One last bonus after 67 years selling Fords

After 67 years selling cars and trucks at Ron Lewis Ford in Beaver Falls, Pa., Quentin Strouss had plans for a grand send-off.

He wanted to retire on Oct. 23 — his 90th birthday.

It would be a well-deserved double celebration for a career that started when tail fins were popular, gas was 29 cents a gallon and Elvis Presley was still four months away from recording his first album.

Since walking into the showroom in March of 1953, Strouss' career has entailed two changes in address and one change in ownership. He's been around to witness Ford vs. Ferrari — the real thing in 1966 and the movie in 2019.

He's outlasted 10 CEOs, seven brands and two iterations of the Taurus.

He's sold at least 12,000 vehicles, according to unofficial records. But after giving the calendar a second look, the soon-to-be nonagenarian realized he needed to sell at least one more.

Even after six decades on the job, Strouss was shooting for one last monthly bonus. He asked his boss to let him stay on through the end of October to try to hit the goal.

That comes as no surprise to those who know him.

A veteran of the Marine Corps Reserves, Strouss has always tried to push himself to be the best. Multiple awards naming him the top Ford salesman in the Pittsburgh region attest to that.

But the industry has changed, and so has the job.

It's more technical — "all the paperwork today I can't get with" — and technological — "the computer age ran over me" — than Strouss would like. He's excited to see new products such as the Mustang Mach-E but admits feeling some mental fatigue as his sales numbers have dwindled.

"I'm embarrassed I'm not up there at the top still," he said. "I don't have the fire and the desire I had."

But he wanted to try and summon it for at least one more week.

The son of a dealer, Strouss was well-versed in the industry from an early age.

"I was almost born in a Ford garage," he joked.

His father helped him land the sales job in 1953 at Morrow Motors, which eventually became Ron Lewis Ford.

In those early days, he said, Thunderbirds were hot sellers.

He was more than a decade into his career before Ford introduced a new sports car called the Mustang, and he was a 22-year veteran when the company launched the F-150 pickup.

Strouss has seen the popularity of fuel-efficient sedans rise and fall. Same with minivans. He's seen preferences pivot to SUVs and crossovers.

Whatever vehicle is en vogue at a given time, his advice for selling them remains the same.

"Be proud of what your product is," he said. "Be honest and sincere. Make a friend out of your customers. They'll become friends if you treat them right and they'll come back time after time."

It helps to know the products, too.

Strouss used to attend classes offered by Ford to teach salespeople about its pickups.

Those have come in handy for a majority of his career; the F-Series pickup line is closing in on its 44th year as the nation's bestselling pickup and 39th year as the bestselling vehicle.

And it came in especially handy during his last week on the job.

Strouss' final sale — unlocking that monthly bonus — was a white 2020 F-150 Lariat.

Steve Peterson, vice president for sales and marketing at Ron Lewis Automotive Group, has been with the company since 1976. But compared with Strouss?

"I'm still the rookie," he joked.

He's watched over the years as Strouss built a following, both from customers and other employees at the dealership.

"He's really smart and he's really nice, which is a great combination," Peterson said. "He's always treated other people the way he wanted to be treated. You can't fake that."

On Oct. 30, Strouss finally got his big celebration, and Peterson finally went from "rookie" to elder statesman.

Strouss received proclamations from the city of Beaver Falls and the state of Pennsylvania, handed out by the mayor and a state representative.

"Seeing Quentin's drive, positive attitude and integrity in action day after day, decade after decade, served as an inspiration for our team at Ron Lewis Ford," Gwen Lewis, co-president of Ron Lewis Automotive Group, said in a statement. "He is one of a kind!"

Mark LaNeve, Ford's head of U.S. marketing, sales and service — who happens to be a Beaver Falls native — sent along a gift. In a statement to Automotive News, LaNeve noted that Strouss' "impeccable sales record and reputation speak volumes."

Strouss also was given a $500 gift certificate to buy shotgun shells for trap shooting at the local sportsman club, where he imagines he'll spend more time. He also plans to walk his dog, a 3-year-old bluetick beagle mix named Jake, and might even start exercising.

But after working long hours over a long career, there was one thing in particular he was looking forward to doing for his first act as a retired salesman.

"I'm going to throw the alarm clock in the wastebasket," he said. "I'm getting tired of hearing that thing every morning for 67 years."