B&B Dodge Dealership Marks 50+ years

Jane Bollinger
·4 min read
Marking 50 years since three Carmody brothers purchased the Dodge automobile franchise in Honesdale, Mason Carmody (left); Stephen Carmody Jr., John Carmody, and Stephen Carmody Sr., welcomed John M. Mack, director of Chrysler Group’s Mid-Atlantic Business Center to the dealership. Mack came to congratulate the Carmody family for their half-century relationship with what is now Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram.

HONESDALE — B&B Dodge Inc., which sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles, is a family-run business that opened in April 1970.

That year three Carmody brothers—John Sr., Robert, and Stephen (Steve) Sr.—purchased the Dodge automobile dealership franchise in Honesdale. (In case you’re wondering, B&B comes from two former franchise owners named Bob and Bill.)

Last year, the company passed its 50-year anniversary, but the Covid pandemic interrupted plans to mark this noteworthy event. And so it was with great pleasure this October when all the Carmodys welcomed John M. Mack, Dodge’s Mid-Atlantic Business Center Director, who came in person to thank the B&B team and present a plaque commemorating their five-decade relationship.

A lot has happened in 50 years. In 1970, the dealership had nine employees; today it brings 40 full- and parttime jobs to the community. Of the original Carmody partners, Robert who became a county commissioner [in the 1980s] sold his share of B&B in 1988 to John and Steve and purchased a local real estate agency; John Sr. still runs the service department and serves as company president; while Steve Sr. oversees the general business of the dealership.

Keeping it a family affair and representing the next generation are Steve Jr., who started in the sales department in 1995 and currently is sales manager and serves as company treasurer, and his son Mason Carmody who’s also in sales. Plus there are three Carmody sisters—Sue, Pat, and Nanci—who work at the business.

Starting small in 1970 and for the first 15 years, the company ran everything on just two acres of land at 125 Grandview Ave. (Route 6), where it is still located. Then in 1985 the three founding partners bought an additional five acres, and in 1990 B&B built a new body shop.

The latest expansion came after the dealership submitted a request to Chrysler headquarters in Michigan in 2012 to sell Chrysler and Jeep vehicles at their Honesdale location. Negotiations quickly followed, and when B&B received the go-ahead, construction of a new showroom began in 2013. On July 25, 2014, B&B’s plan to sell Jeep and Chrysler alongside Dodge and Ram models became a reality when the first car was sold in the new building.

Earlier, in 2009, Dodge’s decision to split off Ram as a separate brand also proved fruitful for B&B with Dodge focusing on sedans and muscle cars and Ram concentrating on more advanced and powerful pickup trucks.

“Today, our two hottest sellers are the 1500 RAM and the Jeep Wrangler,” Steve Sr. reported recently.

Looking back Steve Sr. recalled some tough times too, when in the late 1970s “we got a real shake-up from Japanese vehicle imports,” he said. “Since then, the quality of our vehicles has improved immensely. Today we’re state of the art.”

On April 26, 1970, surrounded by their employees, three brothers from Honesdale opened B&B Dodge. Pictured (left to right) are Wes Weber, Bill Tennant, Gary Peck, Agnes Weidner, Bob Carmody, Bob McKinnell, John Carmody, Dennis Jennings, Steve Carmody, Art Meyer, and Charlie Schaff.
On April 26, 1970, surrounded by their employees, three brothers from Honesdale opened B&B Dodge. Pictured (left to right) are Wes Weber, Bill Tennant, Gary Peck, Agnes Weidner, Bob Carmody, Bob McKinnell, John Carmody, Dennis Jennings, Steve Carmody, Art Meyer, and Charlie Schaff.

Technology has made all the difference. “For one thing, cars last longer now,” Steve Sr. observed. “Under the hood, engines are smaller but turbocharged and more powerful, and along with nine-speed transmission both performance and fuel economy are at their best. There are also benefits thanks to advanced lane-change and collision-control sensors that help prevent accidents, not to mention the safety aspect of backup cameras.”

In B&B’s service department technology is changing things too. “Today a technician is more than a mechanic,” Steve Sr. observed. “When the mechanic steps into a vehicle and sits down with his laptop, he plugs in and monitors the car.”

And new technologies just keep on coming: Ram already makes a self-parking truck, and Jeep Wrangler and Chrysler Pacifica minivans are available as electric hybrids.

Where will the auto industry’s future take B&B Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Ram next? The answer came this summer from their parent company, Stellantis (the result of a merger in early 2021 between Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe, owners of Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Maserati as well as Peugeot, Citroën, Opel and a number of other auto companies). By 2025 Stellantis intends to meet its worldwide goal of electrifying 98% of all its new models, with the vast majority being battery-electric vehicles. It has further set a goal to achieve 40% of its U.S. sales to be electric vehicles by 2030.

“Wherever this future takes us,” Steve Sr. said, “we’ll be here, serving our customers and working to keep them satisfied. It’s an honor to have served our community for 50 years.”

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Last year, B&B Dodge passed its 50-year anniversary, but the Covid pandemic interrupted plans to mark this noteworthy event.