ASK THE FORD ANSWER MEN

[dinoKeymaster]

Maybe not Ford…DeFranco something else possibly?

[vindicatorParticipant]

😀 😀 😀 HEY GUYS…JUST A LIL’ TID-BIT INFO…PEEKSKILL FORD ON WASINGTON AVE IN PEEKSKILL…WAS OWNED FOR MANY YEARS BY THE O’CONNELL FAMILY…TOWARDS THE END OF THEIR OWNERSHIP…MY DAD’S COUSIN…GREG GIRELLO…LONG-TIME PARTS MANAGER @ LARSON FORD WORKED @ PEEKSKILL AFTER LARSON CLOSED…GREG OF COURSE WAS @ LARSON THROUGH THE “HEY-DAY” PERFORMANCE YEARS…CHARLIE DEFRANCO…HAD A DODGE DEALERSHIP…DEFRANCO DODGE….RIGHT AT THE BOTTOM OF THE “HILL” FROM THE BEACH SHOPPING CENTER…HE SOLD/CLOSED THE DODGE DEAL WHEN HE BOUGHT OUT DUKE HERSH (DUKE MOTORS-FORD)…THEN DOWNTOWN MAHOPAC…LEN BEHENSKY HAD THE LINCOLN-MERCURY STORE (BEHENSKY L & M) HALF-WAY UP THE HILL TO/DOWN FROM THE “BEACH” IN A OLD A & P STORE) HE SOLD IT TO THE CANORA FAMILY…THEY OWNED PARK LINCOLN MERCURY IN YONKERS…THEY ACTUALLY TRADED THE L & M STORE (PARK IN YONKERS) TO DWIGHT MCQUIRK (SMITH-CAIRNS) FOR THE FORD STORE IN MAHOPAC…A “MYSTERY BIG FIRE @ THE L & M STORE IN PEEKSKILL…ENABLED THEM TO COMBINE ALL 3 FRANCHISES IN MAHOPAC…WHICH IS PARK FORD,LINCOLN-MERCURY…NOW…AIN’T THAT ALL SUMPTIN’???? 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 …U…SORTA’ NEED A SCORECARD ‘EH!!! DRAKE

[smokncobrajet]

Drake,what was the name of the Lincoln/Mercury place that was just out of Mahopac on the way towards Baldwin Place? My dad bought many cars there,and I seem to remember my dad telling someone that one of the salesmen was driving on 84 when it was first built and a tire came off a semi and the saleman was killed.Do you remember that at all?

[bobby-s]

was that the little dealer that usto park some cars across the street
think ?? the name was Miggens Bros. ??
that building now is a motorcycle / quard dealer.

[smokncobrajet]

Yes!!! Miggens Bros. Good memory I seem to remember this place had about 2 feet road frontage off Route 6,and they had a place across the road to park cars.If it ever stops snowing I might take a tour of the old neighborhood. Thanks!

[vindicatorParticipant]

😀 😀 😀 HEY THAT’S RIGHT… IT WAS MIGGINS BROTHERS (JIM MIGGINS) FOR A LOT OF YEARS…RIGHT NEXT TO THE (OLD) MARY’S DINER…THE DEROSA FAMILY…GEEZ’…DIS’ IS BRINGIN’ BACK SOME MEMORIES…JUST UP THE STREET FROM RIDGEVIEW AUTO BODY…THE HORVATH FAMILY…DEM’S WUZ’ THE DAZE!!! 😆 😆 😆 DRAKE… P.S. I DO RECALL THAT…HAVE TO THINK OF MAN’S NAME…I BELIEVE THEY HAD GOOD REPUTATION…DOING BUSINESS FAIR & SQUARE…AS I RECALL THE MAN THAT WAS FATALLY INJURED WAS THEIR “STAR” SALESMAN, WELL KNOWN,LOCAL,WELL RESPECTED…JUST CAN’T THINK OF THE NAME @ THE MOMENT..”GEEZERVILLE” STRIKES EVERY NOW AND THEN…MAYBE TOMORROW…IT’LL COME TO ME…

[gramdog1Participant]

It was DeFranco Dodge (and Fiat). I worked there with Lou Vignonia in the mid’70s. Not sure, but I think they also had a Ford dealership–Mahopac?

[paul-ceasrine]

Drake,
You score a perfect 10. Just like Nadia Comaneci at the 76′ Olympics in Montreal.
Can you flip over and land on your feet on the balance-beam too 😆 Hard to believe, but Dover was closed when she was pulling 10’s, at 14 😮 . She’s 48 now, so what does that make the rest of us 🙄
Since your moving down the hill from Mary’s Diner (Ricky DeRosa was a very good golfer,
short-order cook and left-fielder for Keane’s Pub), Miggins Mercury is now Mahopac Cycle,
Schipp Construction, next is the used car lot, then the famous and honest StateWide
Auto Parts, Ridgeview Auto Body, Fisher Brothers Chevrolet (who had a good high-performance parts department following with Drew Fisher), Mahopac Fuel and then at the corner of Union Valley Road ‘Volz Collision” (which was opposite DeFranco).
For evening cocktails, the ‘Village Barn’ (then to change to Gambelli’s)
Paul

[vindicatorParticipant]

