| I was at the Ferrari dealership a couple of months ago. Lots of dealerships, used car lots on that street in that area. One that got my attention was a Porsche specialist, not dealer. Many Porsches being fixed, repaired and beefed up. Very smallI place compared to the dealerships on that street but I was impressed. Didn’t take the time to check the name, sorry.
Michael Savard (1981 308 GTSi)
Peter, one of my cars was imported by a place near the Ferrari dealer on Jean Talon not far from the Decarie.
I know there used to be some specialty shops over there.
Yes, Dick Merritt was the guy that was intimately involved with most of those imports into the USA.
Fascinating guy...
Unfortunately no pics. This would’ve been the early to mid ‘90s, long before cell phones and I didn’t bother to go back home to get my 35mm camera...
The dealer I believe has long since gone, but it would’ve been along the service road of Decarie Boulevard. Or, maybe it was Jean Talon. I have to dig deep into my stash of old sales material memorabilia to see if I can come across the
name of the place. It certainly wasn’t the Porsche dealer, as they were just off of Decarie on the east side (which looks to be, according to a current Google street view, a brand new building housing Aston Martin of Montreal).
Maybe Michael Savard can chime in here and see if he can remember the various car places in Montreal?
Your friend wasn’t Richard Merritt, was it? Seems like he was THE go-to guy for grey market importation into the U.S.
Wow, all of those “pristine” garage queen 959s must have had the nuts driven off of them – the only action they may have seen in their lives!
Peter
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Any pics of that 959 Peter? What store and location was it in?
I have seen some of the displays in the boutiques off St. Catherine’s...very creative.
My friend worked for DOT and basically approved or denied any odd grey import on a case by case basis.
Apparently, the 959 was an impound yard guard dog for years. It would be seen from time to time at night doing high speed runs in the vicinity of that lot!
And it’s funny, because now the 959 would be legal to import with little hassle.
Back in the early ‘90s, there was a 959 that was on display at an independent luxury car dealer in Montreal, in a prominent spot in the showroom, right behind the main windows – easily seen from the street. And see it I did!
Stopped in to take a closer look and sure enough, it was the genuine thing. The salesman didn’t offer up any info on who brought it in, or why it was there in the first place. But he did say it was “on bond” with Transport Canada and the
Canadian Border Services for display only for a certain time period (30 days or 3 months? Can’t remember, too long ago). Silver exterior with the three-tone brown leather interior. I clearly remember it had a much smaller steering wheel – trimmed in one of
the shades of brown – smaller than the stock wheel. It would’ve had to have been a factory option and not an aftermarket add-on.
I’m glad I was in the right place at the right time and it’s been the only 959 I’ve ever seen in the flesh.
Peter
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…Cheers Doug **Oh – Otis, oh yeah. Publisher of the Los Angeles Times. Big fellow but squeezed into his Porsche 917 ok. Also had, at the time, THE only privately owned
and in possession of legal Porsche 959 in the country – but, and it was a BIG BUT from the DOT – no drivie drivie on ANY public road and anything that the sun shines on. And if you want to take it to a race track for photo op – here, fill out THIS request
for transportation over and across or under public roads. If a wheel so much as touches public roads – we’ll store it right next to Bill Gates 959 which we wont even let him sit in. <grin> I judged his car at a local PCA event. A little story along with
that but not here.
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