Check out the following Auto Bears. These bears have been found throughout
Southern California, thanks in large part to the fantastic sleuthing of
Georg Balandran.
Bolles Bear Service Inc. Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
A smiling bear might seem an unlikely expert on wheel alignment, but the Bolles Alignment mascot looks happy to help. These cheerful characters became familiar sights outside garages using Bear Manufacturing Company equipment, giving motorists a friendly face to watch for when the car wasn’t traveling quite as straight as it should.
Wallace Bolles opened his Lynwood business in 1947, following his brother Virgel into the alignment trade. Virgel had established a shop in downtown Torrance earlier in the decade, displaying a smaller bear before a larger version became a familiar roadside presence. Apparently a talent for straightening wheels and an appreciation for smiling bears ran in the family.
Bolles Bear Service Inc. Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
The mascot belonged to Bear Manufacturing of Rock Island, Illinois, a maker of wheel-alignment, balancing, and frame-service equipment. Garages across the country displayed versions of the character, though differences in color, lettering, and mounting gave each bear a little individuality. The resemblance wasn’t a coincidence, even when the shops had different names.
In Torrance, the bright yellow bear became a neighborhood landmark associated with Virgel’s alignment business and its later history as Torrance Auto Repair. For passing motorists, the character offered something more memorable than another list of automotive services. Spot the bear and the shop was easy enough to find.
Bolles Bear Service Inc. Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Gardena has its own member of the family at Gardena Bear Alignment Service on Crenshaw Boulevard. This version wears a lighter-brown coat, giving sign hunters another variation to compare. Same cheerful expression, different wardrobe. A drive between these shops could turn an ordinary automotive errand into a small bear hunt.
Check out those smiles. Repairs might not always leave the customer looking quite so cheerful, but the mascots seem determined to maintain appearances. No appointment needed to appreciate the advertising.
UPDATE: The Bolles story in Lynwood dates to 1947, with related Happy Bear signs documented in Torrance and Gardena. Once common outside alignment shops, these characters now form a much smaller roadside population. Southern California remains a good place to watch for one smiling above the next garage. 10-26
Gardena Bear Alignment Service
Gardena, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Along Crenshaw Boulevard, a smiling bear helps motorists find Gardena Bear Alignment Service. Sporting a brown coat and the familiar toothy grin, this fellow offers a slightly different look from his yellow cousin in Torrance. Same cheerful disposition, though.
The character comes from Bear Manufacturing, which supplied wheel alignment, balancing, and frame-straightening equipment to automotive shops across the country. Its Happy Bear signs gave independent garages a recognizable roadside salesman, often becoming as memorable as the businesses below.
The Gardena sign is believed to date to the late 1940s, making it a longtime resident of this busy commercial boulevard. Check out the rounded ears and broad smile. Plenty of motorists have passed beneath that face while generations of automotive equipment changed inside the garage.
UPDATE: Gardena Bear Alignment Service remains open on Crenshaw Boulevard, with its bear continuing to mark the location. Along with the Torrance and Lynwood examples, this fellow keeps a familiar piece of Southern California’s automotive past in view. 10-26
Chet's Transmissions (Gone) Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Here’s a bear welcoming motorists along Pacific Coast Highway at Chet’s Transmissions in Long Beach. Holding the shop’s name across his front, this smiling fellow made transmission trouble look a little less intimidating. Getting the car moving again was up to the mechanics inside.
Located at 1540 East Pacific Coast Highway, Chet’s also operated under the names Chet’s Transmission & Clutch and Chet’s Auto Repair & Service. The business expanded into general repairs and smog services, while its roadside mascot recalled the Bear Manufacturing signs traditionally associated with wheel alignment shops. Apparently this bear was willing to branch out.
The cut-out character gave the garage a recognizable face along a road lined with automotive businesses. A useful landmark for customers, and another stop for anyone collecting photographs of Southern California’s roadside bears.
UPDATE: The location later became Deleon Auto Repair & Transmission, and the vintage bear sign was subsequently removed. This view recalls Chet’s days along PCH, when a smiling bear helped advertise the work going on inside. 10-26
Vodie's Wheel Alignment (Gone)
Santa Ana, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Check out the pink bear at Vodie’s Wheel Alignment in Santa Ana. With that toothy grin and a coat that certainly stood out along the street, this fellow made finding the shop a little easier. Getting the car to drive straight was the garage’s job. Attracting attention belonged to the bear.
Vodie Clemmons learned the alignment trade at Bear Manufacturing’s training school in Illinois after his military service, alongside fellow future shop owner Virgel Bolles. His Southern California shops and their bear signs date to the 1940s, when growing neighborhoods and increasing car ownership brought plenty of work for local garages.
The sign also became a link to the shop’s earlier identity as businesses changed below. By 2013, the property was operating as Guero’s Auto Repair, but the familiar bear remained a reminder of Vodie’s.
UPDATE: The Santa Ana bear was removed in 2014 and joined the Museum of Neon Art’s collection, documented instorage at its Pomona warehouse. A welcome rescue for a roadside character whose working days at the garage had ended. 10-26
Boulevard Brakes (Closed)
Downey, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Looking a little detached from his assignment, the Boulevard Brakes bear smiles at traffic passing through Downey. The gap between the character and the business lettering makes him appear to be keeping his own company. Hopefully the separation wasn’t over working conditions.
