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Remember When, Chattanooga? You could buy a Thunderbird on Rossville Boulevard

Chattanooga News-Free Press archive photo, via ChattanoogaHistory.com / The Bert Brown Ford used car department, shown here on Rossville Boulevard, sold about 1,000 cars in 1959. In 1977, Brown sold his dealership to Marshal Mize.
Chattanooga News-Free Press archive photo, via ChattanoogaHistory.com / The Bert Brown Ford used car department, shown here on Rossville Boulevard, sold about 1,000 cars in 1959. In 1977, Brown sold his dealership to Marshal Mize. Chattanooga News-Free Press archive photo, via ChattanoogaHistory.com / The Bert Brown Ford used car department, shown here on Rossville Boulevard, sold about 1,000 cars in 1959. In 1977, Brown sold his dealership to Marshal Mize.

By Mark Kennedy 3 min read


In 1959, the Bert Brown Ford used car dealership here sold about 1,000 cars, according to newspaper advertisements of the period.

The accompanying 1962 photo, from the archives of the Chattanooga News-Free Press via the history website ChattanoogaHistory.com, shows the dealership’s used car department at 4509 Rossville Blvd.

A used car buyer in March 1963 could purchase a lightly used 1960 Ford Thunderbird at the Bert Brown car lot for $2,295, the equivalent of about $23,750 in today’s dollars.

An advertisement in The Chattanooga Times that month also listed a 1962 Rambler Classic ($1,995), a 1961 Ford Ranch Wagon ($1,445) and a 1962 Ford Galaxie ($2,595).