1937 was an
eventful year. Lyndon Johnson was elected to his first term in the House of
Representatives, Joe DiMaggio was helping the New York Yankees win yet another
world series, San Francisco was opening the Golden Gate Bridge and the canned
miracle of Spam hit the market.
On the home front,
W.T. (Hooker) Vandergriff opened his Chevrolet dealership on the corner of
Division and Center Street here in Arlington. This was the humble beginning of
the Vandergriff chain of auto dealerships. Well, times have changed. Automobiles
have come a long way from the full-framed, heavy metal bodies they once
had.
Today we have
unibody construction with no frames and high strength steel (HSS) body panels.
We also see space age polymers being used as body panels as well as flexible
bumpers. Today we have very sophisticated two and three stage paint
applications.
Vandergriff has
kept up with these ever changing vehicle designs with the latest in repair
techniques and equipment. Today the Vandergriff name is on five dealerships and
two collision facilities. Vandergriff forms a major part of the Arlington
economy. Our name has always represented honesty and integrity in serving the
public. Vandergriff is truly an "Arlington tradition, since
1937".