The University of Iowa Libraries
Special Collections and University Archives
Finding Aid
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Allen Motor Company Records Access and Restrictions: This collection is open for research. Digital Surrogates: Except where indicated, this document describes but does not reproduce the actual text, images and objects which make up this collection. Materials are available only in the Special Collections Department. Copyright: Please read The University of Iowa Libraries' statement on Property Rights, Copyright Law, and Permissions to Use Unpublished Materials. Use of Collections: The University of Iowa Libraries supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted by their fragile condition or by contractual agreement with donors, and it may not be possible at all times to provide appropriate machinery for reading, viewing or accessing non-paper-based materials. Please read our Use of Manuscripts Statement. Acquisition and Processing Information: The records were donated by Allen R. Chapman in 2007. Photographs: Box 7 |
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Scope and Contents
The papers consist largely of financial records, marketing materials and photographs and cover a broad range of industry related, social, and political issues.
Historical Note
The Allen Motor Company began as a machine shop in Elkader in 1903, established by Albert and Oley Allen. Their primary business was repairing steam engines. In 1908, when General Motors was established, the Allen brothers obtained a Buick franchise for Elkader and Clayton County. In 1910 the brothers remodelled and expanded their shop and changed the name to "garage," a term just coming into general usage in America.
By 1914 business had grown so much that the brothers decided to expand again. In Elkader they built one of the first and finest Buick service stations in Iowa. This new service station included one of the first gas pumps in Iowa. Prior to that, gas was sold from metal cans. In 1916 the Allen Brothers ordered a train load of Buick automobiles direct from the factory, six of which were sold on the unloading platform before they could be moved to the showroom. In the late nineteen teens over half the cars priced over $1000 sold in Clayton County came from the Allen Motor Company.
Allen Motor Company opened a dealership in Oelwein in 1922, and in 1923 the Buick Motor Company asked the Allens to take over the territory surrounding Oelwein. This gave the company a sales territory covering three counties.
In 1929, yet another expansion led to the creation of an even larger sister company at the junction of two state highways in Cedar Rapids, their first dealership in Cedar Rapids. It opened on Black Tuesday, October 29th, the day the stock market crashed. Also in 1929, Ray H. and Al W. Allen joined the company. Allen Motors was one of the first car dealerships in Iowa to sign a contract with Buick, which expanded their sales territory to eight counties.
In 1930, Maurine Allen, who had been managing the Oelwein store, closed it. In 1931, the company acquired Oldsmobile and Cadillac franchises and bought stock in AMCo. In 1932 the company did away with their elaborate showroom in Cedar Rapids and transformed it into a super service station, which was equipped with two hydraulic lifts, a tire department, a battery department, and brake testers.
With the advent of World War II and rubber and gas rationing, total company sales dropped from over a million dollars to less than $300,000. To offset this loss, in January of 1942 it developed a tire recapping and vulcanizing service and invested in intense marketing of their services. According to the November 1942 issue of the publication Tires, "Upon every addition or improvement they issue interseting pamphlets and folders, complete with photographs and information about their new service." In an attempt to boost sales, the company installed plate glass windows to allow passersby to view what was happening on the sales floor and in the tire recapping department. Also due to the war, the number of employees dropped from 80 to 41. During the war, the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), of which Ray H. Allen was a director, recruited 20,000 new members for the military. Ray also recruited 30 young men from the Cedar Rapids area to serve as mechanics for the army ordnance department. He was awarded a certificate of merit from the army for these efforts. Al W. Allen served in the Supply Department of the Naval Air Station in Alameda, California from 1944 to 1945, when he returned to the dealership.
In 1947 the Elkader and Cedar Rapids companies were split, with Oley Allen's family taking ownership of the Elkader branch and Albert Allen's children assuming responsibility for the Cedar Rapids location. In the early 1950s General Motors required their dealerships to have separate franchises, so the Cedar Rapids location was split into two companies: Allen Oldsmobile-Cadillac and the Allen Motor Company, which sold Buicks. In January 1950, Allen Motor Company moved into their fourth building, which was a block long and half a block wide. This new building had a large tire and accessory sales room which sold automotive products as well as electric tools, radios, waxes, polishes, and flashlights. Soft drinks and candies were available in vending machines. The formal opening was a two-day affair with prizes. The station sold 14,400 gallons of gasoline from their six pumps during the opening.
Eventually, the Cedar Rapids super station was operated separately from the sales and service station and recapping was no longer done. The speciality of of the super service station was quick service for all makes of cars. In 1952 there is the first sign of integration, as a photo of their staff shows an African American among the group.
