Longtime auto retailer Carl Moyer, owner and founder of Karl Chevrolet in Ankeny, Iowa, the flagship store that gave birth to the Karl Auto Group, died on September 28.
He is 83 years old. The cause of death is unknown.
Moyer started Karl Chevrolet in January 1978 with a one-car showroom in Ankeny, north of Des Moines.
Tony Mills, who handles marketing for the group, said Moyer was a great philanthropist.
“He gave a tremendous amount of money back to the community, the Ankeny community and important charities,” Mills told Automotive News. “He’s just an icon in our community and also at General Motors.”
In 1983, Moyer relocated his in-town Chevrolet dealership to 32 acres, where he maintained manicured grounds with an impeccable lineup of vehicles.
A large rock emblazoned with Chevrolet’s iconic logo and the phrase “Like A Rock” helps mark the dealership’s entrance, according to a 2011 Automotive News video report. Mills confirmed the remains of the rock, often with a Chevy Silverado pickup parked on top of it — a detail with history of rock ‘n’ roll attached.
Moyer told Automotive News in 2011 that he had to make a deal with Michigan rock star Bob Seger to use the words “Like a Rock” on the rock.
“The deal I made with Seger was, we couldn’t park anything there but trucks,” Moyer said.
Moyer told Automotive News in another story that year about how he built his shop to become the best-selling Chevrolet company in the US.
He started his career in automotive retail in a non-traditional way. Moyer admitted that he had been expelled from high school for fighting and dropped out.
“I’m not proud of it, but I have to tell you: Whatever made me successful in this business, I didn’t learn it in school,” Moyer said at the time. “I learned it just by doing it and practicing.”
Moyer, an amateur cartoonist, designed the company’s logo: the recognizable red upside-down “K” that identified his flagship Chevrolet dealership and later the Karl Auto Group. Moyer added and sold dealerships over the years, Mills said, but he only got a second franchise store in 2017 when he formed Karl Auto Group.
Moyer’s Karl Auto Group grew to include several franchised dealers, including stores selling GM brands in Stuart, Webster City and Marshalltown, all in Iowa, as well as Ford and Stellantis stores, used vehicle dealers and wholesale parts stores in Des Moines.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Moyer started a holiday tradition where visitors can visit his home in Iowa to see his car collection, holiday decorations and enjoy snacks and photos with Santa afterward. Mills said the tradition has continued after the pandemic and will likely happen again this year.
Moyer is survived by his wife, Penny; sons Brad and Bret; and his daughter, Pam. The boys hold various positions in the automotive group, and Bret Moyer is expected to take over day-to-day operations, Mills said.