the competition to Chevrolet.
On Labor Day in 1978,
James and Shirley Wood
bought John Porter Motors,
a GM dealership in Decatur
offering Buick, GMC Truck,
Oldsmobile and Pontiac.
It had been assembled as
Country Motors with franchises that had been at several smaller dealerships.
Not that the Woods’ purchase was a giant in North
Texas automobile retailing.
The dealership had an
inventory of two dozen new
vehicles. It sold as many
cars as it did trucks at its location on US 81/287 on the
south side of town.
James Wood Motors
didn’t stay small very long,
as it pioneered selling pickups and Suburbans in large
numbers to the Dallas-Fort
Worth Metroplex.
In 1983 the dealership
moved down the highway to
a new facility on 20 hillside
acres, a location that really
showcased vehicles.
James Wood’s strategy
included accepting the risk
that would come with building a large selection of cars
and a vastly larger inventory of truck-based vehicles.
He saw that as essential
to drawing customers from
nearby metropolitan counties as well as surrounding
rural areas.
Coupling huge inventory
with a genuinely friendly,
no-pressure approach to
selling, he set out to prove
that the James Wood Difference would indeed be
worth the distance.
“You’ve got to have the
goods to sell them,” James
recalled in the yearbook
that was published for the
15th aniversary celebration
in 1993. “In this day and age,
people want to buy something they can see.”
That same yearbook
chronicled James Wood
Motors’ selling more GMC
Trucks than any other dealership in the United States
in both 1988 and 1989.
Lower GMC Truckbrand sales for the next
three years reected a major addition to the James
Wood lineup: Chevrolet.
The dealership added a
second showroom, doubled
its parts department and
expanded the shop to 40
service bays.
At the grand opening,
U.S. Senator Phil Gramm
was keynote speaker.
Chevy had a long local
history, but sales of its vehicles really took off after
Wood became its dealer.
For several years, Wood
had resisted expanding beyond Wise County. But he
saw a dealership in nearby
Denton as too good an opportunity to pass up.
On Valentine’s Day in
1991. Wood re-opened a
closed Buick-GMC dealership and soon added Pontiac to the lineup.
Three years later he
bought Denton’s North Texas Autoplex, making Wood
a Chevrolet dealer in adjoining counties.
Cadillac and Oldsmobile
also came with the deal.
In both cases Wood thoroughly established his reputation as the leading GM
dealer before buying out his
Chevy competitor.
In November 2009, Automotive News honored Wood
as one of America’s 50 visionary dealers for putting
Silverados and Tahoes into
city folks’ driveways.
While inventory, location, good luck and a strong
faith have surely helped,
Wood tells everyone the
real keys to his success are
the 400 Decatur and Denton employees who believe
in making the low-pressure
“Wood Way” work for their
customers.
Managers have always
come from Wood’s own
ranks. He has turned many
of them at both dealerships
into community leaders.
Few of his salespeople
have have auto-selling
backgrounds. What they
have in common is a genuine fondness for dealing
with people.
“James sets the example
for all of us,” said Carey Williams, executive manager of
the Decatur dealerhip.
“He is very friendly, and
we have a hard time keeping
him from being distracted
from his managerial duties
by the opportunity to sell a
vehicle to someone.”
A major General Motors
awards ceremony was once
delayed for several minutes
because Wood was out on
the lot, selling a Chevy passenger van to a preacher.
Seventy-ve
percent
of James Wood’s sales are
to repeat customers or to
those who are referred by
satised buyers.
As Wood puts it: “If we’re
not making our customers
happy, they won’t be back.
“I just believe in taking
care of folks the way I want
to be treated myself.”
Parked at the remodeled Buick-GMC building is the much-admired Chevrolet Equinox (cousin to the Terrain). James Wood has set the pace for selling SUVs and pickups for three decades. In its rst 100 years, Chevy has sold 200 million vehicles!
In its rst year the well-equipped, gas-saving Cruze zoomed to second place behind
Silverado pickups in Chevrolet sales. Cruze was the 10th best-selling vehicle in the
United States and was sixth among cars. It replaced the Cobalt in Chevy’s line-up.
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
-
5
CHEVROLET | 100 YEARS
Chevy in Decatur:
It Happened One Night
t
e James Wood bought a
opiece of Wise County hisytory when he acquired the
Chevrolet dealership for
eDecatur in 1990.
s
Although it didn’t sell
Chevrolets until 1932, the
gdealership had existed in
tsome form since 1911, when
Jay Ingram established
Ingram Motor Company
in the Ford and Weakley
Building on the northeast
corner of the Square.
Chevrolet was created
on November 3 of that
same year.