In 1959 Allen Imports was inaugurated in Cedar Rapids to sell import cars. The original franchise was Renault/Peugot, followed by Triumph and other British sports cars, Mercedes Benz, and Volvo. In 1980 the company sold this branch of the company for its asset value.
During the early 1960s Allen Oldsmobile-Cadillac and Allen Motor Company re-merged. In the 1970s the Cedar Rapids AmCo stock was sold to AMC and in 1985 a portion of Allen Motor Company stock was sold. Allen Motor Company acquired a GMC truck franchise in late 1989 and in 1990 they were granted a Saturn franchise. The Cedar Rapids dealership remodeled in 1991. In 1999 they relocated the entire dealership to near I-380 in Hiawatha.
Related Materials
Two brochures were removed from this collection and cataloged for the x collection. They are:
xfTL215 B95 G454 1955 - 1955 Buick : forefront of fashion, thrill of the year
xfTL215 C27 G454 1940 - Presenting America’s finest motor cars : two new Cadillac-Fleetwoods, four new Cadillacs including the lowest-priced Cadillac V-8 ever built
Box Contents List
Box 1
Series I: Business Records
Financial Statements
Cedar Rapids
---. 1930
---. 1931
---. 1932
---. 1933
---. 1934 (yearend statements only)
---. 1935
---. 1936
---. 1937
---. 1938
Box 2
---. 1939
---. 1940
---. 1941
---. 1942
---. 1943
---. 1944
---. 1945
---. 1946
Box 3
---. 1947 (Includes duplicate monthly statements)
---. 1948 (Includes only six month and year end statements)
---. 1949 (Includes only six month and year end statements)
---. 1950 (Includes only six month and year end statements)
Elkader
---. 1930
---. 1931
---. 1932
---. 1933
---. 1934
---. 1335
---. 1936
---. 1937
---. 1938
---. 1939
---. 1940
---. 1941
Box 4
---. 1942
---. 1943
---. 1944
---. 1945
---. 1946
---. 1947-1948
---. 1949
---. 1950
Oelwein
---. 1930
---. 1931
---. 1932
Incorporation Papers
Certificates and articles of incorporation, common stock dividends, insurance policies, Board of Directors meeting minutes, articles of merger, stock and shareholder certificates, promissory notes, Dealer association minutes
---. Allen Motor Company, Cedar Rapids, January, 1930-1949
---. Allen Oldsmobile-Cadillac Company, Cedar Rapids, September, 1957-1963
---. Allen Leasing Services, Inc., Cedar Rapids, April, 1972
---. Allen Leasing Company, Cedar Rapids, September, 1982
Box 5
Inter-organization Papers
Accounting system, internal expenditures, select financial statements, borrowing lines, labor and total sales timeline graphics, commission system and salary/compensation, dealer employee insurance plan, and contracts
---. Cedar Rapids, 1924-1948
---. Cedar Rapids, 1949-1965
County Car Registrations, 1936-1955
Company Reorganization, 1947
Series II: Operations
(Financial statements by area of operation)
Consolidated Sales, 1937-1945
Correspondence with Buick and Oldsmobile, 1929-2005
New Car Department, 1932-1947
Recapping Department, 1942-1947
Service Department, 1935-1947
Box 6
Stock Room, 1933- 1947
Super Service, 1932-1947
Tire Department, 1945-1947
Used Cars, 1933-1947
Series III: Advertisements/Publicity
Company mailers and bulletins, employee and owner profiles, magazine articles, company and manufacture brochures and newspaper clippings
---. 1903-1928
---. 1929-1940
---. 1941 Cadillac Brochure (In the x-collection)
---. 1941-1946
---. Allen Victory News (1943-1945) (Bound)
---. 1947-1960
---. 1955 Buick brochure (In the x-collection)
---. 1963-2006
---. Undated
Series IV: Photographs
Note: the following dates are approximations
1903-1905
1929-1940
1941-1946
1947-1960
1961-
Box 8
Al W. and Ray H. Allen
Christmas Party 1969
Company Picnic [1960?]
Event
New Building 1946-[1951?]
Recognition Dinner (1967 and 1976)
Scanned Images
Series V: Miscellaneous
Employee Training Materials
Box 9
N.A.D.A. (National Automobile Dealers Association), 1942-1952
Saturn Dealership, 1990-2006
Scrapbooks, 1904-1962
Service Inspection and Warranty, [1941?]-1960