Collier Motors
Encyclopedia
Collier Motors was an American Motors
(AMC) dealership
in Pikeville, North Carolina
. Owner Robert Collier still sells AMC cars, parts and scrap
parts that are kept at the original location of the business. AMC was bought by Chrysler
in 1987.
while in his 20s. His father was also in the automobile business and continued working until he was in his 80s. The Collier family had a longstanding relationship with AMC from the 1950s until the company was partially purchased by Renault
in 1979. After AMC started selling Renaults, Robert Collier decided to only sell the domestic designed and built AMC's.
Rather than move toward selling the Renault
-derived vehicles that AMC increasingly concentrated on marketing during its last years in business, Collier continued to sell the pre-Renault stock already on the lot. A report in 2005 estimated that the dealership had about 275 old AMC's in various condition on their lot.
s, Pacer
s, Matador
s, Javelin
s, Eagle
s, and Concord
s. Many retain their original window stickers.
's "flashy" black two-seat AMX
muscle car with a "tricked-out dash", two Alabama Highway Patrol
Javelins, and a Nash
from the 1991 movie The Marrying Man
.
American Motors
American Motors Corporation was an American automobile company formed by the 1954 merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company. At the time, it was the largest corporate merger in U.S. history.George W...
(AMC) dealership
Car dealership
A car dealership or vehicle local distribution is a business that sells new or used cars at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. It employs automobile salespeople to do the selling...
in Pikeville, North Carolina
Pikeville, North Carolina
Pikeville is a town in Wayne County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 704 at the 2008 census. It is included in the Goldsboro, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is notable as being the home of Collier Motors, an automobile sales and service business established in...
. Owner Robert Collier still sells AMC cars, parts and scrap
Scrap
Scrap is a term used to describe recyclable and other materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has significant monetary value...
parts that are kept at the original location of the business. AMC was bought by Chrysler
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
in 1987.
Background
Robert Collier established Collier Motors in 1955 as a single entrepreneurEntrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
while in his 20s. His father was also in the automobile business and continued working until he was in his 80s. The Collier family had a longstanding relationship with AMC from the 1950s until the company was partially purchased by Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
in 1979. After AMC started selling Renaults, Robert Collier decided to only sell the domestic designed and built AMC's.
Rather than move toward selling the Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
-derived vehicles that AMC increasingly concentrated on marketing during its last years in business, Collier continued to sell the pre-Renault stock already on the lot. A report in 2005 estimated that the dealership had about 275 old AMC's in various condition on their lot.
Business
Although the lot is overgrown with weeds, Collier continues to sell whole cars and parts, although many of them are in poor shape as they have been sitting on the lot since the early 1980s. They include 1970s and 1980-model AMCs, such as GremlinAMC Gremlin
The AMC Gremlin is a two-door subcompact car produced in the United States and Canada by the American Motors Corporation between 1970 and 1978. AMC reduced its development and manufacturing costs by adapting a shortened Hornet platform with a Kammback-type tail...
s, Pacer
AMC Pacer
The AMC Pacer is a two-door compact automobile produced in the United States by the American Motors Corporation between 1975 and 1980.Its initial design idea was started in 1971. The car's unusual rounded shape with massive glass area greatly contrasted with the three-box architecture with "square,...
s, Matador
AMC Matador
The AMC Matador is a mid-size car that was built and sold by American Motors Corporation from 1971 to 1978. The Matador came in two generations: 1971 to 1973 and a major redesign from 1974 to 1978...
s, Javelin
AMC Javelin
The Javelin was a production version of one of the AMC AMX prototypes shown during the 1966 AMX project nationwide tour. Intended to rival other pony cars such as the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro. American Motor's Javelin debuted on 22 August 1967, for the 1968 model year...
s, Eagle
AMC Eagle
The AMC Eagle is a compact-sized four-wheel drive passenger vehicle that was produced by American Motors Corporation . The AMC Eagle line of vehicles inaugurated a new product category of "sport-utility" or crossover SUV....
s, and Concord
AMC Concord
The AMC Concord is a compact car produced by the American Motors Corporation for the 1978 through 1983 model years. The Concord replaced the AMC Hornet and to some extent the mid-size AMC Matador, discontinued after 1978 in a market moving to downsized automobiles...
s. Many retain their original window stickers.
Historic vehicles
The AMC vehicles that are personally owned by Robert Collier include unique historic examples. Among them are Barry GoldwaterBarry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
's "flashy" black two-seat AMX
AMC AMX
The AMC AMX is a two-seat GT in style and approach sports car that was produced by American Motors Corporation for the 1968 through 1970 model years. The AMX was also classified as a muscle car, but "unique among other American cars at the time due its short wheelbase"...
muscle car with a "tricked-out dash", two Alabama Highway Patrol
Alabama Highway Patrol
The Alabama Highway Patrol is a division of the Alabama Department of Public Safety and is the highway patrol agency for Alabama, which has jurisdiction anywhere in the state. It was created to protect the lives, property and constitutional rights of people in Alabama.In 1971, the Alabama Highway...
Javelins, and a Nash
Nash Motors
Also see: Kelvinator and American Motors CorporationNash Motors was an automobile manufacturer based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the United States from 1916 to 1938. From 1938 to 1954, Nash was the automotive division of the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation...
from the 1991 movie The Marrying Man
The Marrying Man
The Marrying Man is a 1991 romantic comedy film starring Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. The script is by Neil Simon. Basinger's performance in the film earned her a Golden Raspberry Award nomination for Worst Actress.-Plot:Charley Pearl is the heir to a toothpaste empire's fortune...
.