Robert L Germain, Sr., was born in Detroit, Michigan on January 25th, 1923.
He was raised in Dearborn, Michigan, and his first job was as a tour guide for Ford Motor Company.
Bob served in the US Navy, where he won The American Campaign Medal with two Battle Stars, the WWII Victory Medal, the Phillipines Liberation Medal, and the United States Navy Unit Commendation Award.
He was also a graduate of the University of Michigan, and following graduation in 1947, he joined his father, Warren Germain, when he opened a Mercury dealership in Columbus, Ohio.
That dealership would be the start of Germain Motor Company, which Bob expanded to Florida in 1979, and today is one of America’s largest dealership groups.
Germain Motor Company owns and operates 25 franchises in Ohio, Florida, Arkansas and Arizona with over $1 Billion in annual sales. Germain Motor Company and its many affiliated companies are run by Bob’s three sons, Bob, Jr., Steve and Rick.
There have been three Sprint Cup races so far in 2008. These races have shown Ford Motor Company’s potential for success and disaster in NASCAR’s top series. Ford drivers have the potential to win any race. They showed that at the end of 2007 when Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle combined to capture four victories in the final 13 races. However, the problem with the three top Ford drivers is that there are only three of them. Ford has found itself in a position of being out gunned every time the green flag drops.
By Richard Allen
Roush Fenway Racing maintains five Sprint Cup teams, a number that will soon have to be reduced to four. Of those five teams only the three of Kenseth, Edwards and Biffle appear to have the ability to contend on a weekly basis. David Ragan has never seemed comfortable in the Sprint Cup series. Jamie McMurray has shown flashes of brilliance, like his win last July in Daytona, but has been far from a model of consistency.
Once powerful Yates Racing, which has brought Ford a championship and numerous victories, is currently campaigning two cars, one of which is partially sponsored and the other is not sponsored at all. The organization’s last win was in 2005 at Talladega when Dale Jarrett was ruled to be in the lead after a late race caution fell.
Another former powerhouse for the blue oval brand, Wood Brothers Racing, has brought itself to the brink of extinction by holding on to its glorious past for too long. The company remained in its Stuart, Virginia shop long after all other competitive teams had based themselves in the Charlotte area. Also, the Woods have stuck to the single car approach rather than go the multi car route with virtually everyone else.
It is being heard in Atlanta, Tampa and Kansas City, "We have to make a play", "Someone has to step up and make a play", We're not making plays", "I expect my defense to make a play". It is almost as tiresome as "stay the course" and getting a little hard on the ears. Whether it is Mike Vick, Jim Mora, Derrick Brooks, Herman Edwards, George Bush or Ford Motor Company, these catch phrases get old. Even if you agree with these statements, and I do, isn't it interesting how these phrases become sound bites? Last year it was "passion" this and "passion" that from accounting to engineering that was all I heard until with Rod Stewart's old disco song ringing in my ears I thought I was going to puke.
Can you imagine how tired the athletes and coaches get hearing the same old questions from the same old reporters and enduring uneducated comments from bloggers?
Gulp!
Enjoy this from AccessNorthGa.com.
Falcons, Bucs answering same lingering question
TAMPA, Fla. - One team is fighting for a playoff berth and the other is likely to miss the postseason for the third time in four years. Yet the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are constantly asked the same question. In light of the way your season has gone, how do you keep your locker room together down the stretch?
The Falcons (6-6) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 24-14 victory at Washington last week, but they've been so inconsistent it's difficult to forecast how they'll fare the rest of the way, even against the Bucs (3-9) on Sunday. Tampa Bay has dropped five of its past six, playing progressively worse in each of the defeats. Losing is wearing on coach Jon Gruden and his players. However, they insist they won't give up on the season in the final four games.
``Shame on everybody who quits. I've got kids playing little league football who aren't on a very good team and they aren't quitting. We aren't quitting either. We're going to get it right,'' Gruden said.
Atlanta coach Jim Mora is confident he can hold his team together, too. The Falcons trail New Orleans (8-4) by two games in the NFC South and are one of four NFC teams in contention for playoff berths at 6-6. After Tampa Bay, they'll face NFC East leader Dallas and wild-card contenders Carolina and Philadelphia. ``It's amazing, it really is,'' Mora said of the way the playoff race is shaping up.
Mora believes the team has the type of players to tune out potential distractions, such as critical reviews of Vick's performance and the $10,000 fine the quarterback drew for making an obscene gesture to fans two weeks ago. ``First of all, if they don't relate to the team you ignore them. If they don't relate to the team, they don't affect the team,'' Mora said. ``And we haven't had any distractions that have affected the team. ... We haven't felt turmoil around here at all.''
Falcons running back Warrick Dunn agreed. ``I know a lot of people are making a big deal about Mike and what happened a couple of weeks ago,'' Dunn said, ``but I think overall as players we're really just trying to concentrate on the game.''
Tampa Bay linebacker Derrick Brooks bristled at the suggestion the disappointment of losing might fracture the Bucs, who've struggled offensively with rookie Bruce Gradkowski at quarterback and defensively because of an inability to force turnovers. The nine-time Pro Bowl insisted there will be no finger-pointing among teammates. At the same time, there's no denying the Bucs have not played up to lofty expectations after ending a two-year hiatus from the playoffs in 2005. ``We're just too inconsistent in a lot of areas to say we're playing good enough to win ballgames,'' Brooks said. ``We're not making the plays when we have to, but it's not because of lack of effort.''
``We've got to decide who can help us win a championship,'' Gruden said. ``We're looking for playoff players. We're not looking for anything else. Are you going to be good enough to help the Buccaneers win a championship.''
The coach briefly considered benching Gradkowski after last week's 20-3 loss at Pittsburgh, a game in which the Bucs avoided being shut out by kicking a meaningless field goal on the final play. The sixth-round draft pick is 3-6 as the starter since replacing the injured Chris Simms. He's thrown for nine touchdowns and nine interceptions.
Gruden has seen enough progress to not make a change to backup Tim Rattay. ``We're going to show some patience with this guy because that's what it's going to take to get it out of him,'' Gruden said. ``All these snaps he's getting, he's getting better from, I can assure you that. We've just got to play better at times around him.''
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Falcons, Bucs answering same lingering question
