Dick Barker Lincoln Mercury Mazda not just along for the ride

There are not too many people around that remember when the Barker family was not selling automobiles in the Tri-parish region. One might have been dreaming of that first vehicle or ready to make an upgrade. Either way, Dick Barker Lincoln Mercury has long been a local tradition when it came to buying a car.

“My father-in-law [Richard Barker Jr.] started in the business with his family,” said Dick Barker Lincoln Mercury Mazda owner Sam deGeneres, who got into the car business based on his skill and became part of the family when he married the boss’s daughter along the way.

In 1940, Richard Barker Jr. made a move from Thibodaux, where he had worked for a Ford dealership in the parts and service department, to manage Terrebonne Motor Co. in Houma.

It wasn’t long before Barker learned the ways of the road and mapped his career as an effective salesman and manager. By 1941, he bought the business. “He paid a relatively small amount out of his check every week to buy Terrebonne Motor Co. At the time I think he was paid $35 a week,” deGeneres said.

During World War II, Barker became very successful because his experience in parts and service made up for the lack of available new automobiles during that time period.

In the early 1950s, Richard “Dickey” Barker III became part of the family business.

In 1969, Bayou Motor Co., which was the local Lincoln Mercury, AMC dealer at the time, was purchased by the Barkers and by September of that year became Dick Barker Inc.

In 1974, deGeneres was discharged from the Air Force and offered a position working in the parts and service department of Terrebonne Motor Co. Taking the opportunity to learn various aspects of the business, deGeneres, by 1975, moved to the Barker’s Lincoln Mercury location to become general manager. At that time, the company staff was comprised of two office support persons, one manager, one sales manager, four salesmen, one service manager, one parts manager and five technicians.

In 2005, Dick Barker Jr. passed, and deGeneres became owner of the family business.

“The dealership has been considered a family business, not only for the immediate corporate family, but for all the employees that have been with us. One of the people in our pre-delivery department has been with us since we bought the dealership in 1969,” deGeneres said.

Today, Dick Barker Lincoln Mercury Mazda employs 37 full-time and two part-time people.

“We dropped AMC in 1976 and we picked up Mazda in 1979. We moved from the Main Street location to the [current] Tunnel Boulevard location in 1978,” deGeneres said.

Ford Motor Company decided to close its Mercury line as of Dec. 31, 2010. The move has put this dealership in a new period of transition where the sign will soon read Dick Barker Lincoln Mazda.

Greater variety offers this dealership the versatility it needs to move into a new era of automotive experience. “We have premium cars, luxury cars on one end and small economical car on the other end. Mazda is also produced in the United States. So, it is a very good blend of products. Both have high quality and both are received well in the community,” deGeneres said.

Keeping a close attachment to the community has been a key to success for the long established but in some ways new Dick Barker Lincoln Mazda.

“Our employees and our products have produced very good customers for us. We are very proud of our customers. They have been very loyal to us and very enabling as far as bringing other people in,” deGeneres said. “It is the repeat sales [that count] and it is the people in our service department and our parts department that generate that business.”

Last week, the Dick Barker dealership was one of only 10 percent of all locations to receive the Ford Motor Co. President’s Award. This is the fourth time Dick Barker has received the recognition. The dealership has also received the Ford One Hundred Club, Lincoln Leaders and FCSD Premier Club awards.

In 2010, Dick Barker moved between 230 and 250 Lincoln Mercury products and approximately 130 to 150 Mazdas. Used car sales amounted to the total of their signature brands. The dealership posted approximately $20 million in gross sales last year. “We did sell as many Lincoln Mercury products as any big city dealers. Last year we were the No. 2 Lincoln Mercury dealer in Louisiana,” deGeneres said.

The future for Dick Barker Lincoln Mazda, deGeneres said will be a matter of succession. “We’re going to continue to have Barkers and baby deGenereses continuing to run the business,” deGeneres said.

“Lincoln is in the transitory position. They are reevaluating products. Technology has played a large part of that product development. Not only in electronics, but in manufacturing. The safety concerns. The product value concerns. The product design concerns. All of that is going forward.

“Mazda has always been kind of a niche importer, but they produce tremendous cars. They’ve done a lot of things where their vehicles are great values. They are not the largest importer and seller of imports, but they are definitely one of the highest quality importers. We have a new engine that is going to be introduced this year. It is called the sky engine and is very versatile and fuel and maintenance efficient,” deGeneres said.

Lincoln might be a mainstay among car people. Mazda has made a newer name of its own. Dick Barker is an established local label. And this dealership is driving forward.