In 1983 brothers, Bob, Ron and Murray opened the GM dealership with their parents, Glenn and Corinne, at their Broadway Avenue location in Killarney. It was actually more of a 're-opening' as the Chapman family had been flying the GM flag since 1934 in one way or another!
The entrepreneurial 'drive' started with the brothers' grandfather, Merril Chapman, back in 1931 when he took on the McColl-Frontenac dealership in Killarney, a name which was later changed to Texaco.
In 1934 Merril purchased Killarney's John Deere implement agency from the late Jack Rigby and contracted the Pontiac-Buick automobile agency, naming his dealership R.M. Chapman. It was later changed to Chapman & Sons, as Merril's son's Jack, Glen and Les joined the family business.
In 1953, Glen and Corinne (Bob, Ron and Murray's parents) and their Uncle Jack bought out Grandpa Merril. This partnership continued until 1965 when Glen became the sole owner, with his brother Jack remaining as sales manager until 1969.
In 1976 the Chapman family and the dealership parted ways when the dealership was sold to Art Evans. The late 70's and early 80's were very difficult years for many farmers and most business owners due to the financial strain of extreme interest rates. The dealership was closed for a short while.
Fortunately, the Chapman family still owned the land and the buildings, and it was in 1983 when Glen and Corinne, and their sons Bob, Ron and Murray formed the partnership of Chapman Motors Ltd with the General Motors franchise. Murray's son, Aubrey, has joined Team Chapman, carrying on the family tradition now for the 4th generation.
Forty years later, Ron Chapman looks back at how the automobile industry has changed over 4 decades. He says one the biggest changes that has taken place is in the technology of operating a motor vehicle, and how everything is now systems-related, inter-connected with sensors and more.
"The changes are significant, but they're not as significant as what we're probably going to see in the next ten years," he explains. "We saw things like fuel changed to fuel-injection, so you didn't fight with carburetors, they automatically start. There's been a lot of change in designs, they've gone from cars to a lot of SUVs."
"All technology related to computers has changed," notes Chapman. "I thought when computers first came out, they wouldn't last. Like, these are outside vehicles in dirt and grime and hot and cold. You'd never think a computer could last through all that, but they have, and they've done very well. And the engines and the mechanics are so much better."
"But what's coming," adds Ron Chapman, "is going to be incredible. Now you have the technology to self-drive [vehicles] so now you worry about whether your sensors are working to tell you whether you'll run into somebody. Electric cars are here and that's going to change things in ways that no one is going to understand yet."
Chapman states that the automobile industry and the travel-transportation industry as a whole is continually changing, and those changes will be a lot different. "I saw an article in the paper the other day that they're now trying to get a helicopter licensed as a taxicab because apparently they have now made them small enough now that they can do that!"
Ron thinks his parents and grandparents would have been very pleased that the three brothers have flown the Chapman flag alongside the GM brand all these 40 years together.
"Our parents would have been happy that we all stayed in the business, and I think we've been able to do that because we run different parts of the dealership," he shares, "and that's a good thing about a dealership is that there are 4 or 5 different departments so we can manage our reach, and we can stay out of each other's hair," he smiles.
"The other thing that I think they would be happy with is that we never really over-stepped our bounds or extended ourselves too terribly far," adds Chapman. "By that I mean we would buy a lot behind the shop, and then years later we would buy another lot behind the lot, and then finally we had enough lots that we could put a new shop up. So, we put a new shop up. If you looked at the progression of us buying property over the years, it's kind of comical, actually. But it managed to help us achieve our goals."
What's the future for Chapman Motors, the next generation? "We just continue keep up with technology, continue to work hard and serve our customers," he adds.
(Photo credit: Chapman Motors historical pictures from their collection)