About Us

Our Dealership History

Henry Teske and Fred Bessler started doing business in the Newberry Michigan area in 1945 shortly after World War I, selling and servicing new automobiles. They built what is now known as Lynn's Auto Store and sold Pontiacs and International trucks and farm machinery, calling themselves Newberry Truck and Implement. Eventually International came out with a new line-up of products and made appliances, such as refrigerators, freezers and televisions, available for sale through their franchise dealers. Mr. Teske and Mr. Bessler soon decided to discontinue sales of the appliances and focus mainly on motor vehicle sales.

In 1949 Henry and Fred added the Kaiser Frazere cars franchise to their business. They continued to sell Kaiser-Frazere until the manufacturer went out of business in 1950.

In 1951 Harold Rapp became a partner.

In 1955 American Motors Corporation produced Ramblers and Henry, Fred and Harold started dealing those and Jeeps.

In 1964 Henry, Fred and Harold decided to pick up the franchise Buick. After Bessler's retirement, Henry and Harold financed a new location and build a new place of business. On October 1st, 1976, the business known then as Teske Rapp Motors, moved into the new building with 25 employees - offering sales, service and parts to the community of Newberry, Michigan.

In 1980 Henry and Harold acquired the GMC franchise. Soon after, in 1984, they also added Chrysler, Plymouth and Dodge onto their lot. After the retirement of Harold Rapp, Henry changed the name of the business to Teske Motors, and on September 17th, 1984 Kevin Vanatta, the current owner, came into the business as a salesman. At the time Kevin was looking to get into the car business, but Henry was not looking to hire. Kevin persisted and after two weeks he finally convinced Henry that he would be a dedicated individual to Teske Motors and to selling cars.

In 1988, Ray Knauf bought and moved into Henry's place of business. He changed the name to Knauf Motors and brought with him both GMC and Oldsmobile franchises. Thus bringing all of the franchises together: Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Oldsmobile, GMC, Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, and Jeep.

After four short years of running Knauf Motors, Ray was ready to get out of the business. This opened up the opportunity for Kevin. Beginning on October 26th, 1992, Mr. Vanatta signed all the GM Franchise Sales and Service Agreements and in February of 1993 he had also signed all Chrysler Franchises. Mr. Vanatta changed the name of the business to Newberry Motors.

On March 12, 1998 there was a severe electrical fire that destroyed the entire showroom of the dealership. Much of the Parts Department suffered as well. Newberry Motors' employees worked out of mobile trailers until March of 1999 when Newberry Motors was reopened in a newly reconstructed, state of the art facility. Also, with the rebuilding of the dealership, Kevin acquired the Penzoil 10 Minute Oil Change Center, which attracted many customers to the business.

Since Mr. Vanatta acquired all franchises in 1993, and the beautifully reconstructed facility was reopened in 1999, Newberry Motors has successfully continued to grow into a full service new and used car dealership drawing customers from all over Michigan and proving to be extremely competitive in the automobile industry. Newberry Motors employs 32 people from the Newberry and surrounding areas and in 2002 sold over 700 new and used vehicles.

Newberry Motors began as a small - town dealership and has since grown to be a leader in Upper Michigan Auto Sales.

In 2002, the town of Newberry Michigan became the Official Moose Capital of Michigan! We adorn every new or used vehicle that leaves our lot with the prestigious Moe Moose Decal. This leaves a lasting impression with customers and those who see the moose on these vehicles.

We are a proud dealership that has always played a supportive role in our community and environment.