One man created the modern automobile as we know it. He was a pioneer meeting the very first people to create.

He was a pioneer meeting the very first people to create the car,

being one of the founders of the Cadillac car company,

enabling the publicity and the shift.

He even had a car company named after him.

I'm talking, of course, about William Metzker.

Hey, it's Ben Skoda, and this is a special archived episode of A Kimboo.

William. William Metzger, really? Yes, William Metzger was the first car dealer in the United States.

Today's auto sales, where our vehicles have seen better days, and we want you to see better days too.

Hello everyone, I'm Larry Love, owner here at Better Day's AutoS cell and boy do we have a deal for you.

Some cars you might have to push off the lot, some cars you can drive off the lot.

And it turns out as we face the eclipse of car dealerships a

hundred years into it that his role in shifting retail has lessons for all of

us. First a little all of us.

First, a little bit of background.

In the 1890s, Metzger, young man, co-founded a bike store in Detroit.

Bicycle stores were a big deal because bikes were just

about the only way to get around. For whatever reason he ended up in London in

1895 at one of the very first car shows where he saw a Damler-Benz. He then went over to

Germany to see how they were made and at that point they had made a total of 200

cars. Seeing the future, Metzger went back to Detroit, sold his bike shop to his partner,

and opened the first car dealership. Ironically enough, they sold electric cars.

...