The Dalgleish Cadillac Oldsmobile collection encompasses the history of the family-owned business from the 1930s through the 2010s. Depending on the time period and particular marketing campaigns, Dalgleish dealership appeared in advertising material and customer service mailings as Charles Dalgleish Cadillac, Dalgleish Cadillac, Dalgleish Oldsmobile Cadillac, and Dalgleish Peugeot. Organization of material follows the company's history, transformations, and changes of name. The collection is organized into five series: Charles H. Dalgleish, Sr., Charlie's Nash, Inc., Charlie's Oldsmobile, Dalgleish Dealerships, and Advertising Material.
The Dalgleish family owned auto dealership businesses in Detroit for 70 years. Charles H. Dalgleish Sr., the only son of Mr. and Mrs. K. M. Dalgleish, came to Detroit from Kenmore, Ontario in 1922. He first worked for the Miller Judd Company, a Nash auto distributor. In 1929, one month before the stock market crashed, Dalgleish opened his first business, Charlie's Nash Service Garage, located at 4940 Joy Rd. in Detroit. In 1933 Dalgleish became a Nash franchise and changed its name to Charlie's Nash Sales & Service, or Charlie's Nash. Charlie's Nash eventually became the largest Nash dealership in the world, and was the oldest Nash dealership in Detroit, one of the two oldest in Michigan.
In 1940 Charles Dalgleish became Director of Detroit Auto Dealers Association (DADA) and was elected DADA president in 1950. In 1952 he became Director of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) and served on NADA Business Management Committee in 1954.
Charles Dalgleish's two sons, Charles Jr. and Douglas Sr., both graduates of the University of Michigan, also joined the family business. Charles Jr. started in 1947 after serving in the military. Douglas Sr. followed his brother in 1950. The brothers worked together between 1950 and 1954.
In 1954 Charles Sr. purchased an Oldsmobile-Cadillac franchise. On January 1, 1955 Charlie's Oldsmobile Cadillac, Inc. (subsidiary of Charlie's Nash, Inc.), was merged with Charlie's Nash, Inc., and the corporate name of Charlie's Nash, Inc. was changed to Charlie's Oldsmobile Cadillac. Charles Dalgleish Jr. moved with the Cadillac franchise to Grand River Avenue, while Douglas Sr. stayed with Charlie's Oldsmobile. In 1964 Charles Jr. moved his business to the site of the first Cadillac plant designed by Albert Kahn in the 1920s on Cass Avenue in Detroit's New Amsterdam Historic district. In 1969 Douglas Sr. and several other auto dealers came with an idea of Detroit Auto Show dealers-only charity previews, and was instrumental in organizing Friday evening previews that raised millions of dollars for charities. The collection includes a photograph taken during the 1969 preview show depicting Douglas Jr. and the President of General Motors Ed Cole (the photograph can be found in the Photographs folder within the Dalgleish Dealerships series). After Douglas Sr. closed his business in the 1970s, he came to work with his brother. Charles Dalgleish Jr. served as the Dalgleish Cadillac President and Treasurer while Douglas Dalgleish Sr. served as the company's Vice President and Secretary. In 1983 Dalgleish became a Peugeot dealer.
During over 70 years of Dalgleish Cadillac Oldsmobile existence, four Dalgleish generations worked in the family business. Mary Alice O'Brien-Mecke's 2001 Automotive News article listed all Dalgleish family members who were employed by the business. Charles and Douglas' sister Muriel Schaffer served as a social events representative. Douglas Sr.' three sons served in different capacities: Douglas Jr. was general manager and sales manager for Cadillac; Timothy worked as sales manager for Oldsmobiles; Keith was used-car manager and computer specialist. Douglas Sr.' daughter-in-law Dona Dalgleish worked in the billing department, her son Drew worked summers and holidays in the parts department, among other duties. Douglas Jr.' two sons also were part of the family business: Christopher worked in the parts department; Justin, at the time a student at Albion College, worked summers and holidays on miscellaneous jobs. (Mary Alice O'Brien-Mecke Automotive News: February 5, 2001). Justin eventually became Dalgleish Finance and Insurance Manager.
Dalgleish Cadillac closed in 2010. It was the last dealership to sell Cadillacs in Detroit. In early 2010 the Dalgleish dealership building was purchased by Wayne State University to make it--after extensive renovation--the University's Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research Building.
