Withnell family is Linfield through and through …
Decades of Dodge under the Withnell name end, Roberson acquires
franchise
Story by Les Zaitz, Salem Reporter, March 2, 2023. Photos
by Ron Cooper.
The lot is bare –
not a diesel pickup truck in sight.
The show room is
empty – not a deal in the making anywhere.
Salem’s auto
industry has seen the closure of an era with the shuttering of the Withnell
Dodge dealership, a mainstay on Southeast Commercial Street.
Now, Dodges and
Rams will be parked at Roberson Motors, which reported on its website
that it had acquired the franchise effective March 1. That dealership is on
Southeast Ryan Drive at Mission Street.
“It’s just the
right time” according to a Facebook post from David Withnell, who succeeded his
father Dick as owner of the franchise in 2002.
The family company
will continue to operate Withnell Hyundai at 1996 Mission St. S.E.
The acquisition
brings together two long-time Salem families from the auto world.
Earl Roberson
founded Roberson Motors in 1961, operating for years on a site between the
Marion and Center Street bridges in downtown Salem. His son Mike, succeeded him
and now a third generation, Brett Roberson, is an owner of the company.
Roberson said he’s
long had a “friendly, competitive” relationship with Dave Withnell and they
talked for years about merging or one buying out the other.
Roberson noted the
“dual facilities” to sell and service vehicles that the two dealerships had to
maintain. He said changes in the auto industry in recent years made a
combination a good move.
“Franchises have
kind of changed. There are fewer competing vehicles,” Roberson said. “We used
to compete along certain model lines” but such side-by-side models under different
brands have been disappearing.
“It’s really
difficult to survive without all the brands,” Roberson said. “The dream was for
one of us to put all the brands together.”
He said the deal to
acquire the Withnell franchise was set in motion a few months ago with a call
from Dave Withnell. Roberson was receptive.
“It’s been a dream
of our family to have Dodge and Ram,” Roberson said.
Dick Withnell, who
bought the Dodge dealership in 1980, said the deal “just made sense. Roberson
has a great reputation.”
He said that
“business wise, I have no second thoughts. I was just a straight up business
transaction that was a win-win.”
To reflect the
change, Roberson has modified its name to Roberson Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.
He said the Mission
Street site can handle the increase in inventory, but some building expansion
is likely in the coming months.
On moving day,
drivers shuttled about 80 vehicles from the Withnell dealership to the Mission
Street location.
“It was a fun day,”
he said.
Withnell, a Salem
philanthropist and volunteer, bought the dealership in 1980 from Emerson
Teague.
Withnell recounted
his evolution into the car business in an oral history recorded last year at
his alma mater, Linfield College.
………..
VIDEO: Dick Withnell Linfield oral history interview
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/lca_interviews/21/
………..
He described time
in the banking business, including handling repossessed cars, before going into
the car business in Salem in 1972. He has often cited Lee Iaccoca, who led
Chrysler from 1978 until 1992, as a mentor
He has continued
serving a variety of nonprofit boards and contributing to nonprofits.
Roberson said his
father and Withnell often collaborated on charitable projects, such as helping
fund the new Union Gospel Mission in Salem.
Withnell still
maintains his memento-filled office at the dealership building on Commercial.
He said he’ll be considering what to do with the 4.5-acre site that he and his
wife, Gayle, own.
“Maybe when they
get full at the convention center, we can offer parking,” Withnell joked.
