Partnership puts State PBA in the driver's seat
Flemington Car & Truck Country provides truck and donation
n BY MITCHELL KRUGEL
What most people first notice about Steve Kalafer, founding Chairman of the 18-franchise Flemington Car & Truck Country family of
dealerships, is that his desk sits right in the showroom. Conversation
with Kalafer is enlightening and engaging, more like talking with your
favorite teacher than an automobile mogul.
Anybody who takes Kalafer up on his special discount for NJ State
PBA members might very well walk into one of the Flemington Car
and Truck Country stores and wind up dealing directly with him or
members of his staff that are equally engaging and hospitable. Here
is a guy and a team and a company that is on your side.
“Law enforcement is very important to the Flemington Car & Truck
Country family of dealerships and to all our employees because we
know that a strong New Jersey is dependent on our officers,” Kalafer
asserts. “Too often, they are under attack by critics whose agendas are
far different from their stated goals. By making this contribution, we
are stating loudly and clearly, without equivocation, that our support
rests with law enforcement, across the state and in all communities
that are represented by the NJ State PBA.”
The contribution to the NJ State PBA Kalafer refers to is this:
• The Flemington Car & Truck Country Family of dealerships is
donating the use of a Ford F250 Crew Cab XLT Truck that will be
used to pull a new, all-purpose trailer the State PBA is purchasing
to bring to events throughout the area in the near future.
• Flemington Car and Truck Country has designated special
pricing for all NJ State PBA members. Members only need to
present their PBA cards to be extended every courtesy for sales
and service.
• For any member who purchases a vehicle at a Flemington store
and presents a PBA card, Flemington Car and Truck Country will
contribute $200 to the NJ State PBA Survivor & Welfare Fund in
your name.
“I had a good feeling the minute I shook Steve’s hand,” said NJ State
PBA President Pat Colligan. “I was shocked when I heard what he
wanted to donate over and above the truck, but that tells you tells you
what kind of guy Steve is and why I would encourage all members to
take advantage of this opportunity to get a great deal and help our
Survivor & Welfare Fund.”
Colligan connected with Flemington Car and Truck Country
through a business relationship he built with Rhonda Calico, an executive at Nissan’s Northeast Region, when he was doing some fundraising for his Local, Franklin Township 154. He reached out to Calico to
see about getting a truck.
Calico directed Colligan to Flemington, and his initial conversation
was like most with Kalafer. They realized how much, and how many
people, they have in common. Turns out, Kalafer had a relationship
with Colligan’s predecessors, Tony Wieners and Mike Madonna.
The initial meeting Colligan had with Kalafer took place in August.
The truck will be delivered in October.
“I knew Pat from his reputation and through mutual friends, and
when we sat down there was an instant rapport and understanding,”
Kalafer noted. “I was sitting with Jerry Sheehan, our GM Emeritus and
longtime friend of law enforcement officers, and we looked at each other
and said this is something we wanted to do, something we must do.”
Kalafer entered the automotive industry in 1973 as Business Manager for Coleman Oldsmobile in Trenton. Three years later, he
acquired own dealership, Ditschman Ford/Lincoln/Mercury, then
located in Frenchtown.
In 1979, Kalafer moved that dealership to Flemington and, along
with his partner, Byron Brisby, has grown the enterprise to
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OCTOBER 2015
“Law enforcement is very important to
the Flemington Car & Truck Country
family of dealerships and to all our
employees because we know that a
strong New Jersey is dependent on our
officers. Too often, they are under
attack by critics whose agendas are far
Steve Kalafer
different from their stated goals.
By making this contribution, we are stating loudly and
clearly, without equivocation, that our support rests with
law enforcement across the state in all the communities
that are represented by the State PBA.”
showrooms and service centers in eight locations for 18 franchises
and what has become the Flemington Car & Truck Country Family of
dealerships. The dealerships sell and service Ford, Lincoln, Nissan,
Porsche, Volkswagen, Audi, BMW, GMC, Buick, Chevrolet, Chrysler,
Dodge, Ram, Jeep, Infiniti, Subaru, Cadillac and Certified Pre-Owned
for each franchise.
Sitting at his desk in the showroom, it would be hard to tell Kalafer
is as entrepreneurially accomplished as Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs,
Mark Cuban and all the rest. He is more like the neighbor you want to
hang out with on the weekend. He is also a Time Magazine Quality
Dealer Award National Finalist and a People Magazine Award for Outstanding Service winner. He is a former member of the New Jersey
Motion Picture and Television Commission and served as an
appointee to Gov. Whitman’s Economic Master Plan Commission. He
is a three-time Academy Award nominee and the founding chairman
of the Some