THROUGH THE YEARS WITH IDEAL BUICK GMC IN FREDERICK, MD

Welcome to Ideal of Frederick, Maryland! Come, jump on in, and take a ride down memory lane with us! Over the years it has not always been the easiest, but Ideal has made it through. Along our journey we’ve only established greater.

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Let’s start at the beginning. In 1900 the original property on East Patrick Street was named and traded as the Ideal Electric and Machine Company. During the early days many makes and models were sold; such as, Fords, Maxwells, Pontiacs, Marquettes, Flints, and Flanders some of which you may not of even heard of. In 1909 the owners of the property, Mr. and Mrs. Elias B Ramsburg Sr., signed the first contract with the Buick Motor Company as a single proprietor to sell Buicks. On November 3, 1911, the Ideal Garage Company Incorporated was chartered in the state of Maryland.

As the auto industry continued to grow, so did we. In April of 1924, an additional property was purchased and Ideal Garage Company was able to expand. The garage at the time had a machine shop, vulcanized tires, stored automobiles, and maintained its own service and parts department. It was all of your automotive necessities in an indoor shopping mall. You could even fill up with gas at the front door. If you needed anything the Ideal Garage Company was open twenty-four hours a day, 365 days a year, and operated at this capacity for over forty years.

In 1975, the Ideal Garage continued under the ownership of Ramsburg family. With nineteen employees selling Buick and Opel, Ideal celebrated sixty- four years of continuous service as a new and used car dealership.

Two short years later, in 1977 the Ideal Garage Company Inc. was purchased by Thomas Yoder. The name was then changed to Ideal Buick Co. The garage was still operating at the indoor showroom. The garage had served over one million customers since.

Soon after Thomas Yoder acquired the business he partnered with C.M. Whalen and the business continued to thrive.

In 1979 Ideal Buick Inc. celebrated 69 years and publicized a special “Thanks!!” “To You Our Customers For 69 Years Of Loyalty” Stating “Ideal Buick Is Not Contributing To A Recession”.

De Willard became involved as a partner of Ideal Buick Inc. in 1981. The story of his journey in building the business begins with his purchase of a Frederick property that sat idle in 1981 for about eight months. All along Willard was searching for a deal he felt confident would take him far. Finally a proposition came his way that set the success story in motion. “Neil Whalan, who owned Ideal Buick Inc. when it was at the first location, came to me wanting to rent the property for a franchise. He ended up selling me half of the business and took care of the operations.” says De Willard. The Business was then moved to the Urbana Pike location.

While Whalan oversaw the day-to-day affairs, Willard went on to negotiate his next deal, which was the purchase of Jenkins Motors Oldsmobile in 1983, adding the GMC truck to the mix. Hyundai came along in 1990, offering additional product options to consumers.

De Willard took a huge risk when he bought the property at 5871 Urbana Pike in Frederick Md. Ideal Buick GMC have thrived with vitality for well over 30 years now. When he entered the business venture in 1981, he had no prospects or tenants, only ambitious plans to find and buy an automobile dealership.

Ideal Buick GMC has survived for well over 100 years. Any automobile company that has stood the test of time can only mean one thing. It takes a strong commitment to each and every person from the last staff member that locks up the dealership after that final facility inspection, to the finish and final detail for the last customer to leave the facility whether it is for service or sales. Ideal Buick GMC Hyundai has been and will always place the customers’ needs first. Ideal continues to remain a strong pillar in the community serving the Frederick Maryland and the entire four state areas.