Franchise History: 1956 Through 1978 (the Russ Warner Years)
William Russell “Russ” Warner purchased the franchise from George Howard in 1956 and renamed the business “Riverside Motors, Inc.” (Beller, 71). A graduate of Yale University and the prestigious “The Hill School” of Pottstown, PA, Warner had a reputation of being highly intelligent, well connected, and very social (“Warner”, 15). Russ’s brother, Douglas Alexander Warner, Jr., also graduated from Yale University and The Hill School, as would Douglas’s son and Russ’s nephew, Douglas Alexander Warner III; Douglas Warner III is renowned as the CEO and the Chairman of the Board of J.P. Morgan & Co. Inc. who spearheaded its acquisition by Chase Bank in 2000 (“Douglas A. Warner III”).
While Russ was a student at Yale, he tragically lost his father, Douglas Alexander Warner I, to a heart attack; Douglas owned and operated a very large and successful insurance agency in Mariemont, OH and was the Director of the Cincinnati Country Club (“Heart Attack”, 10). Russ undoubtedly inherited many of his gaming prowess and social skills from his father; Russ was a well-accomplished Bridge player, having won many local tournaments, and a scratch golfer (“Tournament Winners”, 40). He won several tournaments with life-long friend Joseph Landen, a fellow Cincinnati native who attended and graduated from Yale with Russ; Landen was a descendant of the Landen settler family of Warren County (“Married”, 14). Landen, Ohio is today a census-designated place in Deerfield Township and curiously close to the Howard Auto Sales in Loveland that Warner would eventually purchase in 1956; Joseph Landen is suspected of involvement in the introduction of the purchasing opportunity with Howard through his family connections (“Landen CDP, Ohio”).
After graduating from Yale, Russ served in the U.S. Army in World War II (“Warner”, 15). After returning from his service, Russ became involved in an elite social club by the name of “The Cincinnati Bachelors Cotillion” in 1949; he would remain active with the club for many years and served in its leadership as President during the early 1950s (“In Society”, 12).
Russ was only 32 years old when he acquired the franchise. After renaming the franchise’s brand, he rented the building from George Howard until 1960 when he relocated the franchise to a newly constructed building at a new location; this was most likely one of the most capital-intensive investments made to the franchise since its founding, which speaks to Warner’s presumably broad access to capital (Beller, 71). Under Warner’s leadership, the franchise left its original location founded by Victor Shumard in 1915 at present-day 211 Riverside Drive after 45 years of continuous operation across five ownership changes. The new home of the franchise was much further from the river than Shumard would have most likely preferred, now located at 421 Loveland Madeira Road in a then cutting-edge newly constructed facility. With the new building also came a new name for the franchise: Warner Ford.
Although the franchise would remain at this new location at 421 Loveland Madeira Road for only 35 years, the facility Warner constructed remains in use as an automotive repair shop and showroom for used vehicles; for 65 years of automotive use to be marked in 2025, Warner exercised great care in the construction of the new 1960 facility as evidenced by its functional longevity.
George Howard sold the 211 Riverside Drive property within the same calendar year after Warner moved the franchise; the property was eventually acquired by the City of Loveland (“Transfer”, 1987). A committee was formed in the early 1990s to create a new Veterans Memorial Park in the City of Loveland, and the 211 Riverside Drive property was designated as the Park’s future home in 1993 (“Loveland”, 25). The Loveland Veterans Memorial Park continues to honor Loveland’s veterans to present day, and serves as “a place for quiet contemplation rather than a park for active recreation” (“Loveland Park”, 9).
Warner weathered three minor US economic recessions in 1958, 1960, and 1970; however, the lengthy 16-month recession initiated by the 1973 Oil Crisis that was not resolved until March of 1975 most likely presented very difficult times, especially when the interest rate almost hit 14% in July 1974. With the oil crisis resolved, by early 1977 the interest rate was nearly back to 4%. When the interest rate began to spike again in 1978 and near 7%, rumors began circulating around Ford Motor Company field representatives that Russ Warner was fearing a deeper recession and looking for a buyer. Ford field representatives were in a unique position to know the financial outlook of Ford Dealers, as they are responsible for brokering Ford Dealers’ wholesale purchase of vehicles from the manufacturer.
Field representatives Robert (Bob) Ring and Jerry Storm approached Warner to see if his interest in selling was legitimate, and they discovered Warner was very concerned about macroeconomic trends that he forecasted would send the interest rate skyrocketing and result in a recession that could prove difficult for retail automotive sales. His candor – and eventual accuracy – of his downward economic outlook proved memorable to Ring, who viewed Warner’s bearishness as a prime business opportunity.
At 55 years old and with an impending recession with painful stagflation looming, Warner made a calculated decision to accept some return on his initial capital after two decades of relative prosperity as a Ford Dealer and retire from the automotive retail business on a high note, selling to Ring and Storm in 1979 (Beller, 71). Perhaps taking a lesson from George Howard, Warner made arrangements to retain ownership of the facility and to rent to Ring and Storm as their new landlord. Warner was clear in his calculation that the next several years would be difficult for the new owners with his anticipated macroeconomic challenges, and the prospect of risk-free rental income most likely influenced his calculation to sell the franchise. If Ring and Storm were to encounter the same difficulty as the prior franchise owners when the store operated under the name of Sears and Snell Ford Garage during the year of 1929 when the Great Depression struck, it is possible Warner was prepared to exercise recourse and reclaim operations of the franchise if the new owners failed, as did Charles Howard in 1929. As a condition of Warner’s franchise sale, Ring and Storm agreed to an installment note to purchase the 421 property at a generous 12% premium principal value over its recently appraised value in 1978, without consideration of substantial interest and rent until they could satisfy the principal.
Although Warner never regained ownership of the franchise, personal notes of Ring from June of 1981 when the interest rate hit a terrifying peak above 20% – as Warner had earlier predicted – reveal tension with the landlord regarding rent rates and the installment note to purchase the property. Somehow Ring and Storm weathered the nearly two years of recession during their first three years of franchise ownership, and repaid Warner’s 1979 installment note principal after considerable interest collected by Warner; in 1983, Ring and Storm finally met the note’s condition for the conveyance of the property and building to the new franchise, R.S. Ford, Inc. (“Transfer”, 1990). Although he was now retired from the automotive industry, the accuracy of Warner’s 1979 economic predictions and how he successfully navigated minimizing his risk during a tumultuous economic time clearly paint him as a shrewd and adept businessman.
