“This is a great time to buy a car. We have great deals and interest rates are low,” said Mark S. Frostrom, general manager and owner of Frostrom Subaru, the Pocomoke City dealership that has been serving Delmarva since 1970. “Last year Subaru was the only manufacturer to have an increase in sales. Subarus are recommended by Consumer Reports because they’re efficient, safe, economical and dependable” added the man whose business card reads, “We promise straight talk, low prices, good service.”
“He’s a man of few words,” said his sister, Christy, who joined the family business in 1979 as the office manager. That’s a surprising description considering he is just finishing a 12-year term as president of the Maryland Independent Automobile Dealers Association. Mark also served two years of active duty and four years of active reserve in the U.S. Navy before going into business with his father. His community involvements include membership in the Pocomoke Elks, Worcester County Ducks Unlimited, twice president of the Pocomoke Rotary Club, Worcester County Board of Elections supervisor for 10 years and a Deacon in Lynnhaven Baptist Church.
As a junior and senior in high school, Mark traveled daily to Wi-Hi in Salisbury because, at the time, it was the only high school in the area where he could study car mechanics in Vo-Tech. “My dad was an automobile mechanic,” he said with a wistful smile, “I wanted to follow in his footsteps.”
His father, Robert Frostrom Sr., came here from Pomona, Calif., with the Navy during WWII and was stationed at Wallops where he fell in love with a local girl, Mary Ellen Watson. They married and after the war they settled in Pocomoke where they raised their four children, Rob Jr., Mark, Christy and Gregg. Working first as a mechanic and then as a service manager for Ford and Chevrolet, and then as a service manager for Bob Lawrence VW in Salisbury, and later in the aviation section of NASA, he and Mark always dreamed of someday opening their own business.
The Frostrom dream became a reality in 1970, when they opened a small VW repair business at the current Market Street location. One year later a trail-blazing salesman arrived at the rural dealership. “This guy rolls up out front with his demonstrator,” said Mark. “It was the first Subaru I’d ever seen, and most people hadn’t seen one either,” he added. The result was the opening of the first Subaru dealership on the Eastern Shore — Frostrom Subaru — where their reputation for honesty and outstanding service continues to this day.
“Why go anywhere else?” said Michael Bernstein, owner of the Purple Pony Shirt Factory in Salisbury and Chincoteague, whose family has relied on Frostrom since Mark’s dad serviced the Bernstein VWs in the late 1950s — three generations ago. Whether purchasing a brand-new Subaru or one of the dealership’s fine selection of used models, like so many Eastern Shore families, the Bernsteins have always counted on Frostrom to provide them with personal service that is second to none. “Mark was a Five-Star dealer before anyone else,” said Bernstein. Sales follow-up includes customer orientation seminars for new owners.
Mark and his wife, Diane, live outside of Pocomoke on a five-acre tract where their love of animals ranging from the routine to mildly exotic is evident. Fallow deer, emus, ostriches, monkeys, cougars and wildfowl have all been residents of their private reserve. You might remember the breaking news story in Pocomoke some years back when the Frostrom’s cougar, Freddie, escaped. Although the story had a happy ending when Freddie was returned home safe and sound after a week, local schools canceled recess and residents phoned in with bizarre ‘Freddie Cougar’ sightings all over town. This love of animals began when their son, Mark Jr., became involved in Worcester County 4-H. Mark Jr., owner of LandEscapes, and his wife, Jenny, and children, Mark III and Logan, also reside in Pocomoke where they also have a collection of exotic animals.
“I must have got a half-dozen calls from news reporters the morning the list came out,” said Mark, referring to May 14th this year, when Chrysler’s list of franchise cancellations came out. For the man who had consistently been honored as an outstanding Jeep dealer for 31 years, had earned the Five-Star service award for the last 10 years and was still meeting sales goals for 2009, the news was hard to take. Especially since the only purpose of canceling was to move Jeep across the street to be with the Chrysler and Dodge franchises.
Many people assumed the news from Chrysler meant that Frostrom would close its doors forever. But, as the company heads into its 40th year, Mark assures us all that it’s “Business As Usual” at Frostrom Subaru!
Frostrom Subaru, 1727 Market St., Pocomoke City, Md., 410-957-1414, 1-800-932-2129, www.frostrom.com
