‘People tell me Dad sold them their first car’ - son remembers Bud Robinson

The name Bud Robinson is synonymous with auto sales in Sault Ste. Marie.

Family, friends and community members are mourning the passing of Robinson, who died Jan. 8 at the age of 87.

His career spanned six decades.

“So many people tell me how my Dad sold them their first car,” said son Greg Robinson, who has combined his father’s passion for auto sales and auto dealer ownership with his own love for recreational vehicles as owner/operator of Bud Robinson Motorsports.

“When I started the motorsports division I kept his name in it. I thought that would be a very honorable thing to do because of the respect that I had for him. I want the name to last in the community,” Robinson said.

“He was one of the best Dads that anybody could ever ask for. As much as he would always be working, when I did get to spend time with him obviously I was grateful for that. When I played hockey he would never, ever miss one of my hockey games or hockey practice. We played golf together as well,” Robinson said.

“Any time he promised you something he would never let you down. He was always a man of his word and always taught me the same thing - 'you shake a man’s hand, you give him your word.'”

Though a successful business owner who took his profession seriously, Robinson said of his father that “it seemed to me he was more concerned if everybody liked him more than making money.”

Bud Robinson was a pioneer among Sault auto dealers.

He established the first Toyota dealership in Sault Ste. Marie in 1976, known as Travelade Motors.

“At the time we lived in a domestic steel town that made steel products for the domestic automakers. Having Japanese vehicles was obviously something different and it took some time to build acceptance by the public. That was a challenge but with his determination and the way that he was, he was a really good salesman (and sales of Toyota vehicles from Travelade continually climbed),” Greg said.

Bud Robinson and some of his customers often found they could indeed mix business with pleasure, Greg recalled with a chuckle.

“I remember they used to congregate at The Vic and The Canadian. That’s how the car business used to be sometimes, back in the day. It was a lot of fun. They used to sell cars (with a verbal agreement and sealed with a handshake) in the bar, hockey games, wherever they were. It was the same as being in the dealership as far as he was concerned.”

Robinson sold his Toyota dealership and established Bud Robinson’s Used Cars and Trucks (now known as Bud Robinson’s Pre-Owned Supercentre) in 1993.

Robinson gave back to the community, actively involved in Rotary events and, after recovering from a stroke suffered in 2007, gave peer support to others who had gone through the same traumatic experience as a volunteer with the Sault’s Heart and Stroke Foundation office.

Due to extenuating circumstances of COVID-19 restrictions, the family has chosen to hold a celebration of Bud Robinson’s life at a later date. 

Son Greg said he plans to hold an annual memorial sale at Bud Robinson Motorsports and Bud Robinson’s Pre-Owned Supercentre, the first to come “in the next month or so.”

“He was my best friend, my mentor, my idol.”

To view Robinson’s obituary, click here.