WARREN – When Diane Sauer became general manager in 1983 of what was then Martin Chevrolet in Warren, Packard Electric boasted about 9,000 employees, the GM Lordstown plant manufactured cars and vans and the city’s downtown included three major banks.
“It’s just such a different world than it is today,” says Sauer, retired dealer from Diane Sauer Chevrolet Inc.
She started at Martin Chevrolet in 1975 as an office manager trainee, newly minted with an accounting degree from Ohio State University.
In 1983, she became the dealership’s general manager and 10 years later she took over the dealership.
In the early 1980s, the prime rate neared 20% and in 1984, it vacillated between 11.5% and 13%, Sauer remembers.
“People today, now that our interest rates have gone up to 8%, they think that’s awful. But it was double that in 1984,” she says.
She attended dealership association events as one of the few women running car dealerships at that time.
“It was a challenge,” Sauer says, explaining that it wasn’t so much the meetings themselves as the social events. “They were geared towards men. And there were some tough fits once in a while.”
Sauer has witnessed many changes in the automobile industry during her years in the business.
“The main changes have been the complexity of the automobiles how the engines and the powertrain – everything – is driven by computers,” she says. “Repairing the automobiles is so different than it used to be.”
And vehicles have gotten much more expensive as consumers want more amenities.
“In 1984, maybe some cars had power windows and locks. But a lot of them didn’t,” Sauer says. “There were still standard transmissions.”
Now vehicles come with built-in GPS and Wi-Fi connectivity. All that computerization means that auto technicians need new skills.
“There’s basic technician training for things like brakes and rotors and wheels and oil changes. Then, as you get into your specificities into transmissions or engines…,” Sauer says. “There’s a whole training course for EVs right now that is different than any other training.”
With the advent of the internet, car buyers are more knowledgeable today. Manufacturers’ websites allow customers to build their own vehicles with the available options, determine the costs and get payment quotes, she says.
Pictured at top: Diane Sauer recalls when the prime rate neared 20%.