#Bob bell bird bell tv#

Bell said in the 1989 interview that his goal was to hire more intelligent and responsible individuals who looked at selling cars as a lifetime profession, not a quick way to make a buck. He just didn't sit in the office and loved getting out on the floor selling,' he said.Ĭoncerned about the public's image of auto salesmen, Mr. 'He'd come back energized and he personally sold 10 cars a month. Bishop said he enjoyed spending a 10-day winter holiday in Florida before returning to work. He liked matching up what they needed to what he had,' said Mr. Bell for 20 years, said he had an outgoing personality. 'To him, a handshake mattered, which in today's world was a throwback. Bishop, his son-in-law, who is president of Bob Bell Auto Group. 'He was an extremely personable and charismatic man. The commercials often featured snappy jingles such as 'Keep those clunkers rolling, rolling, rolling to Bob Bell,' 'It's always right at Bob Bell,' or 'There's a whole lot of shaking going on at Bob Bell Ford.' Bishop, who added that her father collaborated with his ad agency in creating many of the dealership's ads. 'He didn't play the piano but made it look like he was playing,' said Ms. … A hint of a Southern drawl seeps into his conversation.' 'In person, he's more casual, working in shirt-sleeves. Bell is soft-spoken and sincere - a sharp contrast to the widespread image of the white-shoed and white-belted, promise-the-moon-and-stars dealer,' said a 1989 Baltimore Sun profile.

#Bob bell bird bell tv#

Bell was best known for his appearances in TV ads for his dealerships, dressed in a pink or black tuxedo, wearing sunglasses and playing a piano. With expansion came a new name - Bob Bell Automotive Group - which at his death included seven franchises with dealerships in Baltimore, Glen Burnie, Bel Air and Essex that sold Fords, Hyundais, Kias, Chevys and Nissans. Bell purchased Legum Chevrolet/Nissan on Eastern Avenue for $11.5 million in 1989, one of the largest Chevy dealerships in the nation, which propelled him overnight to be Maryland's largest automotive dealer at the time.

Bell took over the Glen Burnie operation, which became Bob Bell Ford. Lynch took ownership of Academy Ford, and Mr. After they amicably parted ways in 1982, Mr. They expanded the business in 1979 when they purchased Schulte Ford on Ritchie Highway in Glen Burnie. Lynch, a fellow trainee, and with a combined $133,000 they purchased Academy Garage in Laurel, which they renamed Academy Ford, and went into business selling Fords. Tiring of the corporate culture, in 1962, Mr. working for Lee Iacocca, who was then a district manager and later became president of Ford. Bell was a young management trainee at Ford Motor Co. He later earned degrees in business and architecture from the University of Virginia. Bell served with the Army Corps of Engineers during the Korean War, attaining the rank of sergeant.

'He was a page for Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn,' said a daughter, Mary Catherine Bishop of Ellicott City. Senate page and graduated from the Senate Page School. The Ellicott City resident, who earlier had lived in Laurel, was 78.īorn and raised in Alexandria, Va., Mr. Robert Lee 'Bob' Bell, who began his career in auto sales in the 1950s and went on to own the Bob Bell Automotive Group, one of the state's largest car dealers, died Sunday of leukemia at theUniversity of Maryland Medical Center.