ONE CAN’T LET BOB WILLIAMS fade away without comment. Like the also-retired Plymouths, DeSotos and similar he used to sell Williams is his own brand name in these parts. Not that he’s likely to ever fade even in whatever passes for retirement for him. Colorful characters tend to stand out wherever they are.

Until selling his dealership to Greenway Auto Group out of Florida, Williams had been selling automobiles around Rome like forever although it probably isn’t true that Walter Chrysler personally gave him the franchise. Before moving to his current location on New Calhoun Highway in 1986 he operated from a lot on Martha Berry Boulevard — before that our archives reveal no clues.

However, there’s only one reason any car dealer can stay in business in one relatively small community for that long (and Rome has several such successful and long-time “family” operations) and that’s treating customers pretty darn well and having them come back.

Enjoy your time in idle instead of in gear, Bob. And, by the way, you are now free to drive a Ford, Chevy, Honda or anything else you’d like to try!