Bay Chevrolet history

1916 - William Durant and Louis Chevrolet bought the plant.

Otto moved the location to the corner of Kearsley and Harrison where the dealership remained until 1918.

The business continued to grow and in 1924, Otto sold over 2,400 vehicles.

On May 26, 1927, Henry Ford and his son Edsel drove the 15 millionth Model T Ford out of their factory marking the end of the famous automobile’s last day of production.

In 1936, Max H. Graff was enrolled at the University of Michigan.

In 1937, Max was assigned to manage the branch at Dort Highway and Davison Road.

In addition, Ford only allocated 176 cars and trucks to Otto in 1946.

He was paid a weekly salary of $75, and all profits went to the bank until 1948 when Otto was able to repurchase all the stock.

The rebuilding business was eventually sold in 1949.

1957 - The plant production grew to 674,000 parts per day.

Hank, Max, Otto & Owen Blunt - 1960 visit to Ford Motor Company

Hank taught school in Flint for two years and in 1971 joined the family business as a Used Car buyer.

In 1975, Hank became the General Manager.

In 1977, Hank became the Dealer and a stockholder after purchasing Rex Graff’s stock in the business.

In 1986, Graff sold 4,703 vehicles which was the second highest sales volume of all the Chevrolet dealers in Michigan.

In 1987, Hank learned that Rich Roehrs the Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, and Chrysler dealer in Gladwin, Michigan was preparing to retire.

In 1990, Hank and Tim Shannon, a long time Graff employee, purchased a Chevrolet, Buick, and Oldsmobile dealership in Fostoria, Ohio.

Also in 1999, Christopher Graff, Hank’s son and a recent graduate of Michigan State University and Stetson University College of Law was promoted to General Manager in the Davison dealership.

In 2003, Hank purchased M&M Chevrolet in Mount Pleasant, Michigan.

The Chevrolet dealership was moved from its aging facility to a newly renovated facility on Perry Road in 2004.

In 2011, Chris purchased Hank's stock in the Okemos dealership.