In 1929, the Tampa Motor Company took over this corner at Grand Central (now Kennedy Blvd.) and North Blvd, selling Chrysler-built DeSoto cars. Then in 1930, Fred Ferman, a Tampa car pioneer, began selling Packards here. That same year, the business partitioned the building and began selling Chevrolets. Early in 1931, Ferman moved that dealership to Florida and Scott Street, and a business selling Franklin cars, powered by “air cooled airplane type motors” called Franklin Florida Co., moved in. In 1933, Fellows Motors took the spot selling Graham brand autos as well and it became a Franklin-Graham dealership. They continued selling Grahams until 1940, when Graham Motors closed its doors.

In comes the Studebaker. In 1904, Studebaker began manufacturing cars and, as they grew, became a national brand. Ray B. Cralle Co., Tampa car sellers since 1916 in downtown, started selling the brand, and as Fellows searched for a new company to represent, they were awarded a dealership here as well in 1940. In 1954, Studebaker merged with the Packard Motor Car Co., and in 1966, Studebaker ceased production once again, leaving Fellows Motors with nothing to sell.

But there was a new trend developing. Japanese car manufacturers had begun importing autos to the U.S., primarily to compete with other imports like Volkswagen.  Nissan Motors began selling their Datsun brand cars in the states in 1958 and quickly expanded. In 1966, the first Japanese-owned production facility in North America, Nissan Mexicana, manufactured its first vehicle, and the cars developed a strong reputation for reliability and competitive pricing. That same year, Fellows became an authorized Datsun dealer. Only two decades had passed since the end of World War II, and Japanese cars were a tough sell. Resistance began to shift, and by 1971, the Datsun 1200 Coupe was a big seller. With the simple design, room for 5, and fold-down back seats allowing for more cargo, it was very popular for those looking for a long-lasting, economical buy. Fellows also sold Jeeps at that time.

In the mid-1970s, Gene Chaires Jr. bought the dealership, which became Chaires-Fellows Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, and by that time, the business was named Chaires Nissan. That same year, Tampa businessman Frank Morsani bought it, and the name changed to Precision Nissan. Precision moved to 4636 N Dale Mabry in 1989. The building had other iterations as well. In 1992 it was Anthony Gault Fine Autos and Applied Media Technologies Corp., and in 1995, the headquarters for Dick Greco’s re-election campaign.

In 2005, developer Wood Partners, the same developers who promised a condo development at the former Maas Brothers site downtown (never happened), took the space to house their sales office for The Boulevard, a planned eight-story condo building at South Brevard and Kennedy that never came to fruition. The building sat vacant from 2008 – 2013. In 2014, after the University of Tampa had acquired the entire block, the building was demolished, and part of the Maureen A. Daly Innovation and Collaboration complex sits there.  

© 2024. Chip Weiner. oldtampaphotos.com