Half a Century in the Fast Lane: Terry Atamian and Atamian Honda Hits 50 in Tewksbury

Terry Atamian’s hometown dealership marks a golden anniversary built on grease, grit, and good karma

TEWKSBURY, MA, UNITED STATES, October 26, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Some businesses chase trends. Atamian Honda chased a passion. On October 27, 2026, the family-run dealership at 150 Main Street will blow out 50 candles, capping five decades of wrenching, selling, and showing up for neighbors across Tewksbury, Lowell, and Greater Boston. What started as a kid’s stubborn love affair with Honda engineering now rolls on as a 40,000-square-foot operation helmed by President Terry Atamian— with no signs of slowing down.

To celebrate, the dealership will host an anniversary luncheon on October 27 honoring the employees, customers, partners, and families who’ve kept the wheels turning since the Honda franchise first opened its doors in 1976.

It All Started with a Sunk Minibike

The Atamian Honda origin story doesn’t open in a boardroom — it opens at Pout Pond in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, with a teenage Terry Atamian and a Honda QA50 minibike at the bottom of the drink. Rather than panic, the young rider fished the waterlogged machine out, yanked the spark plug, dried things out, and fired the engine back up on the spot.

That minibike didn’t just survive the pond — it sealed the deal on Terry’s conviction that Honda builds machines you can count on. A few years later, when his father, Bob Atamian — a seasoned Volkswagen dealer — weighed adding a second franchise amid VW’s mid-1970s struggles, Terry Atamian lobbied hard for Honda over every other option on the table, pointing to its world-class engineering and bulletproof reputation. On October 27, 1976, Atamian Honda opened in Tewksbury as a d/b/a of Atamian Volkswagen Incorporated.

“I grew up around cars and motorcycles, and one lesson came early: engineering quality is everything — and Honda lived it,” said Terry Atamian, President of Atamian Honda.

“Fifty years on, that same promise — build it right, treat people right — still drives every decision we make.”

A Family Deep in the Auto Game

The Atamian family didn’t just join the automotive world — they helped build it, thread by thread, for more than a century. Archie Atamian ran Atamian and Lindquist Trucking in Uxbridge in the early 1900s. His brother Nish built a retail empire of Rambler dealerships across Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston before opening Atamian Ford at 930 Commonwealth Ave. In 1961, Eli and Bob Atamian launched Atamian Motors in Worcester. By the late ’60s, Bob had planted the family flag in Tewksbury with Atamian Volkswagen — setting the table for Honda’s arrival seven years later.

As Honda momentum took over, the Volkswagen franchise was sold and the Main Street property was redeveloped into a Honda-only operation. With additional land acquired, the dealership grew into a modern, roughly 40,000-square-foot facility. As The Lowell Sun reported on July 15, 2010, Terry Atamian unveiled a multi-million-dollar expansion at the time — noting the dealership had doubled its workforce to about 70 employees over two decades without a single layoff.

Giving Back Is the Family Business Too

For the Atamians, community isn’t a marketing line — it’s muscle memory. The Lowell Sun (2010) reported the dealership donates close to $100,000 a year to local charities and causes, including the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, The Genesis Fund, Boys & Girls Club, the Tewksbury Patriotic Activities Committee, T.H.E. Farm Tewksbury, Tewksbury Youth Soccer, Little League, and Girls Softball, among many others.

And the giving continues: this past July, Terry Atamian placed a $36,000 winning bid for a tour of Jay Leno’s legendary car collection, benefiting physical therapy scholarships at UMass Lowell — a tribute to his late brother, Robbie Atamian (https://www.uml.edu/news/stories/2026/leno-tour.aspx).

“Fifty years isn’t really about us — it’s about the trust this community has handed us, generation after generation,” said Terry Atamian. “We’re grateful to everyone who’s ridden along with us, and we plan to be here, serving this region, for a long time to come.”

About Atamian Honda

Atamian Honda, located at 150 Main Street, Tewksbury, MA, has served Greater Boston, Tewksbury, and Lowell since October 27, 1976. Led by President Terry Atamian, the dealership continues the Atamian family’s long tradition in the automotive industry. For more information, visit https://terryatamian.com/

Address: 150 Main Street, Tewksbury, MA 01876

Terry Atamian
Atamian Honda
rewards@atamian.com