Mike Ballinger Tells the Story
Let me tell you about me. I am modern royalty in a small suburban kingdom. My name is Prince Michael Ballinger IV. I add the “Prince” part as a joke, but it’s more real than not. My father, his father, and his father’s father were kings and I am next in line to the throne. My siblings wrongly disagree.
Lineage counts. My great-grandfather Michael Ballinger (the first) was a blacksmith who came to America in 1886, the same year German inventor Karl Benz patented his Benz Motor Wagon. Great-gramps found work in New York shoeing horses for a livery service owned by the Ludwig family. In 1908, when Henry Ford’s Model T came out they sold their horses and bought their first three motor cars which was to become a fleet of limousines for hire on the island of
Manhattan. Michael Ballinger was their employee in charge of buying and selling the cars, and he did it well.
It didn’t take long for others to notice Mike had a talent for the modern day “horse trading” of automobiles. He was a regular in Detroit, Michigan, manufacturing hub of the U.S. in 1909 General Motors offered him the opportunity to buy his own Chevrolet dealership in Queens, New York.
Great-gramps had some money saved and went to the Ludwigs for the remaining cash needed. Ballinger-Ludwig Chevrolet opened their doors May of 1910. Two years later he bought out the Ludwig’s share of the business and Michael Ballinger the First, crowned himself “Auto-King of Queens” (for promotional purposes).
My grandfather Michael Ballinger Jr. worked for his father after he completed his education. He was the first Ballinger to graduate college and we have all followed in his footsteps since. Granddad worked on the increasingly complicated financial side of running and growing the enterprise with Great-gramps out front selling cars and working with the salesmen.
The Great Depression hit the automobile business hard. At that time General Motors and Ford each owned a third of the market share with smaller auto makers splitting the difference. The little guys fell first. Sales of new cars were down 75% in the years 1929-1932. Half the automakers shut down. But GM acted quickly, reducing their luxury lines and adding cars designed for the everyman. With greatly lowered price points and an unprecedented demand for
automobiles, Ballinger Chevrolet not only survived, we thrived.
When Great-gramps died in 1935, Granddad continued to build the business. Ballinger became an auto group when Jr. cut a deal to acquire two failing GM dealerships; Buick and Oldsmobile. He also had the foresight to build and stock the dealer service departments.
Within two months of the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 the last new car rolled off the assembly line and Detroit automakers were manufacturing military vehicles solely for the U.S. government.
The Ballinger’s filled their new car showrooms with used cars and just a few of their pre-war inventory. The service departments became the real bread winner in those days and even now, the service and parts department is the engine that drives an automobile franchise.
That’s why it’s important that we provide the best customer service for folks bringing their vehicles in for repair.
Charlotte Talks About What Happened
My Mom and Dad both owned Ballinger cars. I bought three cars from Ballinger Auto Group over the years and my son bought his first used car at Ballinger, a 2004 Toyota Corolla. I am a loyal customer.
I knew Mike Ballinger III in his prime and he was one heck of a good guy. The “Auto-King of Queens” commercials were always a hoot, and Old Mike knew how to ham it up, without ego getting in the way like some of the other car salesmen let loose with a T.V. commercial budget.
I don’t usually have car troubles. It had been four years since I bought my Chevy Tahoe and my first time back at Ballingers since the purchase. Old Mike was there at the time and we enjoyed a nice chit-chat while my salesmen was running back and forth with the paperwork.
Like I said before, Old Mike is such a nice guy...READ MORE
