Gene Reed Pontiac (Gone)
Columbia City, IN
Photos and info courtesy Richard Weiss

Last winter on a gray overcast cold day, I stopped in Columbia City, IN and spotted this old Pontiac dealer. It is the first time I have seen a stand alone Pontiac dealer (a dealer without GMC) in a very long time, if ever. The style of the signage made me think of the era of the GTO and full size cars of the mid 1960's.

I looked in the window and it appeared to have been remodeled in the 50's or 60's, and no cars were on display. The place had a 1960's Pepsi machine inside. These photos were taken in March 2010. Later in July, I brought my '86 Grand Prix down to Fort Wayne for a few weeks to hit the local car show scene and take a few short drives. One of the drives was for the soul purpose of parking the car in front of this place. Being a work day, this place was open so I went inside and talked to a woman who was the founders grand-daughter, The dealer has been in business since the late 1920's and her dad had a collection of vintage Pontiacs at one time. She said the dealership would close at the end of October when all warranty work was finished, and although offered another car line they had declined. At the end of October, as I drove through Columbia City again, all Pontiac signage was gone and the building sealed off with no sign of life anywhere... Many thanks to Richard Weiss for photos and info. 11-08