Dr. Ingram sold his dealership to Decatur Motor
Company in 1915, Among
its owners was W.A. Helm.
It was a Ford dealership.
In 1922, he and his son,
Hiram M. “Skinny” Helm,
bought the building.
On the second oor, the
Helms assembled Model
Ts shipped in crates.
In that same space, the
Ingram family had assembled an airplane in 1914.
The Helms became
Chevy dealers literally
overnight during the Great
Depression.
Henry Ford forced unneeded inventory on his
dealers, causing the Helms
to cover their windows
and store their Fords one
Wednesday night.
Out of storage came new
GM vehicles, along with
the usual banners. The
next morning, Decatur had
a Chevrolet dealer.
The Helm family remained General Motors
dealers until they sold to
Chester Morris in 1951.
Morris sold to Otto Ferrill in 1955. He moved out
to the new US 81/287 bypass in 1962.
Subsequent names on
the dealership’s sign included John Poppell, Tom
Rattan, Chaparral Chevrolet (owned by Roy Eaton, Jim Richards and Ken
Reed), Charles Bounds, Eddie Walker and R.D. Ryno.
Wood had operated a
used-car lot, Tanwood Motors, in the 1970s on the
Decatur bypass.
Melinda Burkhart and James Wood show off the Chevy
100th anniversary poster available at the dealership.
6
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
CHEVROLET | 100 YEARS
What’s up with the bowtie?
CHEVROLET'S FAMOUS EMBLEM IS AN ICON OF AMERICAN
ADVERTISING, BUT ITS ROOTS ARE SHROUDED IN MYSTERY
C
hevrolet's bowtie emblem is one of the
most widely recognized logos in the
world, but where did it come from?
Even General Motors isn't quite
sure.
The bowtie logo was introduced by
company co-founder William C.
Durant in late 1913. But how it came
to be synonymous with the brand is
open to wide interpretation, with four
versions of the story cropping up.
IT CAME FROM
WALLPAPER
Durant’s version of how the logo
came into existence is well known. The
long-accepted story, confirmed by
Durant himself, was that it was
inspired by the wallpaper design in a
Parisian hotel.
According to The Chevrolet Story of
1961, an official company publication
issued in celebration of Chevrolet's
50th anniversary:
“It originated in Durant's imagination when, as a world traveler in 1908,
he saw the pattern marching off into
infinity as a design on wallpaper in a
French hotel. He tore off a piece of the
wallpaper and kept it to show friends,
with the thought that it would make a
good nameplate for a car.”
DINNERTIME SKETCH
In 1929, Durant's daughter, Margery,
published a book entitled, My Father.
In it, she told how Durant sometimes
doodled nameplate designs on pieces
of paper at the dinner table.
“I think it was between the soup and
the fried chicken one night that he
sketched out the design that is used on
the Chevrolet car to this day,” she
wrote.
HOTEL STAY IN VIRGINIA
More than half a century later,
another Bowtie origin was recounted
in a 1986 issue of Chevrolet Pro
Management Magazine based on a 13year-old interview with Durant's
widow, Catherine.
She recalled how she and her husband were on holiday in Hot Springs,
Va., in 1912. While reading a newspaper in their hotel room, Durant spotted a design and exclaimed, “I think
this would be a very good emblem for
the Chevrolet.”
Unfortunately, at the time, Mrs.
Durant didn't clarify what the motif
was or how it was used.
THE SWISS FLAG
One other explanation attributes the
design to a stylized version of the cross
of the Swiss flag.
Louis Chevrolet was born in
Switzerland at La Chaux-de-Fonds,
Canton of Neuchâtel, to French parents, on Christmas Day 1878.
Whichever origin is true, within a
few years, the bowtie would emerge as
the definitive Chevrolet logo. An Oct.
2, 1913 edition of The Washington Post
seems, so far, to be the earliest known
example of the symbol being used to
advertise the brand.
