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After more than 40 years, end of the road for Southern California's Cal Worthington car dealership
MSN ^ | yestreday | Louis Sahagún

Posted on 02/19/2023 12:31:21 AM PST by dennisw

Many of those commercials were filmed under the large “Worthington Ford in Long Beach” sign at the dealership he bought in 1963.

Now that sign has come to mark the end of an era. Worthington’s family said they have sold the 3-acre business, the last dealership still bearing the name of the legendary car salesman who died in 2012.

“It’s very sad,” Nick Worthington, Cal’s grandson, said in an interview with ABC7. “Our employees have been with us 40 plus years.

“It’s a part of everyone’s childhood and life growing up here,” he added. “It’s hard to close that book for everybody.”

On Saturday, Shawn Abdallah, finance director at the dealership, said news of the sale “came as a shock, although there had been rumors for a couple of months that something like this was in the works.”

“The rumors were confirmed on Thursday,” he said, “when Nick had everyone gather in a conference room here for an important message.

“He said, ‘You probably heard the rumors and today I am here to confirm them.’ ” Abdallah recalled. “He was very emotional. And yeah, there were tears all around.”

The buyer, Nouri/Shaver Automobile Group, plans to keep all the Worthington Ford employees, but they will have to reapply for their jobs, Abdallah said.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: california; calworthington; goseecal; hisdogspot; socal
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To: deener

My memory was that he was making fun of another car dealer who would include an actual dog in his ads.


41 posted on 02/19/2023 6:49:46 AM PST by rightwingcrazy (;-,)
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To: dennisw

Mr. GG2 who is originally from Southern California bought a car there in his youth.


42 posted on 02/19/2023 6:51:44 AM PST by Georgia Girl 2 (The only purpose of a pistol is to fight your way back to the rifle you should never have dropped)
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To: BookmanTheJanitor

My father worked briefly for Bandini during college. He was a geology major, and I don’t think fertilizer was what he had in mind.


43 posted on 02/19/2023 7:03:18 AM PST by Hebrews 11:6 (“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:47 -- It's still true!)
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To: dennisw

My favorite car dealership advertisement on tv was “Equipped, NOT stripped.” With all kinds of flash pickups driving by. This was in “rural” Tallahassee Florida. The new car dealers in Maine were no slouches either. They sold the sh___ out their vehicles. Inundating TV with their purposely cornball advertisements

As some FReeper said above, “Those were the days”


44 posted on 02/19/2023 7:08:46 AM PST by dennisw ("You don't have to like it. You just have to do it")
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To: dennisw

Two of America’s oldest auto dealerships is Reynold’s Auto and Marine in Lyme, Connecticut (founded 1859) and Ferman Autos in Tampa, Florida (1889).


45 posted on 02/19/2023 7:11:48 AM PST by Deplorable American1776 (Defund the FBI, the American Stasi.. Hello 2023, can we get over 2020 yet? )
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To: dennisw

Got a prison record? We don’t care.
Don’t have a job? We don’t care.
Got bad credit? We don’t care.

Don’t expect to pay us? That’s when we care!


46 posted on 02/19/2023 7:13:52 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: rlmorel

I bought a brand new Ford Tempo that year. 84 with a 4 or 5 speed manual trans. Great car until we sold it. 88k miles. Bought a brand new Ford Explorer in 91. Go see Cal was right down the freeway from us but we never bought a car from him. Pretty sure when he was doing all those commercials he was a used car dealer. Saw those commercials for ever! They are definitely stuck in our minds.


47 posted on 02/19/2023 7:38:33 AM PST by US_MilitaryRules (#PureBlood)
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To: dfwgator

You are good! More laughs than 99% of them TV comedians/ But if you are really going to be real you need ___Utorrent___

FReepmail if you need advice on UT___ “Don’t follow leaders watch your parking meters.”


