Hubert G. Pitre
Longtime Phoenix area automotive dealer Hubert G. (Bert) Pitre passed away July 10, 2012, at his home in Scottsdale, Ariz. Born in Bay City, Mich., Pitre seemingly was born to be in the automobile business, selling the family car at age 14.
After he graduated from the General Motors Institute in Flint, Mich., he was a service advisor and used car salesman at Garber Buick in Saginaw, Mich. He saved enough money to eventually open his first dealership, Bert Pitre Chevrolet Cadillac in Greenville, Mich., in 1965.
In the early 1970s, General Motors offered Pitre a new Buick franchise in Scottsdale, Ariz. Pitre Buick opened as one of the first dealerships on Scottsdale’s Motor Mile in 1973. Pitre’s voice was a familiar sound on Phoenix radio stations through the late 1990s with his signature “Hello, this is Bert Pitre” introductions, always ending his radio commercials with a “thank you.” Pitre also spoofed popular television commercials of the day to promote his dealerships.
From the early ’70s through the late ’90s, he opened multiple dealerships in Phoenix, Scottsdale and Sun City. His new car franchises included Buick, Pontiac, GMC Truck, Chrysler, Plymouth, Jeep, Eagle, Kia, Subaru and Isuzu. Pitre was also an early franchisee of Hyundai.
By the late 1990s, Pitre employed nearly 500 people. He firmly believed that happy employees meant happy customers and was known by his family of employees to be tough but extraordinarily generous. He received numerous awards for sales performance and customer satisfaction at his dealerships and sat on several dealer councils.
He sold his dealerships to Florida-based AutoNation in 1998. The Pitre family name remained on his dealerships for several years thereafter, eventually being renamed Power. The Pitre family name is still represented on his son Bob’s Buick GMC Truck dealership in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Outside the car business, Pitre enjoyed fishing and was an avid golfer, at one time belonging to five different country clubs and owning 10 sets of left-handed clubs. He loved baseball. Originally a Detroit Tigers fan, Pitre was one of the original investors who helped launch the MLB expansion Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
Pitre is survived by his wife of 57 years, Dorothy (Dody); a daughter, Jan Pitre-Dixon, and her husband, Dennis, of Flagstaff; son Bob Pitre and his wife, Mandy, of Albuquerque; son Tom Pitre and his wife, Libby, of Phoenix; and nine grandchildren.