The shop was known as Boulevard Brake Service by 1969 and later operated as Duran Auto Repair. Through the changing names, the bear supplied a familiar face above the street.
UPDATE: The location became Multi Tires around 2017, and the sign was repainted. This photograph records its earlier Boulevard Brakes appearance, when the bear seemed content to stand slightly apart from the message. 10-26
Brake Service Wheel Alignment Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Check out the smiling mechanic on this Brake Service Wheel Alignment sign. With “BRAKE SERVICE” above and “WHEEL Aligning” below, the lettering leaves little doubt about the work offered inside. The fellow in coveralls appears ready to get started, with his equipment already in hand.
The stacked lettering gives this sign much of its character. Bold capitals handle the brake work, while the flowing “Aligning” script adds a little flair below. Paired with the familiar Bear Manufacturing mascot, it’s the sort of automotive advertising that made a neighborhood garage easy to remember.
UPDATE: This photograph preserves another variation of the classic Bear automotive sign, complete with its distinctive lettering and cheerful mechanic. 10-26
B&D Brakes
Bellflower, CA Photo courtesy Georg Balandran
Here’s a bear doing some heavy lifting at B&D Brakes in Bellflower. Holding the shop’s name overhead, this smiling fellow gives passing motorists on Lakewood Boulevard a reason to look up. Apparently, carrying a sign all day hasn't affected his disposition.
Family owned since 1967, B&D Wheel Alignment and Brakes has served generations of drivers needing a little help keeping things straight. Its roadside bear belongs to the familiar Bear Manufacturing mascot family, once a common sight outside shops equipped for alignment and front-end work.
Check out the cut-out shape and broad grin. A plain rectangular sign could advertise the same services, but it wouldn't have quite the personality. This fellow makes the garage easy to remember, even when the car doesn't need attention.
UPDATE: B&D remains open in Bellflower, with its Happy Bear sign continuing to watch over Lakewood Boulevard. Nearly six decades after the shop opened, there's still a smiling face to greet customers. 10-26
Modern Day Auto (Closed) Los Angeles, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Check out the smiling bear above Modern Day Auto on South Vermont Avenue in Los Angeles. This familiar automotive mascot gave the shop a roadside welcome that was hard to miss. At roughly 15 feet tall, the sign had plenty of room to advertise both the business and its cheerful resident.
The bear comes from the Bear Manufacturing Company, whose alignment equipment and smiling signs became familiar sights outside garages across the country. This example is believed to date from the late 1940s or 1950s, giving it quite a head start on the Modern Day Auto Center name seen here during the late 1990s.
Like many longtime roadside characters, this fellow stayed on through a change of business. The lettering below could change, but there was still a bear overhead to help customers find the place.
UPDATE: The location became Perfect Paint & Body around 2001. The sign was repainted for the body shop, and the bear received a brown coat. Another change of outfit for this Vermont Avenue veteran. 10-26
Vodie's Wheel Alignment (Closed)
Garden Grove, CA Photo courtesy Rene Carrasco
Check out the smiling bear at Vodie’s Wheel Alignment in Garden Grove. Standing above the garage, this fellow made the shop easy to spot without requiring motorists to read the fine print. Apparently, decades of roadside duty hadn't affected his disposition.
The shop and its sign have been traced to around 1946. Founder Vodie Clemmons learned the alignment trade at Bear Manufacturing’s school in Illinois after his military service, alongside fellow future shop owner Virgel Bolles. Vodie also operated the Santa Ana location, remembered for its pink bear.
These characters advertised Bear automotive service equipment, giving independent garages a familiar face. The Garden Grove bear received a repaint in 2014, freshening his appearance even though the neon wasn't restored. Still plenty of personality here for anyone passing by in daylight.
UPDATE: An October 2024 redevelopment proposal called for removing the Garden Grove shop and donating its bear sign as part of an apartment project. Hopefully this longtime roadside character will find another place to show off that grin. 10-26
Bear Alignment & Brake Service
Corona, CA Photo by RoadsidePeek.com
Here's another bear keeping an eye on passing traffic, this time at Bear Alignment & Brake Service in Corona. Sporting a golden coat and the familiar toothy grin, this fellow stands above West Sixth Street ready to point motorists toward an alignment or brake job.
Check out the fresh-looking paint on this roadside character. The smiling mascot was used by shops carrying Bear automotive service equipment, giving garages across the country a familiar face. Spotting the different versions makes for a little roadside bear hunting. No wilderness trip required.
UPDATE: Bear Alignment & Brake Service is still open in Corona, with the golden bear continuing his assignment above the street. Good to see this fellow still on the job. 10-26
Bolles Bear Service Inc.
Bolles Bear Service Inc.
Bolles Bear Service Inc.
Chet's Transmissions (Gone)
Vodie's Wheel Alignment (Gone)
Boulevard Brakes (Closed)
Brake Service Wheel Alignment
B&D Brakes
Modern Day Auto (Closed)
Vodie's Wheel Alignment (Closed)
Bear Alignment & Brake Service
