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At The Counter

Commercials That Make Technicians and Dealers the Stars of the Show

by Jonathan Roth | Jun 5, 2025

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Recently, I stumbled across some old TV commercials for a car repair and maintenance shop that took me back. You see, in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, some commercials ran for a local shop called ABE Car Care Center. These commercials featured two gentlemen with thick Pennsylvania Dutch accents. They were supposed to be funny but, well … judge for yourself.

Most memorable TV commercials for car repair shops you’ve seen probably look a lot like this one. They usually include low-quality video, attempts at humor, and/or outlandish costumes and voice-overs. Of course, I still remember the name of the shop 30-some years after I saw the commercials, so I guess they worked.

In a similar vein, here’s a more recent commercial for Arlen’s Transmission in Burbank, CA. However, this one was done for a comedy internet show called “The Mythical Show,” so it’s intentionally cringe-worthy.

On the other side of the coin, here’s a more recent, fairly polished commercial for Manny’s Automotive Repair in Columbus, GA, proving that commercials for car repair and maintenance shops don’t have to be bad.

Of course, we can’t talk about cars and commercials without talking about what are possibly the most ridiculous commercials: those for car dealerships. Here’s a collection of some crazy ‘70s and ‘80s car dealership commercials.

Let’s go even further back and check out this classic commercial for the 1955 “Motoramic” Chevrolets. With its quaint voiceover and black and white video, this spot just screams mid-50s TV commercial.

Has your shop ever made TV commercials? Or do you have any peculiar examples of mechanic or dealership commercials from your neck of the woods?

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