Edward Davis (car dealer)

Edward Davis (February 27, 1911 – May 3, 1999) was an American car dealer.

Edward Davis
Born(1911-02-27)February 27, 1911
Shreveport, Louisiana, U.S.
DiedMay 3, 1999(1999-05-03) (aged 88)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
OccupationCar dealer
Known forFirst African American inductee to the Automotive Hall of Fame, headed Detroit mass transit system

Biography

Early life

Davis was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1911 and his family moved to the Detroit area in 1921. He graduated from Cass Technical High School.

Career

After graduating from Cass Tech, Davis opened a car wash but would eventually find success in sales at a local Dodge dealership. In 1938, he opened a used car lot and two years later became a Studebaker dealer. Studebaker Corporation faced financial difficulties in the 1950s which led to Davis closing his dealership in 1956.[1][2] In 1963, he opened a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership which he ran until 1971.[2][3]

Following his retirement from the car business, Davis accepted an appointment as general manager of the Detroit mass transit system from mayor Roman Gribbs. During this time he also wrote his autobiography, One Man's Way, which was published in 1979.[4]

In 1996, Davis became the first black inductee in the Automotive Hall of Fame.[2][5]

References
  1. "1939 : Davis Motor Sales Opens" (PDF). Makingtracks.org. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  2. "Edward Davis". Automotive Hall of Fame. 2015-01-16. Archived from the original on 2016-02-24. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  3. Genat, Robert (1999). American Car Dealership. p. 70. ISBN 9781610608039. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  4. Ed Davis (1979). One Man's Way. E. Davis Associates.
  5. Johnson Publishing Company (1 February 1999). Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. pp. 46–. ISSN 0021-5996.
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