So Long To America’s Most Famous Car Dealer

There's something about famous car dealers that brand an image in our memory! Cal Worthington, America's most famous car dealer - who never owned a car - died at 92.

His overexcited and hysterical car dealer commercials made him a pop culture legend. Mr. Worthington sold over a million cars and was so popular, he'd often join Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show. He was certifiably mad and his madness only escalated when a competitor put a dog in his television commercial.

Worthington located a gorilla and told the audience, "Howdy, I'm Cal Worthington and this is my dog spot. I found the little fella (gorilla) at the pound and he's so full of love." Spot reappeared as an iguana, a snake, a hippo, but never a dog!

His jingles were the stuff only a folk hero could carry off. With, "If You're Happy and You Know It", being hummed in the background, "If your axle is a-saggin', Go see Cal...Maybe you need a station wagon, Go see Cal...If your wife has started naggin', and your tailpipe is a draggin', Go see Cal, Go see Cal, Go see Cal.

He started life poor in a house with no plumbing and wore cloths made from old flour bags. But he became a legend because he could think outside the box before there even was a box. Happy Trails, Cal.

[Los Angeles Times]