Simms Chevrolet was not known before 1957. It was a company started by a man from Grand Rapids with a desire to build a business. He packed up all of his belongings, said goodbye to his hometown and proceeded east to the small town of Clio with his wife and family. Upon arrival he made his first major investment into Friendly Chevrolet. It was a partnership that would provide the opportunities that Jack Simms had hoped for. This small family store had all the right ingredients to grow into something big. Something that would survive foreign wars, high gas prices, poor economy, volatile interest rates, growing unemployment, and tuff UAW negotiations with GM.
With great support from his family, Jack Simms was able to payoff the loan from General Motors Holdings Corp. and change Friendly Chevrolet to Jack Simms Chevrolet in four short years. In the early 70's Jack Simms would again make another great investment. By this time, he outgrown the small dealership and needed more room. He contracted a commercial builder to add onto the existing building. The project included adding a 2-story addition, which increased the amount of parts he could stock and the amount of customers he could service. Due to the overwhelming growth rate, a few years later, once again Jack Simms had outgrown his dealership. This time he added onto the rear of the building, which became the all-new Body Shop for Simms Chevrolet.
This one time small family store had grown to a place that provided work and careers for many in the community. By the mid seventies Jack Simms had the vision of building an all-new store for his son that would hopefully follow in his footstep and continue on in the car business. Jack search several locations until deciding on the 19 acres on Vienna road near the I-75 interchange. In 1978 he aquired the property and began his plans for an "All-new Simms Chevrolet Facility". In 1985 the plans would become reality. Within six months the new store was ready to open and the Simms Boys were ready to take the reigns from their father and move forward. November 1985 was the official opening date with a grand opening party taking place in April of 1986. Jack Simms would now retire and the operation was in full swing with the two new leaders (Bruce and Larry). With the help of the local community and some hard work from their employees Simms Chevrolet continued with strong sales. With two major events in 1990-- Jack Simms passing away and the youngest son Jim graduating from Northwood the stage was set for Larry to branch out on his own and buy his own Chevrolet store. It was in January 1992 the newest dream came true and Larry would leave the Clio store to take over the store in Ortonville. Jim was now in position the add a new stronger backbone for Clio and help with its growth. Jim had all the latest knowledge and computer skill to move us into the next era of the car business.
JACK SIMMS (November 24, 1923 - September 6, 1990)
A World War 2 Veteran, he was a man with many hats. He had to be able to operate and understand all the roles of the dealership. His vision and knowledge allowed him to build and expand his business to what it is today. In 1982 he was recognized for his 25 years if continuous service to his customers and General Motors. He was well known in the community for his support and generosity to others. The Simms Family today still strive to keep Jack's vision going.
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