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Don Hampton Inc.
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Peninsula Times Tribune, Jan 1943
Don Hampton operated a new and used car dealership in the city of Palo Alto, on the San Francisco Peninsula. His first dealership opened in the early 1940’s and he managed to stay in business for just shy of 30 years. His business was mostly operated under his own name, Don Hampton Inc. but he did operate under several other business names in the early years.
He initially offered Plymouth and Dodge cars but completely changed to imported cars in the mid-1950’s. One of the foreign makes he offered was Citroën.
DON HAMPTON
According to several old articles we found about Donald A. Hampton, he was originally from Pennsylvania where he started high school, but he finished in Hollywood after moving to California in 1921. He attended college at the University of Colorado and then started his career in the life insurance business at a company called Provident Mutual.
By the late 1930's, he had relocated and bought a home in Atherton, California, still working for the insurance company's San Francisco office. But in December of 1942, he left the insurance business and became involved in a Dodge/Plymouth dealership in Palo Alto called, University Motor Company, located near Alma Street. It seems that he may have started this business since we cannot find any trace of it in Palo Alto before December of 1942.
Peninsula Times Tribune, Sept 1948
Initially, the University Motor Company was affiliated with an existing dealer called, Weltner Motor Company which was owned by a man named Cress Weltner. In early 1943, they merged into a common building and started calling themselves the Weltner-University Motor Company. Don Hampton was identified as the manager of the newly combined company.
Peninsula Times Tribune, Jan 1943
JOINT FACILITY FOR UNIVERSITY MOTOR COMPANY AND WELTNER MOTOR COMPANY - 1943
But later in 1943, the marriage seemed to sour between the two companies. They started advertising separately and sometimes operated from different addresses (all of which were within a few blocks from each other).
We also found that in 1944, Don Hampton filed a lawsuit over an unpaid profit-sharing agreement with Weltner, so it looks like it looks like there may have been an unpleasant divorce between the two companies.
Peninsula Times Tribune, May 1944
THE WAR YEARS
While researching all of these old dealerships, we found that most of them went very quiet during the WWII years with almost no advertising or media presence. With resources and materials in short supply, there were very few new cars for sale in the first half of the 1940’s. Haggerty.com sums it up:
“…The lack of 1943-1945 model-year cars reminds us that the country’s great auto industry, by government decree, ceased civilian car and truck production in early February 1942 and switched to producing a wide gamut of military hardware…”
But unlike some of his competitors, Don Hampton continued to advertise for used cars and for maintenance services during these years. Finally, in August of 1945, Don Hampton told the media that a small number of new cars and trucks would finally start to show up in his showroom by late 1945.
Peninsula Times Tribune, Dec 1942
STANFORD MOTOR COMPANY
In April of 1944, Don Hampton purchased an existing Dodge/Plymouth dealer called the Stanford Auto Company that had been previously owned by a man named Roger Roberts. At this time, the University Motor Company name was retired in favor of the Stanford name. By now, it seems that Weltner and Hampton had gone separate ways.
Peninsula Times Tribune, Apr 1944
Peninsula Times Tribune, Apr 1944
A THIRD NAME CHANGE FOR DON HAMPTON’S BUSINESS
To recap, Don Hampton’s first automotive venture was called, University Motor Company which started up in 1942. A mere 2 years later in 1944, he had bought the Stanford Auto Company, which replaced his first business. And just a year or so after that, with the war winding down, Don Hampton purchased a property on Alma Street in Palo Alto in late 1945 and called this business Don Hampton Inc., brining to and end the Stanford Auto Company. He stuck with this last business name for the rest of his career.
Once he had this third business up-and-running, Hampton flooded the newspapers with slightly odd cartoon-style ads, such as the following.
Peninsula Times Tribune, Oct 1946
And as long as we are talking about weird advertising, in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, he started buying advertising space in the local newspapers and instead of simply advertising cars or car repairs, his ads contained strange ramblings that were certainly weird and sometimes on the edge of creepy. Were these supposed to help sell cars?
The decade of the 1950’s brought even more changes for Don Hampton’s business. There were a handful of additional moves to various buildings and car lots in and around Palo Alto. So many that it became really hard to keep track of them.
ONE OF DON HAMPTON'S RAMBLING ADVERTISEMENTS
Peninsula Times Tribune, Jan 1950
DON HAMPTON SWITCHES TO IMPORTED CARS
In 1955 Don Hampton sold his Dodge/Plymouth business and the building at 511 Alma Street to a man named Frank Walt of Frank Walt Motors. Frank Walt continued to sell Dodges and Plymouths from this building, but he had a bit of bad luck – the business burned to the ground two years after he bought it, in June of 1957. Frank Walt later re-opened at a different address on Alma Street.
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Peninsula Times Tribune, Nov 1953
Peninsula Times Tribune, June 1957
FRANK WALT MOTORS (FORMERLY DON HAMPTON'S BUILDING AT 511 ALMA STREET) BURNS TO THE GROUND IN 1957
After Don Hampton sold his Plymouth and Dodge business, he apparently relied on used car sales for a while (he still had other locations to operate from).
But within a year, it became clear what he was doing. In the fall of 1956, he suddenly started advertising that he was looking for salesmen to help sell his new marques; Citroën, Panhard, and DKW. This signifies a major shift in Don Hampton’s business; a complete switchover from American cars to an all-imported line-up.
It looks like Don Hampton was an early adopter of Citroëns. He apparently had cars in his showroom in the fall of 1956, a very early date indeed!
