Pellini Chevrolet of Sebastopol, California was founded by the Pellini family in 1932. It survived the Great Depression, the recession of 1958, and the OPEC crises of the 1970s. It was Sebastopol's longest-lived car dealership, and competed with Carter Ford just down the block. Pellini's dealership was known for its collection of 1920s through 1980s cars which filled the showroom and were often used in town parades.
The Ford dealership closed in 2007, leaving Pellini with the only car dealership in town. General Motors' financial woes in 2008 along with badly declining sales of GM large trucks and SUVs hurt the 76-year-old business, and word of the federal bailout left the Pellinis skeptical about how GM would look and function afterward. Seeing the writing on the wall and thousands of GM-ordered nationwide dealership closures looming, they decided to exit the car business before things went south. The inventory and collection were sold off; the doors were shuttered. Customers can no longer "Buy local and save: time, money, and gas" as the painted sign on the showroom window once trumpeted; they are forced to head out of town. The former Ford showroom down the block now markets electric cars from upstart companies. Pellini Chevrolet sits vacant.
Here are the cars that once graced their showroom.
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| 1932 Chevrolet Coupe |
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| Cadillac Allante |
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| 1960 Chevrolet Impala |
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| 1958 Chevrolet Impala |
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| 1953-55 Chevrolet Corvette |
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| 1926 Chevrolet sedan |
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| 1923 Chevrolet Superior Touring |
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| 1941 Chevrolet Special DeLuxe convertible |
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| Chevrolet Corvair 95 Loadside pickup |
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| When I saw it, this truck had last been registered in 1974. |
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| 1981 DeLorean DMC-12 |
