Drennen Motor Company
The Drennen Motor Company was an automobile dealership founded in 1908 by Hubert Drennen, as an outgrowth of the Drennen & Co. department store, which had begun as a general store in 1869 and was selling automobiles alongside its wagons and buggies in Birmingham as early as 1903. The separate company's first location was at Avenue C and 20th Street South.
In 1914 Hubert's brother, Don Drennen Sr purchased the Loveman, Joseph & Loeb automobile department, and opened another dealership a block away at Avenue C and 21st Street South. Soon later, Don volunteered with the U.S. Naval Reserve Flying Corps serving in World War I. Hubert operated both businesses, and they were formally merged after Don's return.
The brothers opened several more locations in the 1920s, including lots in Bessemer and Ensley. During the Great Depression, the dealer actually lent money to General Motors. Don Drennen left the company in 1951 and started his own Buick dealership in Ensley. That business grew into the Don Drennen Motor Co., which moved to Hoover in 1972.
Meanwhile Charles Drennen took over the downtown dealership, opening a new Cadillac showroom in 1954. When Charles retired in 1972 he sold his Chevrolet franchise to Ivan Leonard Chevrolet, his Buick sales to Tom Williams Buick, and the Cadillac business to his son-in-law, Ralph Quinn, who named it Drennen Cadillac.
References
- Ellaby, Liz (April 19, 2008) "'A long, interesting ride.' Don Drennen Motor Co. celebrates 100 years." The Birmingham News