Sconda

Scott Buys Saturn of West Chester Land, Scott Select to Open This Spring

On the afternoon of January 15th the ink dried on a deal to purchase 700 Westtown Road, in West Chester, formerly Saturn of West Chester.  This 4.5 acre swath of land will be the new home of Scott Select, "simply the best pre-owned cars".

The exact business plan for Scott Select is still be fine tuned, but Scott will be taking 80 years of automotive sales and service experience and injecting into this new venture.  With Scott Honda finishing as the #2 Certified Honda dealer in the country two yeas in a row, we feel we have a great blue print for selling newer model, impeccably reconditioned vehicles in the Delaware Valley.

"To have this new property on a well traveled road and right next to Scott Honda gives us a huge advantage," says Vice President Duke Scott.  "Our sales people will be able to sell between both stores and our service departments will be able to handle overflow at either location."

Scott had planned to build an entirely new "green" building further down Westtown Road and was close to breaking ground when the Winner Automotive Group announced the sale of their Saturn property last fall.  It was a no-brainer for Scott, what's more green than reusing an existing building and there are still plans to possibly use solar technology and LED lighting in the new building.

"We are really looking forward to opening the doors of this new store," Duke told Sconda Blog.  "It will be a push to get it open as soon as we'd like, with the right people in place, but we know we have resources to make it happen."

Stay tuned for more details on Scott Select, coming in the Spring to this corner near you.

Andy Scott's 1st TV Ad in 1987: 80's Gold

Did you ever wonder what your parents really looked and sounded like when you were young?  Were they "cool"?  Did they dress with style?  Did they have to try to sell an overstock of 1987 Chrysler LeBarons?

For Andy Scott the answers were "Yes, Yes and Yes!"

When I stumbled upon this piece of pure 80's gold I wanted to immediately show it to all my brothers and sisters (and the entire interweb).  I announced to our family during Thanksgiving to check in on Sconda Blog in the coming week for this little piece history to make it's debut.  The whole table was a buzz as my Dad just smiled, blushed a bit (family trait) and immediately recalled the over order of 100 LeBerons that year that was the focus of his very first commercial.

My Dad has been writing and appearing in his own commercials for his Scott Family of Dealerships for over 20 years.  I remember when I was in elementary school, listening to him read his scripts out loud from his yellow legal pad at the breakfast table.

If you want to know what your parental units were really like back in the day, go into their attic, grab that box of VHS tapes or 8mm film get it digitized asap.  It's fast, cheap and makes the perfect Holiday gift.

Old School Scott Honda Ads Unearthed

The only good thing about moving is sometimes you stumble upon something of value, an old envelope of photos, some love notes from your high school sweetheart, a wad of birthday money you hid from yourself, a box of vintage car commercials from the 80's and 90's. Ok the latter may not hold true for everyone, but you understand my point.

Scott Honda is in the midst of selling an old property and while moving items from the upstairs I hit the mother load.  Inside a desk drawer were 20 VHS tapes, 1 Beta max tape and a reel to reel.  They were all old commercials made from 1987 to 2001.  I couldn't find a VCR fast enough to watch these puppies and once I hit the play button they did not disappoint.

With titles like "Young Couple" and "Freshly Squeezed Prices" they are priceless.  The graphics are awesome, the music is classic and our tag line "Come catch the feeling with Scott", doesn't read as well as it sounds at the end of most of these ads. 

I ran the box of VHS tapes down to Disc Hounds in West Chester and in 3 days, for less then 8 American dollars, I got all the commercials put on disc...what a deal.

As an added bonus I found the 1 second appearance of your humble Sconda blogger, Douglas P. Scott, circa 1984 when I was a mere 4 1/2 years old.  I remember the day we shot that commercial and my sister Emily, 3-years old at the time, was afraid she would get sucked into the television forever (a notion I had never considered and soon became concerned about as well, but as the big, brave older brother I was obligated to take the risk).  Our mother, who appears with me in the spot, tried to bribe her with M+M's, but even candy coated chocolate didn't do the trick.

The commercial above, dubbed "New Used Car" is a teaser of what is to be unveiled in the weeks to come.  There are 16 spots in all, some are better than this, some are cheesier, some are actually pretty good, so stay tuned for some TV greatness and keep an eye out for a young Duke Scott as well.

Scott Founder & Sons Honored by Lower Merion H.S.

On Friday September 25, the founder of the Scott dealerships, Raymond P. Scott Sr., and his three oldest sons were honored by Lower Merion High School for their contributions to the school's athletic program, both on and off the field.

Craig C. Scott Sr. and Warren B. Scott Sr., were on hand to receive their "Outstanding Athletic Achievement Awards" at halftime of the high school football match up between Lower Merion and Harriton.  Their oldest brother Raymond P. Scott Jr. was also given the honor, for his athletic accomplishments as a Lower Merion Ace.

As the President of the of the Lower Merion School District Board of Education (School Board) from 1950-1951 and  Director on the School Board from 1952-1955, Raymond P. Scott Sr., always oversaw the athletic program with great care according to his sons.

"It was nice, after all these years to recognize my Dad for his service to the  Lower Merion School District and in particular his interest and support for the athletic programs in the school district," says Craig, President of Scott Honda.  "He encouraged all his boys to participate in athletics and I was proud that I played a small part participating on some very outstanding teams."

Craig and Warren had over 15 family members in attendance to cheering them on during the ceremony, some coming from as far as Florida for the event.

Happy 80th to the Scott Dealerships

    On this day in 1929 our founder, Raymond P. Scott Sr. received his letter of Incorporation from the state of Pennsylvania.

    While working as a bank teller in the 1920s Ray would moonlight on Saturday’s in car sales.  His first big sale was for seven Dodge trucks to a local milk delivery company for which he earned 700 dollars and quickly decided a career change was in order.  On May 22, 1929 Ray incorporated and opened a Dodge-Plymouth dealership on the Main Line in Ardmore, Pa.

    Through four generations,multiple locations and franchises, the Scott family has been doing its best to exceed expectations one customer at a time.  Thank you to all of our loyal customers, without you these past 80 years never would have been possible.

Scott Chrysler Closing, Chevrolet is Safe

    Andrew M. Scott, co-owner of the Scott Family of Dealerships in Allentown, Pa., learned yesterday that after 26 years of selling and servicing Chryslers, the manufacturer was forcing them to close.
    "We knew this day could come and based on that we reduced our inventory and put ourselves in a position that we contained our liability," Scott told a WFMZ reporter yesterday.
    CBS 3 also interviewed Scott, who has been in the car business since 1972 and whose grandfather, Raymond P. Scott Sr., opened the family's first dealership in 1929.
    "We don't know exactly the time frame (for closing) I think that they will be able to get their car serviced here for quiet some time into the future we don't know exactly how long,' he told the reporter.  "Obviously warranty work will become an issue at some point when the franchise is completely terminated."
    Scott Chrysler was one of 53 Chrysler franchises closed in Pennsylvania, the hardest hit state in the country.