😀 😀 😀 Paul…I ALWAYS TOLD RICK (HE WAS A PITCHER…BACK IN THE DAY…AND A GOOD ONE) HE HADDA’ PER-FECT HIS KNUCKLE-BALL… LEFT-HANDER…HE COULDA’ MADE IT…TO THE “BIG SHOW”…HAD A 20 YEAR CAREER…AT LEAST…( LIKE HOYT WILHELM…’EH)… I…COULDA’ BEEN HIS “AGENT” 😆 😆 😆 …SO DID HE LISTEN???…NOOO…THE REST AS THEY “SAY” IS HISTORY…GOOD SHORT ORDER COOK???!!!***….PLAYIN’ THE OUTFIELD…FOR…KEENE’S PUB??? WTF???… 😆 😆 😆 BUT…ONE SUPER FAMILY…THE DEROSAS’…AWESOME PEOPLE…THE FISHERS’… DON (LIKE MY DAD…OL’ TIMEY GARAGE MAN) TED,NORMAN,DREW….THERE JUST AIN’T PEOPLE (MUCH) LEFT ON THE PLANET…LIKE THEM ANYMORE…I ALWAYS HAVE HAD THE UPMOST RESPECT FOR THEM…SO SAD…THAT IN THIS LIFE…THERE REALLY IS NO PLACE LEFT FOR “OLD TIMEY” CAR PLACE (S)… THEY PRETTY MUCH ARE ALL OWNED BY SOME INVESTMENT “GROUP”…NOT REAL…CAR GUYS 😥 😥 😥 …THEY FOR THE MOST PART DON’T HAVE A “PASSION ” FOR CARS…IT’S JUST SELLING…COULD BE DESKS…OR A REFRIDGERATOR…U…GET THE IDEA!!! 😀 😀 😀 DRAKE

[paul-ceasrine]

Drake,
Are you saying Ricky DeRosa couldn’t make an OMELETTE 😆 “Mary’s Diner” could have also been called “Mary’s Diner and Casino’ (If you know what I mean 😉 ) YEP, Ricky batted righty, but threw lefty. Played for Keane’s (softball), in the late 70’s and early 80’s.
Fisher Brothers. Straight arrow guys. We switched from Mopars to Chevy’s in 1980. Bought a bunch of cars from them. No deals, just MSRP. Too bad. I can remember the days when
(3) guys were running the Parts Dept. their.
Forgot about Mahopac Chrysler-Plymouth (small dealership). My father bought my mother
a 70′ 340 Duster 4-speed off the showroom floor in June 1970.
Drake, do you remember the ‘Boss 302’ Mustang ‘Behensky Motors’ had, either the son or
service manager owned it. Always parked near the garage door, back left corner of the building.
Paul

[bobby-s]

Paul

also on rte 6 Mahopac Dodge, owned by Charlie Samone,
brother owned mahopac fuel on the property next door,
that family had a lot of porperty along both sides of rte 6,
the dodge dealership was at one time a recording studio when Charlie
made it into the dealership, (now tiremans, owned by Glen Lafergi)
the sons Gene in the show room, Ronny in the parts,
Tommy & Alan usto come in the back door with King their German Shepard
after school to hang out and go for road tests on any Hi-Po car ready for delivery,
I worked there early ’70`s, I got my Plum Crazy automatic T/A challanger there.
across the strees was the old DeFranco ford dealer, now Park motors Ford/Lincoln.
a lot of GOOD tire marks were put down on that strip of road, with the help from
the crew at mahopac Chrysler. the best time was when West Point had graduations
we sold a LOT of muscle cars to the cadets, a few “one of” Hemi challangers keep
coming back to mind when I talk to Pete Improta who also worked there.

[john-sachs-srParticipant]

Lets not forget a few miles south of Mahopac,and a little east of Peekskill…Yorktown,Hts.I worked at Arrow Chrysler/Plymouth,where Ron M.and I ran the SS/DA Cuda I bought when the dealer closed. 🙁
John 😉

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[paul-ceasrine]

Bobby S.
That ‘Plum Crazy’ T/A, did it ever make it to Dover? Wonder what those stock 340 6-pack
automatics would turn. Always liked those chrome-tipped exhaust, exiting out in front of the rear tires, and the odd U-shaped muffler/tail-pipe loop.
Don’t know if you were there (Mahopac Dodge)in the spring of 75′, but I think Tommy Simone had Bill Davitt’s Duster (brown painted) 340 automatic their. It was on the street. The car was out front with a ‘For Sale’ on it. $3500, with a manual/reverse shift trans and 4.88’s.
I looked at it and took it for a drive. Very fast, but unstreetable. That deep oil pan on it would have lasted one-week on the beatifully paved streets of Mahopac.
John Sachs,
My mind is a blank on the exact location of Arrow Plymouth. It wasn’t near Scott Oldsmobile?
Wait,,,near White’s Department Store.
Paul

[john-sachs-srParticipant]

John Sachs,
My mind is a blank on the exact location of Arrow Plymouth. It wasn’t near Scott Oldsmobile?
Wait,,,near White’s Department Store.
Paul[/quote]

Rt 202 near Curry Chev.We used to,at one time,keep a 440 yellow Superbird in front of the dealership.I went from Larsen Ford,in 1970 to Arrow(2 miles from my house) as a tech.After 6 months of fixin,I went into sales. 😮
John 😉

[paul-ceasrine]

John,
Near the Telephone Company Truck Service Building. You have may had the only Hemi Cuda in town, back then. Though there always seemed to be some cool Mopars at that little
American Gas Station near the 4-corners, opposite Triangle Shopping Center, near the
‘Silver Moon’ restaraunt.
Paul

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