local history
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B. M. Smith Motors A Plant City Automobile Dealership Icon S t o ry by P l a n t C i t y P h o to A r c h i v e s
Dr. Olin Wright and his Oldsmobile first introduced the automobile to Plant City in the early 1900s. Dr. R. J. Roberts’s Buick was the third car in Plant City and among the early owners of cars was S. E. Mays. Over the years there were many automobile owners and soon came automobile dealers. One would be Bryan McCain Smith. Smith moved his family to the Tampa area from South Carolina in 1934. He was a people person and a natural salesman, and he sought work in Plant City with the auto dealers and was hired at Jack Ramsey Dodge. An outstanding salesman, he was sought after by competitors. Wanting to set out on his own, he acquired a service station at the Northeast corner of Collins and Alsobrook and began selling used cars. Around 1940, he left the service station business and moved his used car business to West Haines Street, occupying a small plot of land near the State Farmers Market. He lined up his inventory on the South side of Haines Street and ran a reasonably successful business.
Shortly after, Smith had a chance to purchase a larger plot of land on the North side of Haines Street, across from the Salada Foods plant, and opened B. M. Smith Motors. The business was there until 1964. When first setting up B. M. Smith Motors, Smith built a barbecue pit. He loved his barbecue. Over the following years, his barbecues would become an important element in the town’s social fabric. Judges, mayors, bankers, city commissioners, businessmen, teachers, chamber of commerce members, and many others would regularly attend his barbecues. And they would buy his cars. And some, by invitation only, would be invited to the Steak Club cookouts that Smith would hold periodically. Smith had begun selling new American Motors automobiles as a sub-dealer for a friend, Don Schulstad, in Tampa. Although the used car sales were the mainstay, the new car sales proved lucrative. Then, in early 1958, his son, Bryan McCain Smith, Jr., “Mac,” returned from service with the U.S. Navy and joined his father in the automobile business.
The site of the Rambler dealership was on South Collins Street. Photo courtesy of Plant City Photo Archives
36 • FOCUS Magazine plant city • april 15, 2009 – may 15, 2009
The men gather around the barbecue pit in 1956. B.M. Smith, Sr., is on the far left. Photo courtesy of Plant City Photo Archives
In August 1958, AMC offered B. M. Smith Motors a franchise in Plant City and it became an AMC new and used car dealership. But Smith had to agree to construct a separate building, which he did. It was small, but satisfied the requirement. Success grew, and the Smiths needed more space for the operation and about 1963, being convinced that Plant City was growing and expanding south, the Smiths bought a larger plot of land along SR39. Later it became East Park Road. With plans being developed in late 1963, according to certain specs provided by AMC, the Smiths moved forward and completed construction of the new 24,000-square-foot facility by August 1964. One of the first portions completed was the barbecue pit, and on opening day the Smiths served more than 7,000 guests. This was on the outskirts of town, but this was a popular family dealership. Although American Motors, Rambler, accounted for three percent of the car sales in the U.S., the Plant City operation of B. M. Smith and family did well. They later picked up the Renault franchise from Harold Ratcliff after the AMC – Renault arrangement. And in 1970 Smith Motors added Jeep to its offerings. In 1983, at age 86, Smith Sr. passed
away. Mac and his daughter, Marion, continued running the business. Wanting to expand operations, Mac sought Plymouth-Chrysler in Orlando and requested an opportunity to pick up a franchise for the Plant City area. The franchise, however, was on the planning board to go to a Tampa dealer. When that fell through, the Plymouth-Chrysler manager called Mac and offered the franchise, with two conditions: It had to be in a different name, and it had to be in a separate building. The new building would be completed in 1989: AMC Jeep dealership was in the Collins Street building, and the Plymouth-Chrysler-Dodge dealership was in the adjacent new building on East Park Road. With the combined new car dealerships and the used car business alongside each other, overall sales for the next decade were good. In 2001, friends of the family offered to buy the business and they accepted. bringing 57 years of operation to an end. Sources: Bryan M. Smith, Jr., Quintilla Geer Bruton and David E. Bailey, Jr. Plant City; Its Origin and History, 1984, “Plant City Photo Archives,” and Plant City Photo Archives Oral History Project 2009.