The Callaway Heritage...
In the beginning, there were underpowered sports cars. The energy
crises of the early 1970′s, subsequent lower compression ratios, and
crude, first generation emission controls had combined to emasculate
performance cars to the extent that enthusiasts were in despair.
Enter Reeves Callaway. In 1973, Reeves was a young man who found
himself unable to continue his racing career, even after winning the
National Championship in SCCA’s Formula Vee. He simply didn’t have the
money. It was a difficult time for the young man just voted one of the
best of the new crop of SCCA racing drivers that year. Reeves was
considered to have had the best pair of hands in Formula Car racing of
any of the young American drivers. Contemporaries were notables such as
Rick Mears and Emerson Fittipaldi.
Callaway home workshop, ca. 1978 (note early CNC control on Bridgeport mill)
Given his options, Reeves did what many race car drivers do; he went
to work as a driving instructor. Working for Bob Bondurant, he became
quite familiar with the intricacies and deficiencies of the 3-Series
BMW. As the demo tour for BMW wound down, Reeves asked for and got one
of the BMW 320i school cars with the intention of tuning for more power.
Reeves had acquired a great many skills in his pursuit of becoming a
professional race car driver. Among them were engine building, chassis
tuning and component fabrication. Plus, he had the advantage of a great
education, having received a BFA degree from Amherst College in 1970.
Reeves knew that he could help the BMW in the horsepower department and
took the 320i home to the garage behind his house in Old Lyme,
Connecticut.
In the solitude that only inventor/craftsman types know, Reeves
constructed and installed his first prototype turbocharger system. Don
Sherman of Car and Driver found out about the car and arranged for a
drive. He wrote a one-page article describing how exciting the car was
with the new-found power. Don inadvertently made it appear that Callaway
was set to deliver turbocharger kits to the BMW community. The truth
was that Reeves didn’t even have a drill press, much less any of the
real means to produce the components. It wasn’t very long before BMW
turbo system orders began to pour in and Reeves’ racer resourcefulness
was again valuable. Soon, Reeves and his friends were working at the
house, in the garage, machining and assembling beautifully fabricated
components, keeping up with the demand.
That was the genesis of a corporate philosophy that still applies
today. There in stoic, rural New England, was born the Callaway
tradition of development of the superior technical solution, with
uncompromised engineering refinement, attention to aesthetics, and
sophistication of end product.
Part of the Callaway experience involves having knowledgeable specialists on site...
Meet the team
who has made Marc Heitz the #1 Callaway Dealer in the USA!
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Ben Hayes, Corvette and Callaway Specialist
Ben Hayes was raised in Germany where being around fast cars is a way of life and has himself owned 3 Corvettes (2 - C5's and 1 - C6). He attended Spring Mountain's Driving School while at the Callaway Dealer Summit in 2011. As one of the top 15 Corvette Dealers in the Nation, Ben earned a trip to the 2011 24 hrs du mans in Paris.
Ben has been selling new Corvettes since 2003. Currently Marc Heitz is ranked as the #16 dealer in the USA for Corvette Sales and finished #27 for the year in 2010 in Corvette Sales. Ben has assisted with the delivery of Corvette's all over the USA making Marc Heitz not just a local dealer but a National Corvette Dealer.
Some of Ben's honors:
- "Mark of Excellence" Award Winner through GM for 2010
- Manager of the #1 New Chevrolet Store in Oklahoma the last 4 years.
- 16th Ranked dealership for Chevrolet Sales out of 4000 for 2010
- Selected as Oklahoma's Official Callaway Dealer in 2010
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Les Northam, Corvette and Callaway Specialist
Les came to Marc Heitz in October 2008 with extensive experience in retail management where he excelled and built a strong foundation in product knowledge and customer service. he rapidly developed an appreciation for all things Chevrolet and quickly became one of the "go to guys" for all things Corvette eventually being selected as a Callaway Specialist in November 2010.
After being runner-up the year before, Les was selected "New Car Salesman of the Year" for 2010. He also was a "Mark of Excellence" Award Winner and Top Honors Sales Consultant for 2009 and 2010.
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Josh Townsend, Corvette and Callaway Specialist
Joining the Marc Heitz team in November 2000, Josh is a man who pays strong attention to detail.
This shows through very well in his ability to demonstrate and
educate a customer about a Corvette and the ownership experience. Having grown
up around drag racing and jet boat racing, Josh is known as the resident
gearhead. Through selling 13 model years of Corvettes Josh has continued his
education and dedication to Corvette product knowledge.
Josh was selected to become a Callaway Specialist in January of 2012.
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