Portland Observer, September 17.I t t i Paga g
Future is bright
in car business
G ra u ro o l News, N . IP .— W h a t’s
good fo r the Big T h ree car com
panies is supposed to be good fo r
the lot o f us. The bail-out o f one o f
these car companies in Jimmy’s last
term avoided the tu rm o il o f mass
unemployment and layoffs. Accord
ing to A l M c O ilb e rry , a sales and
leasing representative o f C ad illac,
Pontiac and O M C cars, the a u to
mobile industry is directly tied into
the economy. “ For some reason the
Big Three took their time in produc
ing the lo w -fuel consumption cars
that the Japanese, French and Oer ■
man manufacturers excelled in. Be
cause o f the gas-saving situ atio n
people bought foreign cars and the
big three had to go 360 degrees.
Now we can compete with our ac-
ross-the-sea competitor. W hat took
so much time was the realization o f
the importance o f saving money for
gas.”
F o r years the m a rke tin g cam
paigns geared the A m erican con
sumer tow ard fo u r-d o o r gas hogs
but as the price o f gasoline moved
over and above the Si .40 mark the
u tility o f a long car soon d im in
ished. “ Sometimes old habits are
hard to break and just because they
say they’re managers they may not
do the best for their company at that
time. It will take millions o f dollars
to make that change-over, with the
stockholders wanting more money.
They didn’t do it and now they’re in
a situation where the foreign market
takes up »o 40 per cent o f the home
market. The Big Three are playing
catch-up and try in g to bring the
money back to A m erica.”
McGilberry started out as a teach
er in New York and was introduced
to car dealershipping through a
summer jo b . N othing in this busi
M ówto get better mileage
FROM YOUR CAR..
Don’t let the engine idle
m ore than 30 seconds.
ness surprised him and he expected
the Government to bail out one o f
the Big T hree. “ In d u stry and the
Government are all tied in together.
I f it had been a small company they
would have let them go bankrupt.
But we are dealing with a national as
well as an in te rn a tio n a l m a rk e t.
.There were too m any people em
ployed and too much money to let
the company go down.
Am ong the other problems that
the car business has to drive out o f is
one o f high interest rates. “ The
Governm ent continues to borrow
money and the lenders are making it
higher and costlier to get m oney.
That is one reason that interest rates
are as high as they are. When you
and I are ready to buy an autom o
bile we have to pay fro m 18 to 20
per cent interest. The interest rates
may go down in the next couple o f
years but it w ill never go down to
the 3 and 6 per cent we once knew.”
M c O ilb e rry is one o f the few
Blacks in management in northwest
car sales and has encountered ra
cism in the mostly all-w h ite indus
try. “ I worked myself up from a car
salesman to a general manager and
gained a master’s degree in business.
When I came to Portland, Pontiac
wanted to put me in a store in Port
land. They called M ik e Salta, who
didn’t want l a hire a Black man as a
salesman. They seem to find, many
other businesses, that they d id n ’t
want Black in those jobs that are the
economic crust o f this country. The
automobile business has yet to em
brace Blacks in the managem ent
level.”
And w ith this lim it M cG ilb e rry
has raced through and established
him self q u alified enough to assist
others in making the second biggest
purchase o f their lifetime, a car.
Obey the 55 mph speed
lim it.
1
Keep your engine tuned.
'
And when buying, don't
forget the fuel economy
label is part of the price
tag, too.
For a tree booklet with more easy
energy saving tip«, w rite "Energy,"
Box «2. Oak Ridge. T N X7830.
WE'RE
HERETO
HELP
YOU!
ALAN MOLDEN
WENDELL BROWN
Sales Representative
Sales Representative
Expert consultation on your transportation
needs on both new and used cars.
RON TO N K IN
C H E V R O L E T -H O N D A C O
Cadillac • Pontiac • GMC Truck
Al McOilberry posa« with naw lina of Cadillacs at Bill Copp a in
Vancouvar.
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
122 N.E. 122nd Ave.
9th C • Vancouver, Wash. 693-1481 • 286-0641
Before you buy a car, check our prlcaa
BILL COPPS INC.
PONTIAC • CADILLAC • GMC TRUCKS
C LEA R A N C E SALE
Must make room for '82's o««r iso t0
See Al McGilberry
c a r check our prices)
[Reforeyou buy g
CARS
*73 Plymouth Satellite
< ■ ■ aaaw
4 door ovtom otw
S
p ow er «taoring.
i l
I
<cx»d»t»orwng iow nvU» Stock « 5 1 5 5 0
GB GB
I O O
7 1 Fiet X I9 CeavertIMe
4 < ylm der econom y Sporty 4 tp a a d tro n tm .w o n
Chompogoe «old Stock N o 51 ÒSO
*74 VW Posher
4 doa. 4 rykndw. 4 HWwt.
« .« r t «on o m y Stock « 4 * 9 0 0
'77 Mexde 6LC Coupé
Pretty motoUrc blue. sports striping,
ovtomotK, I owner Stock » 5 0 8 0 0
GB
" tfO O
5 7 l8 8
A ■ MW
S^B^BGB GB
J b t r GB^^
TRUCKS
'74 Mercury Capri
4 cylinder economy stondord tronsmnston
powder blue Stock » 5 1 0 7 0
'79 Ferd Fainaeat
4 doo. 4 (ylm dw outomato powm
» M .n g av-tonenm vng. I o w n .. Stock « 3 0 3 7 0
Auto P S . Pop Top Sunroof
stock rsiaso....................
77 Datsun B210 Hatchback
4 cyl 4 apeed,
4 < r h n d » a u to m a to
a » tond1l.oo.n9
tmnl Ih» uttntM t I m o ) S tori « 4 * 7 9 7
J O
"O O
A l
Q
43 ^3
Large eneugh ta
tarve yae
7 9 Fard Fiesta
4 cylinder. 4 speed. loaoi cor.
•■»to low mile« Stock » 5 0 4 7 0
Automottc. power steering.
tone pomt
low miles Stock » 9 0 6 0 0 ............................................
tp e o o l tv
k
»3988
7 7 Ford Mustang
low mllee. Stock «S1SS0 ......................
'77 Ferì Pietà Wagon
’3988
7 8 Hedge •/, T. Pickup
$3588
$2988
»3788
7 7 Dedge
T. 4x4
Special W o . lo rd p o tk o g ., toocnl
ihipm g gold ip o k . ..»««I,
Stock « 4 7 4 1 0 ...................................................................
Dealer to retain the
factory hold back.
Locally added options
extra.
Actual factory invoice
available, on request.
Not all cars sell for
retail price.
7 9 GMC H T. PU
Diesel V I , ovtomotic. power
steering, 1 owner, low m4et
Stock « 9 0 7 7 0
..............................................................
79 G M C H -ton
v-S Auto P S Air Cond.
Hoavy Duty equipment Stock 0 1 (0 0 . . .
Open Sunday 11 -5
$6988
*AII 1981 Model:
Cadillac, Grand Prix, Firebirds,
* Phoenix, Lemons, Bonne villes, and!
GMC Trucks. Hurry while they last.)
Small eneugh te
knew yeu
9th f t C • Vancouver, W ash. • Pontiac • G M C Truck • 693-1481 • 285-0541
1