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| A stranger might go to
Max Duitch Auto Exchange, 228 South Duff Avenue, the first time to look
at a new Nash or a used car. Chances are he would go back the second
time just to talk to Max, who has his own special way of telling a story
and turning a phrase. Most anyone around long enough to know will
tell you cars have come a long way in 51 years - the length of time Duitch
has been in the field. But with typical color he puts it this way:
"I cannot explain in words the changes since I have been in the business.
All I could say - that we traded old Dobbin for a gas buggy."
Duitch started in Milwaukee 51 years ago
- "I was just a kid running out for cigarettes and buckets of beer for
the others." he related. He came to Ames 41 years ago - actually
to enroll at Iowa State College. but he got married, needed to make
a living - and that's how he happened to stick with cars. He's sold
Hupmobiles, Wintons, Buicks, Dodges, Hudsons and Nashes. In Ames
he had the Hupmobile agency in 1916, had the Buick franchise for 16 years,
the Dodge agency from 1934 to 1944 and for a brief time the Hudson agency.
Duitch built and occupied for 10 years the
structure where Mathison Ford now is, and he also built the Dependable
Motors building. In 1944 this dealer sold out so he and his wife
could retire in California. Within a year he was back in business.
"I couldn't stand to be idle. Besides,
I didn't like Los Angeles - everyone is trying to get your money for the
Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge or something. |
Advertisement from the Ames Daily Tribune
and Ames Evening Times, January 16, 1928
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| Duitch has volumes of
anecdotes about his years of car-selling. Like the one about the
exceptionally tiny home economics teacher whom he mistook for a child playing
in a Buick floor model during the years he was selling that car.
As soon as he had yelled at her, she turned,
and "I saw it was no child. She was a good little sport, though,
and just smiled. In fact, she bought the biggest Buick we had.
We built up the seat so she could see out but she never did get so she
could look over the steering wheel - she had to peer through it."
Duitch obtained the Nash franchise a year
ago. He points out that while Nash is not really a volume seller,
the Nash owner is an extremely faithful one. He'll usually trade
for another one. "I've seen Nashes with 100,000 miles on them and
plenty left in them," he told.
This isn't so good a time for used cars.
The dealer points out that the public is new-car minded. Everybody
can afford a new automobile with nothing down and 99 years to pay, he chuckled.
Working with Duitch are John McCambridge
and Chester Currie, salesmen; Donald Jackman, service manager, mechanic
and Mildred A. Clark, clerical. |
Advertisement from the Ames Daily Tribune-Times, March 1,
1930
Max Duitch supplied an Essex Coach as the second prize
in the Tribune's circulation boosting campaign.
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| Ames Daily
Tribune-Times, August 28, 1931
BUICK TEST CAR HERE SATURDAY - WILL BE ON
DISPLAY AT DUITCH GARAGE
The Buick automobile, from the "white fleet"
of the Standard Oil company of Indiana will arrive in Ames late Friday,
and will be on display Saturday at the Max Duitch garage. This car
is one of the thirteen which were used by the American Automobile association
in conducting a 9,000-mile test of lubrication on the Indianapolis speedway.
The cars are now on a five months tour of the central west in which they
are making known to automobile dealers the certified results of the Indianapolis
test. At the same time the cars are gathering further data to be
used by the Standard Oil engineers in carrying forward their study of lubricants
and lubrication.
The car expected here has already covered
16,000 miles of tour. It will cover about 20,000 miles in all before
its tour is over besides its 9,000 miles at Indianapolis.
One of the unusual features of the tour
car is an extra panel of special instruments which tell a fascinating story
of operating conditions as the machine moves over the road. The readings
from these instruments are entered in a log book. Duplicate sheets
from the log books of the various cars are being assembled in Chicago and
are providing much information of interest to motorists. Among problems
which data are expected to solve are those of the relations between fuel
and oil consumption and driving speed, the effect of carbon deposits on
engine performance, and relative lubricating efficiency of heavy and light
oils. |
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| Ames Daily
Tribune and Evening Times, June 7, 1930
Here is a picture of the giant transport
truck recently purchased by Arthur League of Ames for his use in transporting
automobiles from factories to dealers in Ames and vicinity. The initial
load arrived here two weeks ago when League, accompanied by Max Duitch
brought four Essex cars from Detroit. The load, standing in front
of the Duitch garage on Fifth street, attracted a great deal of attention
over the week-end until the cars were removed Monday morning. |
1966 advertisement
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| The Ames
Daily Tribune, September 9, 1967
GARAGE BUILDING Used Car lot, good location.
Contact Max Duitch - 232-5501 or 232-7860. |
| August 18, 1969
MAX DUITCH DIED FRIDAY - Funeral services
for Max Duitch, 81, 2110 Jenson ave., were held Sunday at 3 p.m. from Dunn's
Funeral Home in Des Moines. Burial was in the Jewish section of Glendale
Cemetery. Mr. Duitch died of a heart ailment Friday at Mary Greeley
Hospital. He was born in Poland and lived in Des Moines before moving
to Ames 54 years ago. He was a pioneer automobile dealer here.
Max Duitch was a member of Beth El Jacob Synagogue in Des Moines... |
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