CHEVY’S BOWTIE THROUGH THE YEARS
1916
1940s
1957
1960s
1977
2000
Today
Your Income Is Your Credit
Neighborhood
Español
AUTOS
BRIDGEPORT1209 Hovey ~ 940-683-9663
DECATUR US 287 South ~ 940-627-2177
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WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
7
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8
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
CHEVROLET | 100 YEARS
“See The USA in Your Chevrolet...” – Dinah Shore
PANDORA’S TOP 100 CHEVY SONGS
“99 In the Shade,” Bon Jovi
“All the Best,” John Prine
“American Pie,” Don McLean
“Amy's Back in Austin,” Little Texas
“Ball and Chain,” Social Distortion
“Blitz,” Audio Adrenaline
“Blue (Da Ba Dee) (Remix),” Eiffel 65
“Blue Jeans,” Silvertide
“Captain Jack,” Billy Joel
“Chattahoochee,” Alan Jackson
“Chevrolet,” ZZ Top
“Chevy Van,” Sammy Johns
“Chrome,” Trace Adkins
“Contact,” Citizen Cope
“Crazy About Her,” Rod Stewart
“Crocodile Rock,” Elton John
“Dare to be Stupid,” “Weird Al” Yankovic
“Don't Forget to Remember Me,” Carrie Underwood
“Dr. Feelgood (Live),” Motley Crue
“Drive South,” John Hiatt
“El Camino,” Ween
“El Tejano,” Cowboy Troy
“Everytime It Rains,” George Strait
“Fall in Love,” Kenny Chesney
“Family Reserve,” Lyle Lovett
“Fightin' Words,” Trace Adkins
“Girls with Guitars,” Wynonna Judd
“Go 'Head,” Mystikal
“Go Lil' Camaro Go,” The Ramones
“Going Back to Cali,” LL Cool J
“Here I Am,” Lyle Lovett
“Here's to You,” Rascal Flatts
“How Bizarre,” OMC
“Hustlin',” Rick Ross
“I Can Only Think of One,” Dierks Bentley
“I Go Back,” Kenny Chesney
“I Got You,” Dwight Yoakam
“I Learned That From You,” Sara Evans
“I Won All the Battles,” Tracy Lawrence
“I'll Be Your Johnny on the Spot,” Ween
“I'm Customized,” The Cramps
“I'm Just a Girl,” Deana Carter
“I've Got a Rock N' Roll Heart,” Eric Clapton
“If I Stay,” Tracy Byrd
“Jesse Went to War,” Marcy Playground
“Joe Rey,” Fountains of Wayne
“Keeping the Faith,” Billy Joel
“Less Than Zero,” Elvis Costello
“Let You Go,” The Clarks
“Little Red Corvette,” Prince
“Lost in the Flood (Live 2000),” Bruce Springsteen
“Lucky 4 You (Tonight I'm Just Me),” SheDaisy
“Make Me a Chevy,” The Promise Ring
“Metropolis,” Trace Adkins
“Miss Popularity,” Jordan Pruitt
“Movin' Out (Anthony's Song),” Billy Joel
“Mud On the Tires,” Brad Paisley
“Natural Beauty,” Neil Young
“Neutron Dance,” The Pointer Sisters
“Night Moves,” Bob Seger
“One Bud Wiser,” Gretchen Wilson
“Paint the Town Redneck,” J.M. Montgomery
“Pickin' Wildflowers,” Keith Anderson
“Picture Perfect,” Nelly Furtado
“Putting the Damage On,” Tori Amos
“Racing In the Street,” Bruce Springsteen
“Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy),” Jim Croce
“Real Gone,” Sheryl Crow
“Renegade,” Tim McGraw
“Repetition,” David Bowie
“Ridin' In My Chevy,” Snoop Dogg
“Riding With Private Malone,” David Ball
“Right Time of the Night,” Jennifer Warnes
“She's In Love With the Boy,” Trisha Yearwood
“Small Town Girl,” Kellie Pickler
“Something On,” The Tragically Hip
“Song of the South,” Alabama
“Still Love You,” Rod Stewart
“Superstar,” Sheryl Crow
“Suzy and Jeffrey,” Blondie
“Tannin Bed Song,” Shawn Mullins
“The Greeting Song,” Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man,”
Rolling Stones
“Three Marlenas,” The Wallflowers
“Thunder Road,” Bruce Springsteen
“Thundering Hearts,” John Mellencamp
“Tim McGraw,” Taylor Swift
“Twentieth Century Fox,” 38 Special
“Unappreciated,” Cherish
“Uneasy Rider,” Charlie Daniels
“Union Sundown,” Bob Dylan
“Water,” The Who
“West Texas Highway,” Lyle Lovett
“When I Think About Leaving,” Kenny Chesney
“When You Close Your Eyes,” Night Ranger
“Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?” Paula Cole
“Why Do We Want What We Know We Can't Have?”
Reba McEntire
“You Never Know Just How Good You've Got It,”
Tracy Byrd
“You Win My Love,” Shania Twain
“Young Blood,” Rickie Lee Jones
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
9
CHEVROLET | 100 YEARS
A true pioneer
BEFORE THERE WERE SUVs, THERE WAS THE SUBURBAN
1936
!
1951 !
!
1966
!
Today
1981 !
T
oday's most
popular family
vehicles are
SUVs, or some
variation on them.
