After more than 40 years, end of the road for Southern California's Cal Worthington car dealership

MSN ^ | yestreday | Louis Sahagún

[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.

[chrisinoc]

“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...”

Worthington had a lot of dealerships during his life. The one I remembered was Worthington Dodge on Firestone Blvd., down the street from the first Taco Bell.

[5th MEB]

YUP; my Mother bought a used car from Cal at that dealership in 1958 (I think it was), the car was actually a Buick—a real tank.

If I recall correctly that dealership was in the city of Downey, we lived in Montebello.

30 Years later I wound up living in the city of Downey, stayed there until 2010.

Back in the 50’s I remember it as being CAL WORTHINGTON USED CARS AND DODGE.

[rxh4n1]

“Hiya, friends! Ralph Spoilsport … Ralph Spoilsport Motors—the world’s largest new used and used new car automobile dealership—Ralph Spoilsport Motors—right here in the city of EMPHYSEMA!

[rlmorel]

LOL, definitely stuck in our minds!

I will say, I was nearly two decades before I could say the word “Ford” without nearly spitting, but I did nearly buy one last time I car shopped.

I was able to forgive the shoddy work of the Seventies and Eighties, but could never fully get over the UAW union support of Leftists.