Watseka Ford Lincoln Watseka Ford Lincoln “ W e ’ l l ta k e c a r e o f yo u ”
“ W e ’ l l ta k e c a r e o f yo u ”
Welcome to Our New Home On behalf of my family, and myself, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank those who have made this day possible. From the start, we’ve had the support of Mayor Harwood and the members of the Watseka City Council. Thank-you Mr. Mayor and council. Also, thanks to all of the construction contractors, their employees and our Project Manager, Bob Tincher. They worked together, through one of the toughest winters in years, to finish pretty much on schedule and budget. Jim Knecht, Kerry Bell and all of the staff at First Trust Bank have been wonderful to work with on this venture, and for the past 25 years. Much thanks to them. Watseka Ford Lincoln managers and employees -- Thank-you for your patience and hard work, not only in the process of our move, but also for your years of service, without which none of this would have been possible. Lastly, thank-you Watseka Ford Lincoln customers for the loyalty and trust that you’ve shown us. Our number one goal in designing this new dealership has been to provide for you the most satisfying automotive sales and service experience available. Thank-you all. Dave Bell “HOME OF THE FREE SERVICE LOANER”
RT. 1 & 24 EAST , WATSEKA, IL Toll Free • 1-800-345-9380 visit our complete inventory at
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Friday, August 8, 2014
Special Supplement to Iroquois County’s Times-Republic
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Once work started on the project in the fall of 2013, it progressed through the months. The site looked like this in October, 2013.
Photos by Zack Waters
November, 2013
January, 2014
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Special Supplement to Iroquois County’s Times-Republic
Friday, August 8, 2014
Photo contributed Voigt Ford Lincoln Mercury in the 1960s was located on Jefferson Street in Watseka.
Tom Voigt recalls history of Ford in Watseka By CARLA WATERS, Managing Editor cwaters@intranix.com
Tom Voigt remembers when the new Ford dealership was built on Jefferson Street in 1959. That building is the one Watseka Ford Lincoln just moved from. Voigt had begun working in the auto industry in 1948. He and wife Alverda were married that same year. At that time, the dealership was at Third and Oak streets and was called S&B Motor Sales. “S&B Motor Sales was located where Baier Funeral Home is today,” he said. He worked there for two years then served in the Korean War. When he got back, he went back to the dealership. After a time, he, Brad Hines, Reiny Voigt and Vince O’Brien owned the business together and called it Voigt-O’Brien. That partnership lasted for a while until he and O’Brien bought out the other two. Eventually, Voigt would purchase O’Brien’s share of the business and it was Voigt Ford Lincoln Mercury. When the dealership on Jefferson Street was built, Voigt said they thought they had dealt with the flooding issue. The business flooded three times when he was there - one time 27 inches of water was in the building. “There’s not much you could do,” he said. Selling automobiles has changed quite a bit since that time, he said. The vehicles were bigger then than they are today. Some cars, though, are just iconic. “I really liked selling the Thunderbirds and Mustangs,” he said. Selling a vehicle was a different process than it is today, he said. When a customer would go to the dealership to shop for a vehicle, there weren’t many models on the showroom floor. Once the customer told the sales person what was needed, the sales person did a lot of talking on the telephone. “You had to call around and find out if they (another dealer) had a car like what you wanted,” he said. “Now, they have a variety for anybody.” Obviously prices of cars have changed through the years. Voigt said he remembers getting in a Lincoln that retailed for $50,000. He wondered if they would be able to sell it. Vehicles themselves are much different than they were when Voigt was selling. “The cars have been more computerized,” he said, “and therefore mechanics have to be more knowledgeable about comPhoto by Carla Waters puters.” Now 87, Tom Voigt says he still keeps in touch with Financing options and advertising options have also changed. Rebates that are offered today were Dave Bell, current owner of Watseka Ford Lincoln. not part of the process. Through the years, the Voigts hosted Christmas parties at their house for the employees. “We had a lot of fun,” Alverda said. The Voigts say they enjoyed their time with the dealership. Tom is now 87. He sold the business to Dave Bell in 1990. The Voigts were present at the private open house Watseka Ford Lincoln had July 15. “It’s beautiful,” said Alverda. Both Tom and Alverda have high praise for the Bells. “They are so nice,” Alverda said. Tom said he and Dave keep in touch.
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Special Supplement to Iroquois County’s Times-Republic
Friday, August 8, 2014
Photo by Carla Waters John Bell, Cynthia Bell, Dave Bell and Sarah Combes stand at the center of the crowd of employees and Watseka Area Chamber of Commerce members as the ribbon cutting ceremony for Watseka Ford Lincoln is about to start. Watseka Ford opened in its new location July 1 and a ribbon cutting and special open house was conducted July 15. A public open house is scheduled for later this year.
