In 1941, a
General Motors Dealership was started by Meb & Lloyd Armstrong in
Middleton. In 1948, Bruce Motors Limited was formed by Carl Bruce. At this time
it was a service station consisting of two service bays. In 1950, a Parts Room
office and two service bays were added. By 1960, a Medium & Heavy Duty
Truck repair facility was added along with three additional car bays. Also in
1960, Bruce Motors purchased Armstrong Motors, the local Dodge Dealer at 259 Main Street
which is currently the Esso Service Station and home of our Body Shop. By 1973,
five more servicing bays were constructed. In 1974, a modern 4 car showroom was
built. In 1978, Roy Jones & Ken Clark purchased Bruce Motors renaming it
Bruce Chevrolet Oldsmobile Limited. By 1983, the final house was removed at the
corner of Main & King Street in order to increase the new car display area.
In 1990, a sub-dealer office was opened at 994 Central Avenue, in Greenwood. In 1994, Les Barker was appointed
as General Manager of the company. On January 1st, 1996, Les Barker became the
sole owner and President of the company. In addition, they were also awarded
the franchise to the Pontiac Buick GMC Lines. In August, 1997, construction
started on a new 'state of the art facility' at the Head Office at 394 Main Street,
Middleton. This took six months to complete. With this complete, it made the
facility an official Image 2000 Facility, which features a new 'state of the
art showroom' and display area along with convenient Drive-Thru Service. In
January 2002, the CollisionCenter, located at 259 Main Street was
renovated after 80 years, expanding the facility and made room for Enterprise
Rent-A-Car. Customers and associates can relax in a hassle free environment and
check out the vehicles on site.
In May 2002 Bruce Chevrolet Oldsmobile Limited parent companies amalgamated to
form The Barker Group Limited, allowing the company to concentrate more on its'
various different operations.