Elhart Automotive Campus

Ken Elhart's eyes still light up when he recalls the first new car he sold - a 1950 Ford Crestline, a two-tone, brown colored, chrome-plated beauty. Back then some models of Fords sold for around $1,000 new and it was no curiosity for a Holland area automobile buyer to count out carefully hoarded green backs and drive off the lot in a fully paid-for new vehicle. Now nearly a half century later technological change has wrought an entirely new automobile market and the dealership Elhart founded sells an amazing 1,500 new and used cars annually.

Born in Holland, Elhart had moved at the age of three with his family back to his mother's homestead north of Lowell when his father lost his job as a traveling salesman to the effects of the Depression. He grew up amid the hard lonely work on the farm and graduated from Lowell High School. Following the war his father, Ted Elhart, decided the family would return to Holland.

Ken Elhart was the first to make the move, taking a job at Vrieling Motor Sales, the Ford agency at 159 River Avenue, in January 1948. His original responsibilities were to pick up and deliver parts for customers. The following year R.E. Barber purchased the agency. From 1950-1953 Elhart took time off from his automotive career to serve a stint in the U.S. Coast Guard during the Korean War. Returning to R.E. Barber Ford, Elhart worked his way up to become sales manager from 1955 to 1965.

By 1965 the time had come to strike out and establish his own dealership. There were some Ford dealerships avail­able but none in the Holland area and that is where he wanted to stay and raise his family. Then in March of that year when the Mutual Pontiac and GMC truck dealership at 150 E. 8th Street became available Elhart opted to make a "big emotional jump" from Ford to Pontiac. The Elharts sold their home to use the equity to finance the purchase of the dealership and he, wife Barbara and sons Wayne and Jeff moved to a rental unit.

That risk paid off thanks in part to community support and the backing of local businessmen who wanted to see Elhart succeed. Elhart and his eight employees were soon selling scores of GMC trucks and the popular high perfor­mance wide track Pontiac GTOs. Four years later Elhart added the American Motors franchise to his dealerships and transport trucks began unloading AMC Hornets and later Gremlins at the 8th Street sales lot.

On January 1, 1970, Elhart moved to a new facility, for­merly a crop field on Chicago Drive. The firm's 20 employ­ees began showing customers shiny new Pontiac Catalinas and Bonnevilles. That fall Elhart hired a used car manager and began concentrating on the sale of used cars of all makes and that evolved into a major aspect of the business.

In 1971 Elhart became one of the first in the area to sell van conversion models with custom interiors. But 1971 also brought a long GMC strike that crippled production and left Elhart facing the huge debt load of his new building with cars unavailable. The dealership survived but that experi­ence convinced Elhart of the need to diversify further. In 1975 he added the Jeep franchise to his business.

Three years later came a 7,000 square foot expansion to the body shop and service department, which then num­bered 21 service stalls and 11 body shop stalls. The Elhart work force had climbed to 35 employees.

The decade of the 1980s saw the second generation of Elharts enter the business full time. As teenagers Wayne and Jeff had worked for their father, mowing the lawn and washing cars. Following their graduation from Holland High School in 1972 and 1976 respectively, college degrees and the experience of working elsewhere, they returned to Holland. In 1985, Jeff became manager of the newly acquired Elhart Dodge franchise and Wayne the manager of Elhart Pontiac GMC Jeep-Eagle.
    In the spring of 1987 Elhart moved into another new facility adjacent the lot on Chicago Drive. Two years later a 10 year campaign to secure the Nissan fran­chise finally paid off and with the completion of a $350,000 expansion scores of Maximas and Sentras found eager buy­ers.

    In 1990 Jeff and Wayne took over as presi­dents and general man­agers of Elhart Dodge Nissan and Elhart Ponti­ac GMC Jeep-Eagle. By 1996 total employment numbered 124. Ken Elhart continues to serve the firm he started in a consulting capacity, espe­cially in long range plan­ning. Proud of the employees, past and pre­sent, and the family's many accomplishments, he is fortunate enough to be able to say that "if he had his life to live over he would do the same thing."