Watseka Ford Lincoln opens at new location By CARLA WATERS, Managing Editor cwaters@intranix.com
State-of-the-art and built to specifics from the Ford Motor Company, the new Watseka Ford Lincoln dealership has opened its doors. The dealership has moved its location from Jefferson Street to 101 Bell Road at the intersection of U.S. 24 and Route 1 East in Watseka. Owner Dave Bell said the number one priority in constructing the new building is customer service. It opened July 1 but passersby the busy intersection had been able to watch the transformation of the corner for months. Dave purchased the dealership from Tom Voigt in 1990 and the business has been family owned and operated by the Bell family ever since. Dave and
Cynthia Bell, along with daughter Sarah Combes, officer manager, and son John Bell, general manager, have continued to serve residents of Watseka and the surrounding area for those many years. The new dealership sits on six acres of the 10 acres purchased at the corner by the Bells. The dealership has been built with a Ford Motor Company design, Dave said. “The front facade is exactly according to their specifications,” he said. “The rest of the dealership uses design elements that they endorse and recommend but we designed it over the past two years using various sources.” The look of this dealership will be seen at other dealerships around the country. “It’s a very green design,” Dave said. “The lighting
is all high efficiency fluorescent or LED. The majority of the heat is high efficiency hot water heat along with high efficiency air conditioning and air handlers. Insulation is well above the required standard.” High efficiency products throughout the building help save energy and provide maximum efficiency. “All the lighting is high efficiency fluorescent and LED,” he said. That includes the exterior lights, the lights on the building itself the lights in front and the signage — all LED. The water system, Dave said, is also energy efficient and environmentally sensitive. There are ponds near the property to deal with water
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Friday, August 8, 2014
Special Supplement to Iroquois County’s Times-Republic
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(Above, left) Guests network as they stroll the Watseka Ford Lincoln campus on Bell Road during the July 15 private open house. (Above, right) Dave Bell expresses his appreciation for the employees, customers and community during the open house. (Below, inset) Watseka Ford Lincoln has a variety of vehicles for sale at its new dealership location.
>>New, from page 2 runoff. Water management is designed to retain large amounts and discharge it slowly into the waterways. They are mandated by the city engineer to handle water runoff and slow water runoff from the roof and pavement, he said. The ponds help mitigate that from the property to the river or sanitary sewer all at once, he said.
The building is about half again as large as the original building, Dave said. “Most of that is in parts and services,” he said. The expectation is to add probably 25 percent more employees over when the process started a couple of years ago, and they should end up with about 40 employees. There are many services offered at the dealership besides the sale of vehicles. They have employees who work in parts, services, office and support. “We added heavy duty truck service capabilities,” he said. The interior of the building is also high-efficiency and designed to make the experience for customers as
good as possible. Customers can drive their vehicle into an enclosed and climate controlled service area to keep them out of the elements. Customers can go from the climatecontrolled service area to the public customer service area, which is complete with public wi-fi capabilities. The customer lounge is open and inviting. Customers can stay and wait for the vehicle in that area, or can be equipped with a loaner vehicle if the situation calls for it. “Then we will call you and tell you when your car is ready,” Dave said. Service is a high priority at Watseka Ford Lincoln. The new location allows the dealership to increase availability by at least 25 percent, he said. That includes new and used vehicles. While customers are the number one priority, Dave said the employee work space at the new location was priority number two. That area is more spacious, he said, and brighter than in the old location. The employee work environment has also been enhanced. The floor heat in the shop cement floor is going to be fantastic for the employees,” he said. “Instead of a wet cold floor its going to be dry and warm. That’s one advantage. There are also new desks, brighter work areas, and a more spacious and open
area. “The whole back end of the shop has a water system that heats the floor,” he said. In fact, the outside sidewalks are also heated, another added element for customers and employees alike. Dave said they are committed to the Watseka area and felt the time was right to move to the new location. “We felt the community center of Watseka was moving east,” he said, “and we wanted to avoid, in part, the water flooding problem. “But because the commercial center was moving we felt we should be a part of that,” he said “We are honored to be at the new exciting front door to Watseka from the east and the south.” Dave said, too, that they were very keen on hiring local contractors as much as possible. Most all of the work was done locally. And the Bells are happy with the results. “This is a final product that resulted from two years of planning and development,” he said. The area leaves four acres undeveloped for now, but available for development by another business or two. “It is for sale and development,” Dave said. And throughout the process, Dave said the city officials have been supportive of the new endeavor. “We are very appreciative of the support the community of Watseka has given us. The city leadership was helpful, the council in particular,” he said. The dealership has been “extremely busy” since it opened at the new location, Dave said. A public open house is being planned, Dave said, and notes that the time and day will announced as details are finalized, probably be around September.
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Special Supplement to Iroquois County’s Times-Republic
Friday, August 8, 2014
(Left) The old Watseka Ford Lincoln dealership building on Jefferson Street in Watseka served the community for many years.
(Below) The Bell family has erected a new state-of-the-art dealership at the corner of Route 1 and U.S. 24 East in Watseka. Dave Bell said, “We are honored to be at the new exciting front door to Watseka from the east and the south.”
Photo contributed
Photo by Carla Waters