Bill Newberry with his latest perk - a new Subaru Outback
One of Chattanooga's longest-tenured car salesmen is finally moving on to enjoy his retirement.
Bill Newberry, who is currently at Crown Subaru on Riverfront Parkway, said Tuesday will be his last day on the job.
It all began in 1971 when he found out that car salesmen got a tremendous perk - their own new vehicle to drive with expenses covered.
He was born just after his father returned home from World War II and was stationed at the Charleston, S.C. Navy Yard. Joseph Newberry was originally from Soddy Daisy, but had joined the Navy and been stationed with his wife at Pearl Harbor. They were there when the bombs began to fall.
Mr. Newberry said two days afterward Joe Newberry was overseas. He said, "It was all very secretive. My mother did not know where he had gone."
His mother also did her part during the war. She was the first woman employed at the shipyard painting ships.
Mr. Newberry said his family, including his older brother and sister, lived at Ashburn, Ga., after the war where his father was treated for five years for tuberculosis. He had contracted it while drinking unprocessed milk in Guam.
He said his mother had loaded the kids up in a car at Alameda, Calif., and driven all the way to Georgia in a time with no credit cards and a number of highway perils, including getting across the desert.
With his system weakened, the elder Newberry died of a heart attack in 1957.
Bill Newberry finished at Soddy Daisy High School in 1964, then went to Florida where his brother was living. Always the salesman, he hawked Collier's Encyclopedias for seven years. He said, "I did pretty well because in those days most families had a set of encyclopedias. That was the way you looked a lot of things up."
He added, "But can you imagine going door to door today - especially around dark? You would get shot."
Mr. Newberry met his future wife, Judy, in Florida. She was visiting from her home state of Pennsylvania.
The couple headed to Soddy Daisy in December 1970. He was selling autos for Pete Austin and Kaye Hatfield at Austin Chrysler Plymouth at 20th and Broad by January.
His "perk" was getting to drive a new two-door, hardtop Fury III. An especial plus was the power disc brakes - much better than the old drum brakes.
His first sale, ironically, was to Henry Ford of Ringgold, Ga. He noted, "He traded a car in and I delivered his 1969 Chrysler four-door hardtop to him in Ringgold."
After two and a half years, he switched to the Newton Chevrolet dealership, which was on Market Street near Fourth in quarters that still stand.
Not long after Mr. Newberry arrived at Newton, the dealership made the move to "the Golden Gateway" that was created during Urban Renewal at Cameron Hill. The new location was at the corner of Ninth Street (later MLK Boulevard) and Riverfront Parkway.
Kelly Cadillac had landed just across the street before the Newton move. Closer to town were other dealerships - Downtown Dodge and Lawrence Doster Lincoln Mercury.
Mr. Newberry made the jump in 1977 to Ed Wright Chevrolet back at his old 20th and Broad stomping grounds, but that dealership closed six months later.
He afterward was used car manager for John Hicks Chrysler Plymouth at the same location.
Mr. Newberry made his return to Newton Chevrolet in 1986 and was still there when it shut its doors in July 2007.
He wholesaled used cars for a couple of years before going across the street from the old Newton to Kelly Cadillac in 2009. The dealership is now Crown Subaru.
Mr. Newberry said his long auto career has sped by like one of the high-octane roadsters he has sold.
He said, "I have loved all the places I've worked. They've been very good to me, and I've made a lot of friends."
His secret to selling: "Follow the Golden Rule. Don't be a salesman at all. Just help the customer get what they want."