For local drivers in need of vehicle servicing or looking for a new set of wheels, Strohl Automotive Services, 7831 Main St., Fogelsville, has been working hard to keep the community tuned up and on the road for nearly a century.

Co-owners and brothers Doug and Ted Strohl spoke to The Press on July 27 about their third-generation family business where they have worked for 46 and 34 years, respectively.

“In general, it’s kind of unique to have a family business viable that period of time. We’re glad we were able to usher in the 100th year,” Doug Strohl said. “We didn’t expect this year to be so challenging but obviously it’s that way for everybody.

“We expect to pull through this like we have many other things over the last 100 years.”

The business was started by the Strohls’ grandfather Stanley A. Strohl, who Doug Strohl said started his sales and repair work in the late teens … repairing bicycles and working out of our grandmother’s millinery store right across the street.

His grandfather eventually took over the Cedar Bluff Garage in Allentown and its Chevrolet franchise in 1921 to start Stanley A. Strohl Chevrolet.

“This is how our original date got started, even though it wasn’t really the business starting date,” Doug Strohl said. “We were a Chevy dealer from 1921 to 2009.”

“The building was built in 1929,” Ted Strohl added, referring to the business’ current Main Street location. “So, we’re in the still building and same location.

There’s been lots of additions to this building.”

Stanley Strohl’s sons Marvin, Roderick and Kenneth - Ted and Doug’s father - helped contribute to the business early on, and the latter two sons eventually took over when Stanley retired.

“I worked with my dad for probably over 30 years, for a shorter time with my uncle, but there was always overlap in each generation,” Doug Strohl said, adding much of the family has contributed to the business’ legacy.

“We’re the third generation. We had all the fourth generation - kids and nieces and nephews - work here at least short periods of time, so it was all family, a lot of family, and then many, many good employees who’ve been with us a long time.”

Strohl Automotive Services, a AAA-approved auto repair center, offers a wide variety of different services.

“Everything except auto body work,” Ted Strohl said. “We do state inspections; we sell tires; we do alignments, any kind of maintenance work on almost any kind of car, oil changes, engine replacement, transmission replacement, anything mechanical we do.”

While appointments for service were required during the yellow phase of reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic, walk-in service requests are now available once again.

The business has also been a used and pre-owned vehicle dealer since 2009, when it transitioned away from being a Chevrolet-only establishment.

Strohl has partnered with CARFAX and CarGurus to showcase vehicle inventory, which is also available on the shop’s website.

“I like to think of our sales as selling ‘value vehicles,’” he said.

“We’re not specializing in any particular brand. Although probably a little heavier on General Motors products. But we sell Subarus; we sell Hondas; we sell Toyotas, Nissans … the full gambit.”

“We were not able to sell cars for six weeks,” Doug Strohl said, adding that during the red phase, all sales operations were suspended.

“There were no sales in Pennsylvania, period,” he said

Ted Strohl said after the six weeks, car sales were allowed to be conducted online-only under an action from Gov. Tom Wolf.

Although Strohl Automotive moved sales online, there was still little business.

“It just seemed like people were not ready to really venture out yet,” he said. “[Under state mandates] there were no viewings or test drives available.”

Ted Strohl said the shop’s service business has been strong and fairly steady after seeing an initial 60-percent drop between March and early April.

“It obviously slowed when this all started in March,” he said. “But it’s picked up quite a bit, and service has been very strong particularly in the past month, month and a half.”

Service stability was also due to performing a lot of work for members of the local community.

“We are a local business, “ Ted Strohl said.

“We have quite a few customers from Allentown to New Tripoli.

“That’s our customer base for service.”

Doug Strohl said the shop has a mask-wearing policy, as well as sanitizing procedures for high-touch surfaces.

He also noted contact takes place during vehicle servicing and employees in the garages have taken a number of precautionary steps.

“They’re using covers on car seats and then removing them, and then when they’re done, they’re sanitizing keys,” he said.

Strohl explained employees are wearing gloves at all times to eliminate contact points and spread, and staff are sanitizing high-contact areas such as steering wheels and door handles.

“We’ve been doing that from the beginning and, so far, everybody’s healthy,” he said.

“That’s the way we want to keep it.”

The brothers praised their employees’ hard work and experience, and said such dedication was essential to the business’ longevity.

“We’ve got great employees, which is one of the big reasons we’ve been here this length of time,” Doug Strohl said.

Ted Strohl said one longtime employee - service manager Duane Otto - recently celebrated his 45th anniversary working at Strohl Automotive.

“There’s a lot of love for our employees,” he said. “We’ve had more than a couple who have worked here over 50 years.”

The Strohls reflected on both the past and the future.

“It was a great, unique experience to work with our father the way we did for so many years. That was just great,” Doug Strohl said. “We’d love to have old customers, longtime customers and new customers stop in and say hello, and also stay well and stay safe.”

The sales department at Strohl Automotive Services is open 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Fridays; and by appointment only Saturdays. The service department is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday.

More information about cars for sale, specials, services and financing is available at strohlautos.net, the shop’s Facebook page or by calling 610-395-3345.