Upon entering the doors of Bob Taylor’s Classic Auto, one can expect the cheerful greeting of an excited dog named Taylor, a room full of cars most people only see on television and great customer service from husband and wife Bob and Pattie Taylor.

According to Bob Taylor, owner of Bob Taylor’s Classic Auto, his love for cars is similar to most young guys, and with the purchase of his first Corvette, he knew that cars were where his passion was at.

“I came home from Vietnam in 1969, and I bought [a red Corvette] for $800. It was my first Corvette, and I’ve just hung on to it over the years,” he said.

When entering the show room, located at 2812 Tractor Lane, the Corvette Taylor purchased years ago is one of the first cars people see, yet it will not leave the lot it’s on, no matter the price.

“It was a real nice car when I bought it and it’s not for sale. I would not sell it, and today it’s probably worth $100,000 from an $800 investment,” Taylor said.

Martha Warfel / Daily Vidette Photo Editor: Bob and Pattie Taylor are proud owners of Bob Taylor’s Classic Auto in Bloomington. Bob and Pattie fix, collect and sell classic cars to those who are as enthused by them as they are.

Ten years after that original purchase, Taylor decided to start buying and selling cars, originally specializing in Corvettes in 1979. In the past 15 years, the business spread out and expanded to muscle cars and collectables as well.

With the expansion of the cars available as well as the help of the Internet, Bob Taylor’s Classic Auto has become somewhat of an international supplier as well, according to Pattie Taylor, secretary and treasurer for the shop.

“We get a lot of traffic from foreigners that are popping in just because they see us, and their interest over there is just immense,” she said.

Bob added the Internet has also brought interest worldwide.

“We sell cars to Australia, Japan, Switzerland, Dubai, and we’ve got another deal working in Saudi Arabia,” he said.

While the Taylors are able to ship vehicles overseas, they also have interest from those dwelling in Hollywood.

“We sold a police car for a movie. It’s funny that those movie scenes, when they need a vehicle, they search everywhere. It’s not just one locale, they’re trying to find the car they need that actually replicates the era and time,” Pattie Taylor said.

Running a successful business like the one run by both Bob and Pattie takes a lot of hard work and love for cars, and yet Pattie explains that for them, working together works extremely well.

“We find that we have such a love for the cars and a love for the business, and I think we both work well together because when he’s busy, I can entertain customers,” Pattie said.

While Bob buys and sells the vehicles, Pattie does the computer work and the books. The business is truly family-owned and run, especially with their dog the happy greeter.

According to Taylor, those interested in purchasing a car from the shop need to decide if it’s something they want as more of a collectable that is barely driven, or something that can be used on a daily basis.

Martha Warfel / Daily Vidette Photo Editor: Taylor, Bob and Pattie’s loving dog, greets customers and entertains guest at Bob Taylor’s Classic Auto.

“I like the older cars, but they’re not really that fun to drive, they’re more of a parade car, more of an investment than anything else,” Bob Taylor said.  “I like more of the muscle car, like the Corvettes.”

Currently, Bob and Pattie own around six or seven of their own personal cars, and buy and sell classic and muscle cars in order to fulfill buyers’ dreams.

“If [students] are lovers of cars, they just need to come by and look at a lot of history and a lot of nostalgic stuff and relive their childhood [and their parents’ childhood],” Taylor said.

According to Pattie, car clubs around town have been able to hold meetings and host car shows at the shop.

“If you’ve got a car club on campus, and maybe the group

might want to come in and have a meeting here, we can accommodate for a meeting and they can look around and explore while they’re here, and get a little bit of both,” Pattie said.

Whether one wants to see a car from the 1920s or 1930s, look at muscle cars or simply check out the gift shop and memorabilia spread throughout the show room, Bob Taylor’s Classic Auto is the only place to find it all within the area.

Car lovers can even come and get photos taken with some of the classic cars in the shop.  

“We’re here and [everyone] is welcome to come down and look at a piece of their past and history,” Bob Taylor said.