In the beginning…
The name Myers first became associated with automotive retailing and service in Ottawa in 1942. At that time, Gordon Myers established Myers Motors as the successor dealership to Pinks Limited, which was the original General Motors Dealership in Ottawa. Since that time Myers has had four owners: Bob Moore followed Gordon Myers in 1954 and Neil McDonald took over from Bob in 1959. Hank Mews, the current owner, replaced Neil in 1975. In 2000, Hank and his sons, Harry and Robert, became equal partners in what is now known as the Myers Automotive Group.
In the beginning, Myers was located on Slater Street in downtown Ottawa. In 1959 a move was made to what was then considered to be suburban Ottawa, on Elgin Street next to the site on which the Queensway was soon to be built. Today, Ottawa’s main Police Station is situated on that very property. In November 1971, Myers moved to its present location on Baseline at Merivale. Back then we had just over four acres and our building was approximately 35,000 square feet. All departments were housed under one roof. Between 1984 and 1986 a major expansion program was undertaken. Four acres of land were purchased on Sunderland Street just off Merivale, three miles south of Baseline, and a modern 32-bay, 17,000 sq ft Body and Paint centre was built. Once the new Body and Paint Centre was built, our main building was altered to provide 49 mechanical service bays. Then a 17,000 sq ft addition was constructed that contained on the main floor a customer lounge and eating facility for our customers and staff, as well as our administration offices. Over the years we purchased additional property to the west of our main building, on which we erected a building to house our Used Car department. In total, today we have approximately 70,000 sq ft under one roof and over 10 acres of property.
Myers has earned an enviable reputation for volume sales and very high levels of customer satisfaction. We are proud to be recognized as one of Canada’s outstanding General Motors dealerships. Our people have made this possible through their understanding of and devotion to providing superior customer experiences to both our service and sales customers.
Hank Mews joined Myers in February 1971 as General Manager. Hank was born and grew up in St. John’s, Newfoundland. After graduating from high school, his first job was as a salesperson with a Ford dealership in St. John’s. From there, being uncertain about what career path to follow, Hank moved to mainland Canada and over the next few years tried his hand as a commercial pilot, a life insurance salesperson and an advertising salesperson at a Toronto advertising agency.
In early 1962, Hank joined General Motors and for the next five years worked in Toronto and the Maritimes as a District Sales Manager, before returning to the Ford Dealership in St. John’s as General Manager in 1967. In 1969, Hank had the opportunity to become the owner of that dealership but opted to return to Toronto and search for a dealership elsewhere in Canada, hoping to become a General Motors Dealer. After a short stint as General Sales Manager of a Chevrolet Dealership in Toronto, the Ford Motor Company convinced Hank to join them to manage various Ford-owned dealerships with a history of difficulties. During the next two years he operated Ford dealerships in Toronto, Montreal and Moncton.
Finally in December 1970, General Motors initiated discussion between Hank and Neil McDonald that resulted in Hank joining Myers in February 1971. He joined the organization as General Manager with the intention of purchasing the company. This was accomplished in July 1975.
The rest, as they say, is history! Hank quickly made his mark. He felt that a critical element to Myers’ long-term success was customer satisfaction. As a result, from that time forward we have concentrated much of our resources, both financial and human, to building a reputation for being competent, caring and trustworthy within the company and within our community. This philosophy has served Myers well. Myers’ Service, Parts and Collision Centres have all flourished and we have an ever-growing base of repeat and referred customers. Over the years General Motors has recognized Myers as one of Canada’s most outstanding dealerships.
…Which brings us to today!
Ours is a very competitive industry. Since 1971 the number of dealerships in the marketplace has more than tripled. Consumers have more to choose from and are rightfully asking for full value in return for their business. We must always remember that service is our product and complete customer satisfaction is our goal. By making it truly a pleasure to do business with any one of our companies in the Myers Automotive Group, we can be confident that our group will continue to be successful throughout the years ahead.
Hank’s sons, Harry and Robert, joined the organization in the early 1990s. They began by selling vehicles for other dealerships in the Toronto area. This experience helped them develop a passion for the business and inspired them to pursue their careers further. They have held various management roles along the way and today are partners with Hank in all of the dealerships.
Their energy and hard work have driven the group’s growth from two stores to what we have today. They have carried on Hank’s philosophy of providing superior customer satisfaction, and their vision is to continue to evaluate opportunities for future growth.
In 1992, we opened Mews Chevrolet on St. Joseph Blvd in Orleans to better serve the growing population in the east end of the city. We opened as Ottawa’s First “ONE PRICE” Dealer and quickly became a driving force in the city. With extended service hours from the start, Mews Chevrolet grew a large service-customer following. In 2006, Mews added ten new service stalls to accommodate the increased size of our business. Today, Mews Chevrolet continues to grow by delivering on the same philosophies Hank initiated when he purchased Myers.
In 2003, we purchased Carl Elliot Chevrolet, changing the name to Chevy West. With the dealership’s strong history in used vehicle sales, it brought a new dimension to our overall business. Again, with a strong dedication to customer service, Chevy West has grown its business in all its departments and is a leader in customer satisfaction.
In 2005, we joined Keith Bean to purchase and amalgamate Doyle Chevrolet and Rockway Pontiac-Buick-GMC in Brockville. Today we operate as a four-line GM store from Rockway’s old location on Stewart Boulevard under the name Brockville Motor Sales. Keith Bean’s experience working as the General Sales Manager for Myers Cadillac Chevrolet has helped him to bring these same operating principles that continue to make our organization successful.
In 2008, we added Myers Hyundai and in 2010 and we added an additional Hyundai store called Myers Kanata Hyundai in the Palladium Autopark. Near the same time in 2010, Myers Volkswagen also joined the corporate family.
2010 also marked a turn in the way the locations were branded. All Ottawa locations adopted the MYERS name. As our business expands and our locations grow, we feel it is important that people can identify each of our locations and our brands. Our goal is to continue operating with the same high standards, which include offering customers exceptional service and easy access to our senior management.
