Connell Used Cars (Gone)
Oakland, CA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

The sun is going down along Oakland’s Broadway Auto Row, and Connell Used Cars is just starting to put on its evening show. The neon marquee glows above the lot while rows of cars catch the surrounding lights. Nothing like a little showroom shine to bring some life to the boulevard after dusk.

Connell Used Cars was part of the larger Connell Motor Company, a longtime family dealership that occupied several properties along Broadway. The main operation stood near Broadway and Hawthorne Avenue, with new and used car lots spreading across the surrounding blocks.

UPDATE: The Connell dealerships along Broadway have closed, and portions of the old Auto Row properties have been cleared or redeveloped. The neon marquee and other Connell Used Cars lot signs were removed. 09-26

Cars
Oakland, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Looking for a used car somewhere in Oakland? Just follow the old Cars sign. No dealership name, no clever slogan, and no promises about low prices. Just one very important word pointing motorists toward a lot full of wheels.

The sign looks like it may have advertised something else before receiving its simple “Cars” lettering. Used car lots changed names and owners pretty often, so reusing an old roadside sign was an easy way to get the message out without starting from scratch. Whatever it once said is still a mystery.

With Oakland’s Broadway Auto Row and East 14th Street once packed with dealerships and smaller used car lots, narrowing down the location has not been easy. A wider photograph showing a street number or neighboring business might finally give this one away.

UPDATE: Not sure of the status of this sign and business. It's likely off the map by now. 09-26

Packard
Grass Valley, CA
Photo courtesy Dave & Debra van Hulsteyn

Here’s an old blade neon sign for Packard in downtown Grass Valley. Hanging from its heavy metal bracket, the porcelain sign once pointed the way to the local Packard automobile dealership. Not many dealership signs like this are still attached to their original buildings.

The showroom dates back to the early 1940s, when a new Packard must have looked pretty impressive rolling through Gold Country. The vertical sign featured the familiar Packard script along with red and blue neon, giving motorists something to spot as they made their way through town.

For many years, the Packard sign was hidden beneath a large plywood covering installed by a later business. Anyone passing by would have had no idea that the old porcelain and neon were still waiting underneath.

UPDATE: The plywood covering was removed in 2022, revealing the original Packard sign in remarkably good condition. Rather than replace it, the new proprietors changed their plans and named the business Packard Discount Flooring so they could keep the sign right where it was. The former automobile showroom now sells flooring, and the Packard name is back along the roadside. How often does an old sign get to name the new business? 09-26

Schaap Motors (Gone)
Hayward, CA
Photo courtesy Devil Doll

Cruising along East 14th Street near Hayward, check out the unusual roadside sign for Schaap Motors. The marquee looks a little like a shoe or boot hanging from the pole. Maybe it once advertised a shoe store, or maybe someone simply liked the shape. Either way, it certainly gave the used car lot a sign of its own.

Schaap Motors was operated by John C. Schaap, who opened the dealership around 1944 and kept it going for roughly 60 years. That is a lot of cars passing through one small lot. The business stood along the busy East 14th Street corridor in the Ashland area, although old advertisements often identified it with nearby Hayward or San Leandro.

The sign’s earlier history remains a mystery. Its odd outline could have been left behind by another business, but it may also have been nothing more than a bit of mid-century roadside imagination. Sometimes a shoe-shaped car sign is just a shoe-shaped car sign.

UPDATE: Schaap Motors closed around 2004 when John Schaap retired and moved to Jackson. The old marquee was later removed, and the former dealership property has since been used as a parking and food-truck lot, including by El Taquero Poblano. 09-26