In the early 1900s when the automobile was slowly making its debut in Lassen County, it was part novelty and somewhat of a luxury. There were two obstacles that needed to overcome the locals acceptance of this new method of transportation. A major one was there were no mechanics to service the automobile. In March 1910, Susanville’s first combination automobile garage and car dealership opened for business. It was named the Empire Auto Livery Company owned by Otto Wiencke and John Zimmerman. It was soon followed by J.S. Tremain’s garage. The other contributing factor were roads, but soon this would change. In 1916, California began an ambitious campaign to build a state highway system which would connect every county seat.
In 1917, Tremain put his business on the market for $7,000. Big Valley resident, Ernest “Ernie” Smith was interested. Smith was able to raise $6,000 from financial backers, but was short of the remaining $1,000. Another Big Valley resident, James Fay was looking for a business opportunity, and this venture appealed to him. On August 1, 1917, Tremain sold to new firm of Fay & Smith Auto Company. Shortly, thereafter they became the town’s first Ford dealership. After six years in business, Fay wanted out to move to Sacramento. In 1924, Smith obliged and renamed his new enterprise the Smith Auto Company.