These sport utility vehicles rose to prominence in the 1990s and are largely replaced by
the more nimble, efficient crossover vehicles of
today.
Still, SUVs remain a popular choice with
many drivers who need off-road capability, versatility and lots of interior space. And the true
pioneer of the SUV category is the Chevy
Suburban.
In 1936, Chevrolet introduced the Suburban,
a vehicle that fundamentally changed the automobile market.
With a focus on functionality, the credo of the
new concept was “to carry all.” At long last, the
whole family was to find sufficient space in one
car — and preferably the fishing equipment,
too.
To build this automobile, engineers used a
conventional truck chassis, but instead of
installing a loading floor, as in the case of pickups, they had designed a generous passenger
compartment in which up to eight people could
fit on three rows of seats.
A 90 horsepower engine provided the necessary power, and the world’s first station wagon
was born.
The Suburban had changed only very little by
the time production was stopped in World War
II. After the war, it underwent continuous
improvements.
In 1955, the basic model was delivered with a
100 horsepower engine, and in 1956 a V8
became the standard.
In 1957, the Suburban was available for the
first time with four-wheel drive, which made it a
truly practical vehicle. It was no longer defined
a station wagon, but a car, and as such the prototype of the SUVs seen on our roads today.
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10
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Happy Anniversary, Chevy.
Thank you for helping to make a century of
american dreams come true.
Thank you James Wood Motors for helping
to make Decatur’s dreams come true.
©2011. Ally Financial. All rights reserved. Ally is a registered service mark of Ally Financial. Chevrolet is a trademark of General Motors Company, used under license by Ally Financial.
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
11
CHEVROLET | 100 YEARS
Marking 100 years
2012 CHEVROLET CENTENNIAL EDITION CORVETTE RELEASED
C
hevrolet, founded by a racing pioneer 100 years
ago, celebrates its performance heritage with the
2012 Chevrolet Centennial Edition Corvette.
This special edition features a sleek
black color scheme, unique design
elements and Corvette’s trademark
sports car technology.
The 2012 Centennial Edition package is available on all Corvette models.
The special package was inspired by
Chevrolet’s racing-bred foundation,
which continues with Corvette’s international racing excellence and production sports car prominence.
“Racing and performance are the
roots of Chevrolet, a tradition carried
forward today by Corvette,” said Rick
Scheidt, vice president of Chevrolet
marketing. “The Centennial Edition
not only celebrates our 100 years, it
once again pushes Corvette forward
for a new generation of sports
car fans.”
The Centennial Edition package
comes exclusively in Carbon Flash
Metallic, with satin-black graphics
and unique Centennial Satin Black
wheels and red brake calipers.
The wheels are constructed of lightweight cast-spun aluminum and
include a thin red outline around the
perimeter of its surface on the Z06.
A NOD TO HISTORY
The Centennial Edition also
features special badges
that signify Chevrolet’s
racing history. A
graphic logo
fea-
turing an iconic image of Louis
Chevrolet appears on the B-pillars,
the center caps of the wheels, and the
center of the steering wheel. The seat
headrests also carry an embossed
centennial logo.
Aficionados will note one other
small detail: The historic crossed flags
badge contains a small adaptation,
with “100” in place of the traditional
fleur-de-lis symbol.
INTERIOR
The exterior color scheme is reinforced inside the car, with the Ebony
leather-wrapped instrument panel
and doors complimented by red
stitching on the steering wheel, seats,
console and shifter.
Microfiber suede accents on
Centennial Edition seats, steering
wheel, shifter and armrests were first
used on the
2011 Z06
Carbon
Limited
Edition.
STYLING
The Chevrolet
Centennial Edition
Corvette expresses
racing heritage, but
does so with a
sleek, modern,
even sinister-looking appearance.
Congratulations Chevrolet on 100 years
and James Wood Motors for your
Great Business & Community Service.
Voted Best Insurance Agency in
Wise County by 2011-12 Readers Choice.
BUSINESS
OWNERS:
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12
WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Wednesday, November 16, 2011
CHEVROLET | 100 YEARS
PROGRESS TO REPORT
As We Celebrate Chevrolet’s 100th Anniversary
and The Completion of Our Remodeling,
Entering Our 34th Year of Being
Your General Motors Dealer
The Car & Truck
TruckCapitol
Capitol of Texas
is on US287 South in Decatur!
Thank You,
James and Shirley Wood,
for Your Lifetime Commitment
to Our Community
You Can Now Find Us at www.ffin.com
BOYD
609 E. Rock Island Ave. 940-683-8760
BRIDGEPORT 909 Stevens St.
940-683-8700
DECATUR
608 W. Hale Ave.
940-683-8780
YOU FIRST