Jerry Baker, my dad, is the owner and president of Liberty Autos. He was born in Houston, Texas in 1951. The son of a used car dealer, Jerry grew up in the business and learned every aspect of it as a young child. As a boy in the Heights, he helped his father, Elmo Baker, buy inventory, clean and repair cars, and even cut the grass. Working hard in the hot sun was par for the course. He saw as a boy what it means to work hard and run a business.

In August of 1981, Jerry opened Liberty Motor Sales at 810 Little York and began to sell and finance used cars. He purchased the original location from Bay Oil Company, which had previously been a Fina service station. During a hot Houston summer, Liberty Motor Sales emerged. As a husband and father of three small kids, Jerry worked long hours and took small profits. As a tiny girl, I’ll never forget the aftermath of Hurricane Alicia. It ripped the roof off of our building. One of my earliest memories is of my dad and one of our mechanics re-tarring our roof in the blazing Summer sun.  Buyers liked my dad’s approach, and Liberty Motor Sales flourished.

In 1986, Liberty Motors moved to one of its current locations at 209 W. Little York, and it soon became Liberty Auto Sales, INC. Jerry raised us kids much like his father had raised him. His three sons and daughter all learned the family business from getting firsthand experience on the car lot. As teenagers, I answered the phones and took payments while my brothers washed cars and learned how to sell them.

In 2007, Liberty Autos opened a second location at 6111 Airline Drive. Liberty also welcomed home one of its children. I spent five years as a High school teacher in Europe, and I was ready to come back home. I’ve taken on the role of Vice President. My little brother David also joined the business after graduating from college.

In 2012, the Liberty family welcomed the next generation into the business. I had twin girls, Avery and Lily, who began coming to the car lot as newborns!  In another growth spurt, Liberty opened its fourth location at 1725 Wirt Road in Spring Branch.

In 2014, my oldest brother Houston Baker has returned to Liberty Autos. I’m so excited that he is stepping into a very important leadership role here as General Manager of Operations. He actually hasn’t lived in the city of Houston since 1993. After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, he rose to the rank of Captain while stationed at Fort Hood, Texas. Ready to begin a family of his own, he married a High School sweetheart of his! He and Lyndsay had dated back when they were students at Nimitz High School, but they lost touch after Houston graduated. They rekindled their relationship after nearly a decade apart. They now have two beautiful daughters and one strapping son!  After completing his commitment to the Army, Houston worked in Austin for Dell Computers as Manager of Services and Support. A few years later He moved to the open cloud company Rackspace Hosting as Director of Operations and Director of Enterprise, Sales, and Support. He brings to Liberty extensive knowledge of the tech world and an expertise in Operations.

There are more members of Liberty with whom I do not share a last name, but they are family to me just the same.

Jessica began working at Liberty in 1995 after graduating from Lamar High School. She started here when she was a teenager and when we were just one location. I stood as a bridesmaid in her wedding and celebrated the births of her son and daughter with her. Jessica took the brave step of opening our first expansion lot when Liberty had to grow beyond one location. She managed our lot on Airline until Liberty opened its fourth location. As an experienced manager, she now heads up our Wirt Road location and has taken the position of Retail Operations Manager. Soon Jessica will be celebrating her 20th anniversary with us!

Two years after Jessica started at Liberty, she brought in her little sister. Esthela began working at Liberty in 1997, also right after graduating from Sam Houston High School. She learned the ins and outs of the business as she too got married and began her family. She had the first Liberty baby! Her son Alex is now ten years old! As her sister, Jessica, moved on to manage our fourth lot, Esthela stepped into the manager role of our Airline location.

In 1998, Juanita Palomares began working at Liberty, after she graduated from Sam Houston High School as well. She learned the ropes, and over the past fifteen years has developed into a skilled car buyer and an expert at handling car titles. She brought her own Liberty baby into our family just six years ago with the birth of her son Sebastien. Today Juanita is the Wholesale Operations Manager.

Today Liberty has over thirty employees and four retail locations. The journey from the Liberty Motor Sales of 1981 to the Liberty Auto Sales, INC. of today has included many people of talent and dedication. Liberty is a special place. It’s a business where the employees, management, and owner truly work side by side. We’re in step, next
to each other, carrying the load together. Liberty will still be here in twenty years, thirty years, fifty years, because of the whole Liberty family, linking arms together, and walking forward into the future. This has been and continues to be a story of a family that works hard and cares for each other. We also care about the car you drive. Come see us, and we’ll show you what it’s like to buy a better car for a better price from people who care.