Don Kott, left, poses with Frank Smolar as they hold the Ford Motor Co. customer service award, which the dealership has won 19 of the last 20 years. Palos Verdes Peninsula News, August 6, 1969, page 22. (Photo courtesy of Palos Verdes Peninsula News Archives)
Karl Kott initially worked as a janitor after moving from Indiana to California in the early 1900s. After years of working his way up in the auto sales industry, he opened the Karl Kott Motor Co. in 1929.
The Ford dealership was located at 402 W. Anaheim St. in Wilmington. It opened two years before Kott’s son, Donald, was born on March 21, 1931. Fords were all the rage at the time; a year after Kott’s dealership opened, a new Ford automobile plant opened a few miles away in the harbor.
Kott believed in advertising from the beginning and promoted his dealership through advertisements in local newspapers such as the Wilmington Press Journal and the San Pedro News Pilot. Despite the economic perils of the Depression, he built a very successful dealership.
After World War II, he entered into a partnership with long-time automobile manager Frank Smolar.
In 1946, the Kott Motor company was renamed Kott and Smolar Ltd. It operated under this name for the next 25 years.
Like his father, Don Kott was obsessed with cars. He graduated from Banning High and USC before joining the Kott and Smolar car dealership in 1953.
When his father, Karl, decided to retire in 1971, Don bought out his partners and assumed control of the company. (Karl Kott died in 1973.) Three years later, the younger Kott moved the operation, renamed Don Kott Ford, from Wilmington to a large property at 21212 Avalon Blvd. in Carson.
Kott had cleverly placed his new dealership in a location that was highly visible from the 405 Freeway. The dealership had opened a decade earlier. Like his father, he was a strong believer in advertising, placing large ads in regional newspapers as well as local television spots.
He was also very active in the community, involved in local charities, including working with leaders of the relatively new town—Carson had been incorporated in 1968—to organize the local Boys and Girls Club.
He also funded scholarships for high school students from Torrance, Narbonne and Carson. His car dealership once offered a truck to the Harbor Area Gang Alternatives Program at a reduced price so that the graffiti removal crews could get out on the streets more often.
His wife, Margaret, worked alongside Kott at the dealership as president. She became known for posting sometimes humorous, usually inspirational messages on the site’s giant electric billboard.
Some examples: “Hot heads and cold hearts never solve anything.” “Laugh even when you feel like crying.” “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Thousands of commuters on the highway read her daily sermons, interspersed with car ads. She drew her teachings from Shakespeare, the lyrics of the Beatles, the Bible, the Torah and newspapers, according to a 2000 Los Angeles Times article.
Business flourished at Kott’s dealership. So much so that Don Kott Ford was eventually converted to Don Kott Auto Center. Over the years, Kott’s various dealerships sold Chrysler, Plymouth, Jeep, Mazda, Kia, Isuzu and Hino vehicles in addition to Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models, making it one of the largest dealerships in Southern California.
But in the early 2000s, sales began to decline. In 2002, Kott, who was already retired by then, sold all of his dealerships to North Carolina-based used car company Sonic Automotive Inc. He retained ownership of the property. Sonic continued the business under the Kott name.
In 2004, Kott was diagnosed with throat cancer. During his five-year battle with the disease, Don Kott Auto Center officially closed for good on December 26, 2007. After nearly eight decades, the Kott name had disappeared from the auto dealership scene.
On December 21, 2009, Don Kott lost his battle with cancer at the age of 78.
Following his death, city leaders paid tribute to Carson Kott, including former City Councilwoman Kay Calas, who praised him for his service to the city. She also told Daily Breeze reporter Gene Maddaus, “He was a very good businessman. He was very outgoing, personable and funny. I just wish we had a lot more of him.”
Carson’s “car dealership strip,” which grew up around Kott’s pioneering dealership, is now mostly empty. Several developers have looked at the property, including the most recent suitor, Hanover Co.
The Houston-based developer has proposed a 20.7-acre project that would include 1,320 residential units and two restaurant areas. In 2023, Hanover submitted partial plans to the city, but Carson officials are still waiting for full plans.
“This is still in the review process,” Saied Naase, director of community development, told Daily Breeze reporter Teresa Liu in August 2023. “We are still waiting for the developer to present us with plans.” Previous developers of the site were unable to reach an agreement with the property owner, according to the city.
Currently, the Don Kott Ford property is used by Kia of Carson for vehicle storage, and some of the adjacent properties are also used by used car dealers.
Sources:
Daily Breeze Archives.
Los Angeles Times archive.
Wilmington Press Journal archives.
San Pedro News Pilot Archives.
