Behind the wheel

Paul Clinton

Theodore Robins sold his first Ford in 1923.

A “D. Whitney” -- according to the fragment of a name given on

Robins’ first sales contract -- walked away with a shiny new Model T

coupe for only $637.10. Gas and oil were included in the purchase,

and there was an unidentified trade-in.

Eighty years later, Theodore “Bob” Robins Jr., the founder’s now

75-year-old son, is still selling cars and trucks from the country’s

most storied automaker at his Costa Mesa dealership.

The Robins family is beginning its 80th year selling Fords.

Robins’ father sold his first car almost two decades after Henry Ford

formed the Ford Motor Co. and began selling the experimental Model A.

Only four other Ford dealerships in the country have been in the same

family longer.

“We’ve been selling them almost as long as they’ve been building

them,” Robins said from the office of a dealership now essentially

run by sons Jim and Dave.

The Robins dealership, which has also been run out of two Newport

Beach locations in its history, is the only licensed Ford dealer in

the area and routinely places among the area’s top five in sales

volume. Fletcher Jones Motorcars is the acknowledged No. 1

Newport-Mesa dealer.

Robins Jr. can recount an oral history of his family’s dealership.

The elder Robins, who died in 1976, opened his Bay Avenue Garage

on Balboa Peninsula in 1921. In early February 1923, two men walked

into the repair shop with an offer to purchase it, saying a Ford

dealership had opened up.

On Feb. 7, Robins hopped into a Model T and headed up to Los

Angeles, where he promptly signed an exclusive deal with Ford. It was

a golden opportunity that Robins knew he couldn’t pass up.

It was also the Model T that the younger Robins drove to Newport

Harbor High School during his senior year, in 1947. Several years

earlier, Robins began working in his father’s dealership, ferrying

parts to garages all over town. He even secured a driver’s license at

a ripe 14 years old so he could get behind the wheel of the parts

delivery truck.

PART OF A CAR CULTURE

As a boy, Robins said he fell in love with the car culture Ford

helped to bring about among greasy-haired teens in 1950s America.

Robins himself remembers taking his 1932 two-door sedan out to the

Orange County Airport, now John Wayne Airport, to sanctioned

quarter-mile drag racing every Sunday.

“This wasn’t the stuff where they paid big money,” Robins said.

“You did it for the fun and getting a trophy.”

Through the years, the dealership has expanded several times,

moving from its original Bay Avenue location. In 1928, the elder

Robins moved it to a building at 22nd Street and Central Avenue,

which is now Balboa Boulevard.

The dealership was across the street from a Bank of America, which

has since been replaced by the Crab Cooker restaurant.

In 1955, Robins moved again, this time to Coast Highway and the

property now occupied by the defunct Auto Bistro. In 1966, Robins was ready to expand again; he pulled up stakes and headed to his current

location, at Harbor Boulevard and Bay Street.

“He’s an institution here in town,” said Ed Fawcett, president of

the Costa Mesa Chamber of Commerce. “They’ve been an anchor over

there forever.”

Robins is ready to expand again. He is in escrow to purchase a

44,000-square-foot parcel of land across the street to add to his

9.5-acre lot.

SUPPORT FOR THE COMMUNITY

Throughout the years, the Robins family has been active in the

community. For many years, the Robins family generously supported the

Fish Fry. In the late 1970s, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District

named their auditorium Robins Hall.

Robins attributes the dealership’s longevity to its reliance on

the fundamentals: new cars, used cars, effective customer service and

a wide array of parts.

And he has evolved with the times. The dealership, for example,

has implemented an e-mail service that allows customers to check the

progress of their cars online, while they are in the shop.

Robins said he sells an average of 75 used vehicles and 250 new

vehicles per month. Right now, he has about 750 vehicles on the lot.

Ford’s F-150 truck has consistently been his No. 1 seller, but he also sells a lot of Mustangs, Explorers and Expeditions, he said.

Despite his success, Robins remains humble.

“The mere fact that we’ve been here a long time doesn’t mean we

feel like we’re entitled to anything,” Robins said. “We’re here. We

provide a service. We like to give back to the community.”

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment, business and politics. He

may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

[email protected].