From everyone here at Pat McGrath Chevyland, Pat McGrath Dodge Country, Westdale Used Car Superstore and Marion Used Car Superstore, we’d like to wish all of you in Cedar Rapids and Eastern Iowa a happy and safe holiday season! The holidays are a great opportunity to spend time with family & friends and to let those close to you know how much you care! 2010 has been a wonderful year for everyone here at McGrath Auto and the reason is YOU, our loyal customers! We couldn’t have done it without you and we will continue to strive to deliver the best vehicle shopping experience in the area! Once more, THANK YOU!
In celebration of the holiday season, we’d like to take a moment to share some personal thoughts and memories from our staff. We hope you enjoy!
What is your favorite Christmas gift from childhood?
 |
“I keep trying to think of a favorite, but I can’t single out just one gift! I’ve gotten a Red Ryder BB Gun (don’t worry I didn’t shoot my eye out), a pool/air hockey/ping pong table combo, a TV/video game console and a Chrysler 300 remote control car that would top out at 40 or 50 mph! All were good toys and fun to play with but I can’t say there’s a definitive favorite!”
Dan Williams – Sales Consultant – Pat McGrath Chevyland |
| “Without a doubt, my Nintendo and Super Mario Brothers game. We spent hours every night playing that game. We had to turn the TV way down so no one would hear it and just keep playing the same game and levels over and over. Then, of course, for the next couple of years, the new Mario Games were the best gifts.”
Cory Hosch – Internet Sales Director – McGrath Auto |
 |
 |
“I would say that my favorite gift was my BB gun. You can’t be a kid on a farm and not have a BB gun! It was sweet! It had a scope and could also shoot pellets. I made the pigeons lives a living hell with that gun!”
Chris George – Sales Consultant – Pat McGrath Chevyland |
| “My Favorite Christmas gift was also the most frustrating. When I was 10 years old, my Dad got me a brand new set of Wilson golf clubs. I had to sit and stare at my Christmas present for 4 months without being able to use them.”
Jake Thomsen – Sales Consultant – Westdale Used Car |
 |
 |
“My favorite gift had to be my Optimus Prime figure! Weird how things that were cool back then have come around and are cool again.”
Tim Dea – Business Manager – Pat McGrath Chevyland |
Do you have a funny story of being caught while searching for your gifts from “Santa” as a kid?
|
“One day I came home from school while no one was home. I saw all of the presents under the tree and remembered something a friend had said about opening one and re-taping so it looked like it hadn’t been opened. I picked out a smaller present and opened it. Just my luck…CLOTHES! Such a wasted opportunity! My parents still ended up noticing and I got chewed out for it. What a bad idea!”
Dan Williams – Sales Consultant – Pat McGrath Chevyland |
|
“No way! I was way too smooth to get busted searching for my gifts!”
Chris George – Sales Consultant – Pat McGrath Chevyland |
| “I never try to sneak a peak, I love the surprise so much more!”
Chris Morahan – Service Adviser – Pat McGrath Dodge Country |
 |
|
“I found out Santa was not real the year my Dad played Santa at my grandparents’ house. I was traumatized.”
Tim Dea – Business Manager – Pat McGrath Chevyland |
Do you have any special holiday trips planned?
|
“Making the standard trips to relatives’ for the parties but it will be special this year because my wife and I just had twin girls and it will be the first Christmas we spend together as a family with our children.”
Cory Hosch – Internet Sales Director – McGrath Auto |
 |
“Not really, making the rounds from Cedar Rapids to Hopkinton, to Monticello, to Anamosa and back to CR…just so we can do it all again the following day!”
Justin Hunter – Sales Consultant – Marion Used Car |
What are your plans for New Year’s Eve?
| “We will be spending the night in with family, playing games and eating til we’re ready to burst! There might be a cocktail or two had that night as well.”
Chris Morahan – Service Adviser – Pat McGrath Dodge Country |
|
|
“I plan on falling asleep by 10:00.”
Jake Thomsen – Sales Consultant – Westdale Used Car |
Does your family have a favorite holiday tradition? What is it?
|
“We always have a Santa for our Christmas. We have a lot of grand kids and younger cousins in the family, so each year, the weekend before Christmas, I dress up as Santa and hand out some early gifts when we get together.”
Jake Thomsen – Sales Consultant – Westdale Used Car |
| “On my mom’s side of the family, every year, just before we eat supper, we sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. We’ve done this for as long as I can remember. Not sure how or when we started it, but it stuck.”
Dan Williams – Sales Consultant – Pat McGrath Chevyland |
|
|
“Our family likes to play cards, so we play Michigan Rummy, Euchre, 31, Guts, Swiss Poker, anything that can have betting involved.”
Justin Hunter – Sales Consultant – Marion Used Car |
What is your favorite holiday movie?
|
“Gotta go with Christmas Vacation and the best quote is from Clark, ‘Surprised Eddie?… If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now’.”
Cory Hosch – Internet Sales Director – McGrath Auto |
| “Has to be Home Alone. The best Christmas movie to watch with your kids and relatives.”
Chris Morahan – Service Adviser – Pat McGrath Dodge Country |
|
|
“My favorite movie is probably a little cliche for this time of year, but it’s A Christmas Story. My favorite part was when one of the boys was “Double Dog Dared” to stick his tongue to a frozen flag pole. My favorite character, though, would have to be Ralphie’s brother. Especially when their mom bundles him up so much that he looks like a mini-Michelin man walking down the street!”
Dan Williams – Sales Consultant – Pat McGrath Chevyland |