Elmer C. Low began Low & Dickson Motor Co. as a partnership with Harold L. Dickson after the two were salesmen at Elsen & Neeland Co. car dealership. The partnership dissolved in 1937 when Low bought out Dickson’s interest.
The business started as a used car lot at 514-516 State Street in 1929. It acquired a De Soto-Plymouth franchise and also had 36 associate dealers at one time. In 1950 Low Motors moved into a brand new building at 608-612 Cass Street. This was its home until a new 16,062 square-foot building at Losey Blvd. and Fiesta Court on the south side was finished in 1983.
Elmer’s son Jack started working for his dad in 1951 in the parts department. Franchises owned throughout the years included De Soto-Plymouth, Mercury-Edsel-Lincoln, American Motors and Jeep lines. The family sold Low Motor Co. in 1994, and in 1997 began selling vehicles under the third generation’s name Steve Low’s Midwest Toyota back downtown at 800 Third Street South.
