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Driving the Family Business

At Jack Demmer Ford, “The Demmer difference” is more than just a motto. It’s a blueprint for success.

By Courtney Conover
From toy doctor kits and baby
dolls to miniature squad cars and
play food, it’s a known fact that a
child’s play often imitates real life.
This principle certainly applies to
Jim Demmer, vice president of Jack
Demmer Ford here in Wayne.
“I recall being a child and playing
car dealership—I remember one
Christmas having a little dealership
toy with cars,” says Jim, 65, who has
always been enamored with cars. “I
was certainly aware that my dad [the
late Jack Demmer] was in the car
business.”
It’s safe to say that Metro Detroit
is aware of that fact as well.
For more than 60 years, the Dem-
mer name has been virtually synony-
mous with automobiles, and the
story behind the hallmark dealer-
ship that currently resides at the in- Jack Demmer’s showroom is at 37300 Michigan Ave in Wayne.
tersection of Michigan Avenue and my dad was doing business from his family.
Newburgh is legendary. The Demmer home, much like what his father And to say that it is a family affair
family has served the City of Wayne [Charles Joseph Demmer] did when would be an understatement.
as a Ford dealer without interruption he sold used cars from his house be- Jim is a partner with his brother,
since 1963, has been a Ford dealer fore obtaining a used car lot.” Bill, who serves as president, and
since 1960, and the Demmer fam- In 1963, the Spitler-Demmer their four sisters have all worked in
ily’s presence in the Wayne area Ford franchise was sold, and the the business at various times. Bill’s
dates to 1957. Demmer family purchased a Ford son, Matt, is the general manager,
“We consider the dealership busi- franchise here in Wayne, which had Jim’s son, Rob, fulfills the role of fi-
ness starting with Jack,” says Jim of been owned and operated by nance manager at Jack Demmer Lin-
his father, Jack, who sold his first Clarence Bell. Fun fact: That partic- coln, and Bill’s daughter, Jackie,
car at the age of 16 on the front lawn ular location is not the spot where serves as the marketing manager.
of Jack’s father’s home. “My father Jack Demmer Ford sits today. The Together, in addition to Jack
sold used cars with his father on Liv- current site of Jack Demmer Ford Demmer Ford here in Wayne, the
ernois Avenue—and that was just wouldn’t be built until 1969; the family operates Jack Demmer Lin-
kind of the family business.” older location was actually located coln in Dearborn, the Quick Lane at
The next chapter began in the down the street. Jack Demmer Lincoln, and the
spring of 1957 when Ford Motor In the fall of 1969, the Demmers Quick Lane at Jack Demmer Ford.
Company gave the green light for Jim Demmer relocated to their state-of-the-art lo- Currently, the company employs 140
Jack and his partner, Jimmy Spitler, cation we all know today. people at its Wayne location, and
to open an Edsel dealership. To- Vice President, Jack Demmer Ford Things were going swimmingly. about 80 people at the Dearborn lo-
gether, Jack and Spitler, who met the time, and Jack would often con- But a change was on the horizon. cation.
while playing baseball on their duct business from his home back “Mr. Spitler had two sons and a Although it’s been over 87 years
church's men's club team, opened then. daughter, my parents had six chil- since the family’s patriarch, Jack,
Spitler-Demmer Edsel in September “People would come over and talk dren—two sons and four daughters,” sold his first car—a 1935 Ford
of that year at the corner of Glen- to him about a car they were order- remembers Jim. “They came to the Coupe for a mere $135.00, Jack’s
wood and Wayne Road in Nankin ing, he’d bring a new car home to realization that one dealership teachings have not since been forgot-
Township. In stark contrast to show to somebody, or if somebody wasn’t going to be enough for two ten.
today’s Jack Demmer dealership, bought a new car, my dad would families.” “He always believed that if you
the dealership in 1957 was housed bring it home and deliver it, and his In March of 1975 Spitler-Dem- take care of your community around
in a former gas station and featured partner would give my dad a ride mer Ford became Jack Demmer you, your community will take care
a one-car showroom. back the next day,” recalls Jim. Ford, when the Spitler's interest was of you,” says Jim. “And you can
On January 1, 1960, the Edsel “Remember, South Lyon to Dear- bought out by the Demmers. apply that to the people who work
dealership closed (due to Ford’s can- born was [quite far]—you didn’t have Jack passed in 2017, but the for us, the people who live in this
cellation of the Edsel in 1959), and expressways between the two,” says Jack Demmer Automotive Group area, the not-for-profit organizations
the Spitler-Demmer Ford dealership Jim, who makes a point to empha- continues to thrive due to the robust around us, and the economy at large.
then opened in South Lyon. The size the distance between the two support and teamwork put forth by
Demmer family lived in Dearborn at cities, particularly back then. “So, the latter generations of the Demmer See Demmer, page 4
The Wayne Dispatch · July 2022 · 3