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Clippinger Chevrolet

Location: Covina, California

Years in Operation: 1921–circa 2005

Founder(s): Isaiah Hale Clippinger

Current Status: Overflow lot

Russ Davis Ford

Location: Covina, California

Years in Operation: 1925–1972

Founder(s): Russell W. Davis

Current Status: Vacant

Clippinger Chevrolet’s original building is shown in this promotional photograph. The Clippinger Chevrolet sign atop the building is typical of signage from the early 1960s. When Clippinger built its new premises in 1967, the sign became simpler and less ornate. (Photo Courtesy J Scott Shannon, Covina Past Blog)

Fortuitous dealer locations sometimes resulted in some healthy competition between adjacent dealerships during the muscle car era. Yeakel Plymouth and Sachs & Sons were across the street from one another, which incited each dealership to display hotter and more outrageous cars on the lots and to field wilder machines at the strip under their sponsorships. Up north in Canada, Mander Chevrolet Oldsmobile and Conroy Pontiac Buick pushed one another to new heights of dealer specialty cars.

Covina, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, retains a small-town feel. Good neighborly respect meant that the rivalry between Clippinger Chevrolet and Russ Davis Ford was muted somewhat by goodwill from both sides of San Bernardino Road, where the dealers faced one another.