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The beautiful new home of Mills Motor Sales, King West at Park Road, [until 10:00 p.m., when the general public are invited to attend and be | Central Ontario, His Worship Mayor Frank McCallum and officials of Service Building O THE DAILY TIMES-GAZETTE ( SECOND SECTION w Automobile Sales and ens February 7 --Photo Courtesy G.M. Studio which will be officially opened on Friday evening, Feb. 7, from 7:00 o'clock | shown through this office structure -- one of the finest of its kind in | General Motors of Canada Limited will take part in the official opening. H. Marshall who visited the various departments of this mechanized structure. y (By EVERETT H. MARSHALL) T AN unusually early age Cliff Mills, owner of Mills Motor Sales on King Street West, has achieved remarkable success in the field of motor { sales and seryice. After gaining much 'practical | experience and developing his great aptitude for mech- anics at Oshawa's General Motors plant, this enterprising young man built a garage in his own back yard and there engaged In motor car repair and service work. From this modest beginning a few years ago, Mr. sb pxtended-his business to-the point that more than 30 employees are now required to handle it; a staff that' will be increased to 50 in the near future after the large new building i8 occupied. This ultra-modern garage and showroom, of reinforced steel and concrete construction, will be one of the largest of its kind between ¢ Toronto and Montreal, and certainly one of the most handsome and attractive. Measuring 90 by 140 feet, the new home of Mills Motor Sales is a veritable show place i, In its interior decorative effects with its attractve, efficient ' layout. In the spacious front rooms customers will find Harry Kerr, General Manager, confers with Ken Miller, Accountant, - in the new office of the Manager. a friendly atmosphere, and, possibly more important, in the service department they will find at their disposal a staff of highly qualified experts to service and maintain their cars in perfect running order. , When this magnificent new building is formally opened on the evening of Friday, February 7, top General Motors and other executives and dealers, as well as the general public, will be invited to inspect the premises from 7 to 10 p.m. : \ Rented Back Garage AVARE THAT an interesting story lay behind the opening of this splendid new building, The Times- Gazette asked me to interview Mr. Mills and obtain some sidelights on the business that has grown into one of major importance. "First of all," I said to Mr. Mills, "are you a native of Oshawa?" "No," he replied, "I was born in the Napanee district, and lived on my father's farm until I was 18 years of age. Then I came to Oshawa and got a job with General Motors." "What did you do there?" "I started in the radiator room, but as time went on, I did all kinds of work." From this and subsequent re- marks I gathered that this still rising auto executive laid | an early and: sure foundation of automotive mechanical knowledge and skill. As a matter of fact, the more I talked with him, the more apparent it became that much of his success may rightly be attributed to his outstanding capabilities along these lines. "When you began repairing cars in your own back yard, did you have many customers?" I asked. "Yes, I was able to keep quite busy," Mr. Mills smiled, OFFICIAL OPENING FRIDAY FEBRUARY 7 6 P.M. (CEREMONY AT 7:30 pm.) OPEN HOUSE ALL DAY SATURDAY, FEB, 8th, General Public Is Invited FTER a year of building under unusual conditions I am happy to announce that our new .showreoms and garage will be open officially on Friday evening next week, and I extend a very cordial welcome to all those citizens of Oshawa and district who are interested in seeing what we believe to be one of the most modern structures of its kind in Central Ortarlo. On this occasion we hope to have with us our friends in the automobile business together with the executives of General Motors, and a large number of the citizens from every type of business in Oshawa and district, when the entire building will be open for public inspection. Everyone is cordially invited. \ MILLS MOTOR SALES 1 * PROPRIETOR and at my suggestion that it was another case of people beating a path to the door of anyone who makes a good mouse trap--or anything else of superior merit--he + modestly admitted that he seemed to find the answer to most motor car troubles. This was themearest I could get him to take any credit for his enviable business achievements, and it was only inadvertently that he let slip his confidence in his own mechanical ability. In December, 1931, he rented the back part of what formerly was MacDonald's Garage at 265 King Street West and with Harold Mackie engaged in mechanical work under the firm name of Mills and Mackie. Secured