48 posted on 02/19/2023 7:50:10 AM PST by dennisw ("You don't have to like it. You just have to do it")
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To: dennisw
Go See Cal--Cal Worthington's theme song

Where the dog looks like a cat, go see Cal!
When you come on to the lot,
Better watch out for old Spot;
If it gets a little hot,
Go see Cal!

49 posted on 02/19/2023 7:53:50 AM PST by Fiji Hill
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To: BookmanTheJanitor

Then there was the ad with a woman’s sexy voice saying “Bandini is the word for fertilizer”. Funny the things you remember from so long ago.

Early car commercials in SoCal were a hoot. Lots of cowboy hats and there was one guy who always slammed the fenders of cars he was featuring.


50 posted on 02/19/2023 7:58:23 AM PST by hanamizu
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To: dennisw

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Worthington

Cal Worthington lived to 92. All FReepers should do as well. Chinese saying —
“The sage lives a long life” My opinion is that he minimally ripped his car buyers. He was nice and honest to all new an used buyers


51 posted on 02/19/2023 8:03:19 AM PST by dennisw ("You don't have to like it. You just have to do it")
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To: DAC21

In the 1970s, in Orlando, Florida, there was a crazy guy selling Dodges. Art Grindel Dodge was classic ads in the 70s...


52 posted on 02/19/2023 8:07:56 AM PST by Deplorable American1776 (Defund the FBI, the American Stasi.. Hello 2023, can we get over 2020 yet? )
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To: FLT-bird

“Cal Worthington - aside from being a war hero and a good all around guy - just had “it”. He was a natural born salesman. His ads are iconic. He did quite well for himself and his family. There was obviously no replacing him when he was gone.”

Every Friday noon at Long Beach State in the 1970s there was a guest speaker in front of the bookstore. Cal Worthington drew a huge crowd, larger than Leonard Nimoy and Hanoi Jane Fonda. He got a great applause at the end of his talk.


53 posted on 02/19/2023 8:50:36 AM PST by chrisinoc
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To: where's_the_Outrage?

Cal Worthington came up with the “his dog Spot” because of Chick Lambert and his German shepherd Storm at his rival Ralph Williams Ford.

Can’t find a real commercial featuring Chick Lambert but he did do a parody commercial when Ralph Williams was in the SF area.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcYH2Hyy2mM


54 posted on 02/19/2023 9:00:15 AM PST by chrisinoc
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To: ConservaTexan

Maybe he has a way back machine ?.


55 posted on 02/19/2023 9:12:36 AM PST by Vaduz (LAWYERS )
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To: dennisw

After the 70’s many good things have left so-cal those times are gone for ever.


56 posted on 02/19/2023 9:15:21 AM PST by Vaduz (LAWYERS )
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To: dennisw

The 70s in “the Southland.” Cal Worthington and his dog Spot, KMET FM rock, Venice Beach, gourmet chili-burgers…

I had an aunt & uncle and cousins in Orange County and spent some time there and in L.A. They all left for Florida, one by one in the 90s.

California was a nice place once.


57 posted on 02/19/2023 9:23:48 AM PST by Allegra
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To: dennisw

Who gets his dog Spot???


58 posted on 02/19/2023 9:29:13 AM PST by null and void (You can’t have a police state without a state police.)
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To: chrisinoc
Every Friday noon at Long Beach State in the 1970s there was a guest speaker in front of the bookstore. Cal Worthington drew a huge crowd, larger than Leonard Nimoy and Hanoi Jane Fonda. He got a great applause at the end of his talk.

Worthington dealership is not too far from CSULB...

It is north of 405 freeway...Bellflower Blvd and Spring Street...About 1 mile from Millikan High School...

59 posted on 02/19/2023 9:56:21 AM PST by L.A.Justice
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To: T-Bird45

no slawson is off of the I5, but it was a cool carson joke


60 posted on 02/19/2023 10:56:11 AM PST by markman46 (engage brain before using keyboard!!!)
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