Company History
Price Books and Forms, Inc. was founded as Dealers' Aid
Company (DACO) in 1930 by Orville L. Willard. As a Ford
Motor Company representative, Mr. Willard saw a need for
the automotive pricing information received by the local
dealerships to be in a more appropriate form for the
dealers' use and in quantities for their sales forces. Also, a need was seen for various forms for use by the
dealerships. During the Depression, the company struggled
during its first years, handling only local dealerships'
needs. With the post-War boom, it grew into a company
servicing the needs of automotive dealerships nationwide.
During the '50's and '60's the company's most prominent product, the price book, was formulated. In the late '50's, Mr. Willard became ill and retired leaving his son-in-law, Stephen J. Larson, at the helm. It was at this time that the company changed its name to Price Books and Forms, Inc. (PB&F) to more accurately reflect its product line. Stephen ran the company until 1987 when his son, Dard D. Larson became president and is managing the company today.
The Automotive Price Book has evolved into a pocket-size reference guide for use by the sales staffs of automotive dealerships nationwide. For the first 30 years, the only information reflected was Ford Motor Company. In the early '60's books for Chevrolet Division were added, and in subsequent years other makes and manufacturers were added until today all domestic makes are represented in individual books. Factory sponsored books are published for Nissan and Infiniti.
In the mid-80's, General Motors contracted with Price Books and Forms to create and maintain an automotive product and pricing database, the first of its kind. The automotive database is now an important part of the business.
A recently introduced product is the new iDeal® mobile sales service which includes automotive data and related business application formatted for PDAs and smartphones and delivered to users as an updating service.
Price Books and Forms has also launched AutoAngle.com, a website to help consumers research and accurately configure and price the car they want and request quotes from local dealers.
During the '50's and '60's the company's most prominent product, the price book, was formulated. In the late '50's, Mr. Willard became ill and retired leaving his son-in-law, Stephen J. Larson, at the helm. It was at this time that the company changed its name to Price Books and Forms, Inc. (PB&F) to more accurately reflect its product line. Stephen ran the company until 1987 when his son, Dard D. Larson became president and is managing the company today.
The Automotive Price Book has evolved into a pocket-size reference guide for use by the sales staffs of automotive dealerships nationwide. For the first 30 years, the only information reflected was Ford Motor Company. In the early '60's books for Chevrolet Division were added, and in subsequent years other makes and manufacturers were added until today all domestic makes are represented in individual books. Factory sponsored books are published for Nissan and Infiniti.
In the mid-80's, General Motors contracted with Price Books and Forms to create and maintain an automotive product and pricing database, the first of its kind. The automotive database is now an important part of the business.
A recently introduced product is the new iDeal® mobile sales service which includes automotive data and related business application formatted for PDAs and smartphones and delivered to users as an updating service.
Price Books and Forms has also launched AutoAngle.com, a website to help consumers research and accurately configure and price the car they want and request quotes from local dealers.