Dealer: Kansas City MO

Posted by DRP On 2010/3/5 23:55:13

I observed that the Reid Ward Motor Company was located at one point along the McGee Trafficway.

In later years, the building was occupied by Bill Neale Chrysler-Plymouth. After that dealer closed and before the building was demolished, the "PACKARD" name was clearly evident on the building. I don't recall when the building was demolished but it was part of the Crown Center project.

For those who are interested in dealer advertising, Bill Neale spent quite a bit of money on "singing cars." A local filmmaker/producer opened and closed the hoods of cars and shot photos so that when the photos were run as a film, the cars were "singing" the dealer's theme, "YOU get the FEEL-ing of honest DEAL-ing when you see BILL NEALE!"

These productions evidently took several days to shoot because the filmmaker moved the hoods on three or four cars only a fraction of an inch at a time for each frame. It was extremely labor intensive but quite effective.

I've looked on the Missouri Valley Room website (KCMO public library) and found nothing on the building. This is surprising because it survived at least into the 1970s and probably into the mid-1980s.