Robert Kelley, renowned publisher of the used car guide Kelley Blue Book, passes away at 96.
The "Kelley Blue Book" refers to a well-known source for evaluating the worth of used vehicles. Robert Kelley, a key figure in its success, passed away at the age of 96 on May 28 in Indian Wells, California.
The roots of the Kelley Blue Book can be traced back to the Kelley Kar Company in Los Angeles, a used car dealership that Bob Kelley's uncle, Les Kelley, launched in 1918 with just a few Model T Fords. To expand the inventory, the company circulated a list indicating the cars they were looking to purchase and how much they were willing to pay for them. In 1926, this list transformed into the first ever pricing guide for used cars - the Kelley Blue Book.
Bob Kelley, who started as a "lot boy" at the dealership operated by his uncle and his father, began his career by filling tires. Eventually, he was entrusted with the responsibility of refurbishing used cars and calculating their resale value, which would be included in the paper guide.
By the 1960s, the Blue Book transformed into a standalone business. The family sold the car dealership and sold the pricing guide to a private buyer. Bob Kelley, along with his father Sidney "Buster" Kelley, continued to manage the operations under a 40-year contract.
The Blue Book was primarily used as an industry resource for the initial 30 years as an independent entity, especially by car dealers, finance companies, and insurance companies. Kelley Blue Book takes credit for being the first to quantify the impact of mileage on a used vehicle's worth.
Over the years, Kelley Blue Book expanded its offerings to incorporate new car pricing guides (introduced in 1966), RV and motorcycle guides, and even a "Manufactured Housing" price guide.
In 1995, they introduced a website, making its data easily accessible to the general public and not just industry professionals. Although they continued publishing the book every two months for several years, Vogelheim explained that not everyone had embraced the Internet yet.
Charlie Vogelheim, Bob Kelley's son-in-law, mentioned that Bob was his mentor and guided him through the process of understanding the valuations of different vehicles and the intricacies of publishing the book. Prior to the computer age, they would set up, deliver proof sheets, print, and distribute the books manually.
Between 2000 and 1995, Bob Kelley retired from the company. Vogelheim shared his experiences of working with Kelley at Kelley Blue Book since 1985 and witnessed his retirement.
The production process included one unusual step - rounding the corners of the tiny book to enable dealers to simply pop it in their shirt pockets.
Bob Kelley also stresses the significance of considering what customers value and are willing to pay for in vehicles, rather than merely reducing the price of a new car by a set amount. For example, certain 1990s Lexus cars were sold with a phone as a costly option, but in the used market, the bulky corded phone acted as a deterrent.
Kelley Blue Book and its online platform, KBB.com, were acquired by the auto sales site Autotrader in 2010, forming part of the Cox Enterprises conglomerate. Competitors like Edmunds, which began publishing a consumer-focused pricing guide in 1966 and also established an online presence in 1995, have emerged, but Kelley Blue Book was one of the pioneers in creating a standard system for estimating the value of a used vehicle.
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The Kelley Blue Book's origins can be traced back to a used car dealership, with the pricing guide serving as an expansion of the company's inventory list. Despite retiring from the company in the 1990s, Bob Kelley's influence and contributions to the business's success remained significant throughout its transformation into an online platform.
