Every Sunday, “Back in the Day” looks at an article that ran on this date in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. The items are verbatim, so don’t blame us today for yesteryear’s bad grammar.
One of the largest and most important transactions on Honolulu’s “Automobile Row” in many years was completed late Friday when J.P. Morgan, president of Graystone Corporation, purchased the principal assets of the Royal Hawaiian Sales Co., Ltd., territorial distributor of Durant, Star and Auburn automobiles. The transaction is reported to have involved close to half a million dollars.
Acquisition of Royal Hawaiian Sales Co. properties is a personal investment by Morgan, who is now forming a new company, to be known as the Royal Hawaiian Corporation, Ltd., to carry on the business. Morgan, with A.B. Lau, vice president and general manager of Graystone Corporation, will be the managing directors of the Royal Hawaiian Corporation.
Announcement also was made today that American Factors, Ltd., has been appointed exclusive distributor in the territory, except on the island of Kauai, for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., this agency having been held by the Royal Hawaiian Sales Co. during the last 10 years.
The new Royal Hawaiian corporation will retail the Goodyear tires.
E.B. Jones, special representative of the Pacific coast Durant factory at Oakland, and now at Honolulu, announced this morning the appointment of the Royal Hawaiian Corporation as distributor in the territory of Durant sixes and Durant-Star fours.
The new Durant distributor has taken over the salesrooms and service station at Hotel and Richards streets formerly occupied by the Royal Hawaiian Sales Co., which has handled Durant and Star cars there during the last two years. A complete stock of new model cars is to be carried at all times, and special attention will be given to service for both new and old car owners. …
Jones has spent the last three weeks in Hono-lulu, and in visiting the other islands with Morgan …, and is extremely enthusiastic over the new connection and the outlook for business here.
