User:Casmeli/Amentini Motors

Amentini Motors was a Tucker 48 / Willys-Overland / Jeep / Kaiser Frazier / Nash / Renault / Studebaker / Toyota dealership located 13618 Miles Avenue, in Cleveland, Ohio.

History
The company was founded in 1947, by brothers Anthony Amentini, Joe Amentini Jr., and Gregory Amentini. A fourth brother, Sam Amentini, was affiliated with the dealership.

The two younger brothers, Greg and Sam, served in Europe during WW II. Tony and Joe were employed in defense related companies in Cleveland. After the war, they started an automotive garage and then took on a Willys/Overland franchise to sell Jeeps. Over the years, the dealership became the largest Jeep outlet in Ohio.

They later obtained a Tucker franchise, which foundered when Tucker collapsed. This franchise required an investment of $8000, which in 2016, would exceed $86,000 - a substantial sum for a trio of first generation brothers two of whom were vets fresh out of WWII. The Tucker experience, Tucker: The Man and His Dream was unique in American automotive history, and this dealership details how the dreams of young entrepreneurs were derailed by the troubling machinations of the anti-Tucker establishment. The little guy was trampled, as was the big guy Preston Tucker



They also sold Meyers Snow Plows which were essential for removing the "lake effect" snow in Northeast Ohio. Additional nameplates came and went, sometimes through corporate mergers and acquisitions.

Two of the more exciting cars were the Kaiser Darrin and Studebaker Avanti.





The final dealership was for Toyota, but the declining neighborhood did not offer good prospects, and the brothers decided not to move.

On December 18, 1970, Amentini Motors closed its doors for the last time.