Service Station "Hew did you develop your skill in motor mechanics?" I inquired. "Did it come naturally to you?" "I learned it by doing it," he replied, thereby con- firming what so many have advocated as the best way of mastering one's chosen vocation. He added that he gained his first experience by "tinkering with his car," which practice seems to produce happy results only when 'undertaken by those with mechanical bent. "What was your next move?" I inquired. "Mr. Mackie stayed for two years and then I took over the service station. That was in 1933, and two years later | I started selling Plymouths and Chryslers, for which I had the agency...' "Did you take to selling ears as you did to servicing them?" "Well, I sold 25 that year," replied the man who has since sold so many others. During this time he started in the used car business, and in 1937 rented a used car lot from Norman Millman at the corner of Warren and King Streets. : Record Sales "HV many used cars did you sell at the outset of your venture?" I asked. "In 1937, the year we obtained the lot, we sold 600 new and used cars." t Above shows the first 1947 Pontiac on display In the Mills Motor Sales new showroom, King West at Park Road. Mills Motor Sales are representatives in this district for Pontiac automobiles, G.M.C. trecks and General "Motors parts, and a wide range of automobile and truck accessories, "You certainly did well," I observed. able to sell so many?" An engaging smile was Mr. Mills' only reply, until I pointed out there must have been some good reason for his selling success. Then he said it might have been be- cause we "put the used cars in nice condition." This was assuredly no overstatement, for the experts, under his supervision, not only transformed the outward appearance of the cars but put their interior mechanism in shape to give the utmost driving satisfaction, as many hundreds of highly satisfied customers have testified. In 1937, when Mr. Mills employed one salesman and eight service station assistants, he constructed a building at Bond St. and Gladstone Ave. to serve as a body-shop where used cars could be reconditioned. "You must have had a busy year in 1937," I remarked. "Yes, we had a busy year then, and every year since has been busy," he smiled. "In the fall of 1938 we took over the agency for Pontiac cars and G.M.C. trucks. We' sold 33 new Pontiacs that year together with the Ply- mouths sold previously." "Who was the man in charge of this division at General Motors?" "Norm Grainger was sales manager for the Pontlac- Buick division," Mr. Mills replied, and at my suggestion that the sales manager must have been pleased with his new agency, merely favored me with another of his en- gaging smiles. In reply to my question he stated that 1939 and 1940 were good years and that 1941 was a record business year. "How were you War Years "WwW the war got well under way I suppose your business was affected adversely, as others were in your line," I said. "We went along keeping out of the red, and had to Baden Cranfield, Service Manager, who has been associated with. Mills Motor Sales for many years. depend on developing the auto parts end of the business," he replied, elaborating slightly on this in a way that re- flected his resourcefulness as well as enterprise. "During the war did you lose any men to the services?" I asked. "We lost six or seven," he said, and went on to pay tribute to the high calibre and outstanding ability of his highly qualified staff., "They are as capable and expertly trained as you can find anywhere," he declared, mention- ing by name Baden Cranfield, who has served as foreman and will shortly become the service manager, and Laverne Clark, who is in charge of the body and paint division. Mr. Mills was unhesitating and emphatic in paying tribute to his Parts Manager, J. B. Frost and his Accountant, Ken Miller and other members of his splendidly trained staff, "Harry E. Kerr joined our organization about a year ago and will be manager," said Mr. Mills. The addition of Mr. Kerr to our staff will mean much to our patrons for Harry is one of those people whose whole life since school days has been associated with the automobile business. He was born at Camden East, near Napanee, educated at Patworth Public School, Sydenham High School, - and graduated from Harrowsmith Technical School in motor mechanics. Finishing school at about the age of 18 Mr. Kerr joined the staff of the General Motors here at Oshawa and commenced his motor career in the stock room of the Parts Department, spending about 15 years with that corporation. During his time with General Motors he served in the general offices, in the material control department, in the dealer claimg office, the merchandising department, and later joined the sales department as district manager. In 1941 (Continued on Page 3), ad Y 11 §J3IwC