[Arco-Zakus]

Chick Stanton sold me my first new car at Heishman Porsche Audi in Arlington in May of 1972.

I had looked at similar cars in the showroom of another dealer closer to where I lived, but since I didn't look like anyone who could afford a new Porsche (even the one that was really a VW with a Porsche badge on it in the US) none of the snooty sales people there took me seriously. When I went to Heishman's and looked at the cars in their showroom, Chick politely introduced himself and said he would be happy to answer any questions I might have. I probably didn't look any more like a serious buyer to him than I did to the other guy, but he didn't seem to mind.

It didn't take long to know he had a bigger interest in cars than just selling them. He seemed more interested in talking about our shared appreciation for Porsches than in selling me one. He also had some great stories about driving in the Cannonball dash, and looking forward to the next one. He handed me the keys and told me to take the car I had been looking at for a test drive. I came back with a big smile on my face and said "I'll take it."

A day or two later when I wrote him a check for the full MSRP (plus the aftermarket exhaust system he had the service department install at my request), he had an unusual look on his face. I might have been the first buyer he had encountered who didn't know that buying a car wasn't like buying a can of soup off the grocery store shelf, where they put a price sticker on it, and if you want it, that's how much you pay.

By the time I learned that car prices were negotiable and that I had paid more than I should have, it occurred to me that the unusual look on his face had been more than just surprise at my naivete, but also included a reluctance to take advantage of it. By then, I felt that if anyone deserved to receive the tuition I paid for that valuable lesson, it was him. I hope he was able to enjoy the humor of my negotiating technique as much as I came to, after I got over feeling so dumb about it.

The following year as I drove that car coast-to-coast and back with a friend, I recalled Chick's stories of his driving in the Cannonball. I was sad to hear that he didn't get to participate in more of them, and that now he's gone. I sure enjoyed the car he sold me for a long time and many miles, and still enjoy recalling it and our brief encounter.