Martens Cars of Washington is having a very special celebration this year – 100 years of continuous operation in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is a family business history that parallels the evolution of the American auto industry itself. And like many of the auto dealer family dynasties that became icons in our region, it is a rags to riches success story built on energy, ambition and vision.

It all started in 1904, when Leonard (L.P.) Steuart, assisted by his younger brother Guy, dropped out of school to support their family following the death of their father. They scraped together enough “pocket change” to buy a two-wheeled wooden cart and a sturdy mule which they used to walk the streets of Washington selling coal in the winter and ice in the summer.

That same year, Theodore Roosevelt was elected to his first term, Baltimore had a disastrous fire that destroyed 2,500 buildings, the Washington baseball team finished last in its league, and 10,000 businesses failed in the U.S.

The name on that one-mule-power cart was LP Steuart & Brother, and as the District began to emerge as one of the world’s great cities, so, too, did the Steuart brothers begin to expand their operation and make their mark in DC’s business community as one of its leading fuel oil and coal distributors.

Always open to new opportunities, a big one came in 1916 when Henry Ford approached the Steuart brothers about selling his new ‘horseless carriages’ in DC. The brothers agreed and opened their first dealership at 135 12th Street, NW with 20 shiny black Model Ts. Their early customers were mostly friends who had to be taught how to drive these newfangled Fords.

By 1939, the company had evolved from a rolling mule cart to a company operating several different businesses with a fleet of 57 trucks at 21 locations in the metropolitan area and 500 employees. During World War II, the company survived by rebuilding car engines and establishing a taxi business.

The brothers separated their business interests in 1951, with LP taking the automobile business. Over the years, the family became one of the area’s first true “mega” dealers, selling at one time or another BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler-Plymouth, Citreon, Datsun, DeSoto, Ford, Hyundai, Jensen-Healey, Lotus, Mazda, Nissan, Packard, Pontiac, Subaru, Toyota, Volvo and Volkswagen.

In 1957, LP was reported to have traded 12 dozen seat covers to obtain the first Volvo dealership in Washington, which was located at Steuart’s original Chrysler-Plymouth-DeSoto store at 14 & P Streets, NW. In the late ’50s, the Volvo franchise was moved to its current location on Wisconsin Ave, NW, the former cite of Wheeler Chrysler-Plymouth. The VW franchise was acquired in 1993.
Along the way, one of LP’s daughters, Virginia, married Harry Martens Jr. and together they had five children – four of whom manage and work at Martens Volvo-Volkswagen today.

“Our grandfather believed that his business was in Washington to stay, and that he would not sacrifice his permanent reputation for a quick profit. Given the volatility of business today, that belief has clearly served as our bedrock business philosophy,” said Steuart Martens, president of Martens Volvo-Volkswagen.

Martens is today an industry leader in servicing vehicles, handling over 44,000 cars annually. In 1981, they established the first – and at the time the largest – “stand-alone” Volvo Service Center in the country. On January 26 of this year, the family celebrated the grand opening of the first stand-alone Volkswagen Service Center in the U.S.

With consistently high customer satisfaction scores, family members continue to follow the principle set down by Grandfather LP: “If we take good care of our customers in the service department, they will return to buy another car from us,” said Steuart Martens. One local family currently owns five vehicles purchased at Martens, and another boasts of the 488,000 miles on his Volvo that he attributes to regular servicing at Martens.

“Just as our grandfather grew the business based on his friends, good customers and dedicated business associates, so do we,” he added. “It is why new customers and loyal friends come back year after year. Our staff goes far beyond where our customers normally expect them to stop, and that makes our business a warm, friendly and enjoyable place to work. Business success just follows naturally,” Martens added.

Maybe the real secret of success for this 100-year-old business is found in one of the elements of the company’s mission statement: “Laugh often and have fun.”