A DKW ADVERTISEMENT SHOWING DON HAMPTON AS AN AUTHORIZED DEALER
San Francisco Examiner, Apr 1957
San Mateo Times, Nov 1956
DON HAMPTON ADDS MORE IMPORTED MARQUES
In rapid succession, he started adding a bevy of additional imported cars to his line-up:
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By 1957 he had added Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Borgward.
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By 1959 he had added the Italian marque of Moretti and the French Facel Vega.
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By 1960 he had added Triumph, Volvo, and Ferrari.
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By 1963, he had added Sunbeam and there was even a brief mention of BMW.
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By the mid-1960’s he was selling English Ford (Cortina), MG, Volvo, Fiat, Triumph.
Peninsula Times Tribune, Dec 1960
Redwood City News, May 1957
Peninsula Times Tribune, June 1958
Peninsula Times Tribune, Feb 1960
DON HAMPTON AND FRIENDS
A 1958 "GROUP" AD FOR CITROEN DS'S SHOWING DON HAMPTON AS THE AUTHORIZED DEALER FOR THE CITY OF PALO ALTO
At the same time that he was adding marques, the less successful were quietly fading away from his showroom(s). Even Ferrari disappeared from his line-up.
He dropped out of the Citroën dealer directories after 1965. But since he had started with Citroën in late 1956, it looks like he stuck with Citroën for about 8 years, longer than most of the early dealers in North America.
By the late 1960’s, he had settled in on Alfa, Fiat, Volvo, Triumph, and Rover.
Fiat Spider Ad, 1969
WINDING DOWN
In 1968 a man named Roy Harris became a partner with Don Hampton and in the summer of 1970, Roy Harris bought out the remainder of the company, thus bringing an end to Don Hampton’s reign. When Roy Harris bought the dealership in 1970, the Don Hampton Inc. name went away and the remains of the company became known as Peninsula European. By the time Roy Harris owned the company, they had narrowed their lines to (I think) Fiat, Volvo, Triumph, and Rover.
In 1971, Roy Harris moved the business out of the long-used location at 4195 El Camino and apparently moved across the street.
In 1977, Roy Harris obtained the Chrysler/Plymouth line of cars in addition to Volvo and Fiat. This created a sort of a full circle, since Don Hampton had started with Dodge/Plymouth way back in 1942 but dropped them in the mid-1950’s.
Within a year or so, the foreign cars had disappeared completely, leaving Roy Harris with just Chrysler/Plymouth cars and trucks. The name Peninsula European name disappeared at this time, after a brief attempt at a spin-off business called Peninsula Imported Cars.
Don Hampton retired in 1970 and died in May of 1989 at the age of 85.
LOCATIONS
Between the three business names for Don Hampton’s car dealerships and his various new and used car lots, I found many business addresses, most very close to each other in Palo Alto or neighboring Menlo Park. The dates that each location was used by Don Hampton are approximate.
Homer and High Street, Palo Alto (1942-1944)
Don Hampton’s first business venture was named University Motor Company which started in late 1942. The main building was a joint use between the Weltner and University Motor companies. Most of this area has been redeveloped now, but the original building is still there and still identifiable!
Peninsula Times Tribune, Jan 1943
Google Street View, 2023
727 Alma Street, Palo Alto (1943)
Don Hampton announced that he would use this location as a used car lot in September of 1943, but he seems to have left this location by the end of the year. The entire area has been redeveloped.
780 High Street, Palo Alto (1942-1965)
This location is cited as another joint Weltner / University location and was advertised as their used car division. It is on the same block as their Homer and High Street location. It appears that the original building might still be tucked in between more modern structures, but it is hard to be sure.
511 Alma St, Palo Alto (1944-1955)
This address was used as an auto facility since about 1905 and for a long time operated as the Stanford Auto Company. Don Hampton bought the business in 1944 and briefly continued to use the Stanford name. By late 1945 it was called Don Hampton Inc. This was one of Don Hampton's main locations until it was sold to Frank Walt in 1955. The building burned to the ground in June of 1957 while under Frank Walt's reign. The area has been completely redeveloped.
511 ALMA DURING DON HAMPTON'S REIGN
Peninsula Times Tribune, Mar 1947
Peninsula Times Tribune, Nov 1953
Peninsula Times Tribune, June 1957
511 ALMA DURING FRANK WALT'S REIGN, AT LEAST UNTIL IT BURNED DOWN
899 Alma Street, Menlo Park (1945)
Don Hampton briefly used this address for less than a year in 1945.
El Camino Real and Partridge, Menlo Park (1951-1952)
Don Hampton used this address for a few years in the early 1950's. It later became Peninsula Chevrolet.
El Camino Real and Sherman Avenue, Palo Alto (1951-1953)
Don Hampton used this address for a few years in the early 1950's.
2211 El Camino Real, Redwood City (1954-1957)
Don Hampton used this address for a few years in the mid-1950's.
4195 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (1957-1969)
This was one of his longest lasting locations and is the one listed in the Citroën dealer directories. In 1970, it became Peninsula European after Roy Harris bought the business. It is now a Jiffy-Lube and the original building is long gone.
4181 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (1965-1969)
This location was billed as their Used Import Center.
4187 El Camino Real, Palo Alto (1969-1971)
This address was listed briefly by Don Hampton but then was used by Peninsula European after Roy Harris bought the business. This building is gone now but was adjacent to the above address.
Google Maps, 2023
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