Back To The Future Series #1: Clem Ruh Chevrolet 21100 Sherman Way Canoga Park
Welcome to the first Back to the Future Series (not the movie). The goal of this series like you may have seen in Then And Now books is to show how a location, site, place, etc from the past has changed when compared to today. This should be a lot of fun as this may get those faded memory cells thinking again about a location that might have had an effect on your life way back then(obviously this isnt for the children).
So for the first BTTF series, I picked something random that was sitting in front of me at the time (the old picture that is) so there is nothing special about this one being the first. Check back often for more exciting BTTF series updates.
[Paragraph edited on 12/22/2011 based on comment below from Anonymous]
Clem who? How many remember Clem Ruh Chevrolet on Sherman Way in Canoga Park. It was started by Ruh in the early 60's through the 70's. This dealership was later transferred to Jim Bess sometime after Ruh's death in the mid 70's. I visited this dealership with my Dad in the late 80's which was presumably under the ownership of Jim Bess. I cant recall exactly what happened but my Dad walked away without a car purchase. However, my Dad did eventually purchase from Galpin Ford. I have no idea how many lost deals similar to my Father's took place at the former Clem Ruh/Jim Bess Chevy dealership but I can imagine that the changes in the auto industry, foreign competition, and changing demographics of the West Valley might explain why they are no longer present as a Chevy dealership. This is also symbolic of the demise of the Big 3 automakers as the market share has been dwindling for decades to foreign competitors due to lack of cost control (Big Unions with Big Demands) and reduction in quality. Dont get me wrong, Chevy makes good cars and trucks and their Corvettes are real bargains compared to European counterparts. At any rate, this is what happens when you get complacent and fail to keep up industry changes.