Early History

• Les Kelley left Arkansas and moved to California when he was 17 years old. Lacking money or a job, Les hesitantly sold his car to a friend. With this money, he bought another car, fixed it up and traded it for two used cars along with a little cash. He continued buying, reconditioning and selling used cars, using the money to pay for his college education.
  
  

Beginnings

• In 1918, Les Kelley opened a used car dealership, the Kelley Kar Company, with an inventory of three Model T Fords. His brother Buster worked at the business supervising the repair shop while Les managed the sales. Needing to purchase inventory for the business, Les compiled a list of desired automobiles along with the prices that he would pay and distributed this list to other car dealerships and banking facilities. Les gained the trust of the automotive community for his knowledge of current car values and these community members began requesting their own lists to use. Les realized that he could provide a continuing and valuable service for bankers and dealers.
  
  

First Book

• Les expanded his automobile value listings and published the initial "Blue Book of Motor Car Values" in 1926. The book listed loan values and suggested retail prices, and was an indicator of how the mileage of a vehicle affected the value. Only automotive industry businesses such as financial institutions, insurance companies and car dealerships could subscribe to the bimonthly Blue Book.
  
  

Changes

• The car dealership and the Blue Book continued to grow in leaps and bounds. The Kelley's sold the car dealership business in the late 1950's, and by 1962 the Kelley's devoted all of their time to expanding the Blue Book. Buster was publisher of the book and his son Bob was assistant publisher. Les remained an active figure in the business until his death at the age of 93 in 1990.
  
  

Today

• A consumer edition of the Blue Book became available in 1993 and today consumers can purchase an updated copy of the book that features 15 years of automobile values on over 10,000 models of vehicles. In 1995, after the introduction of the Internet, "Kelley Blue Book" became available online and consumers can access the kbb.com website to search for new car prices, trade-in values, private party values, suggested retail values and certified pre-owned values of used vehicles. Visitors of the website can perform automobile research, compare vehicles and explore car reviews as well as view trade-in values of motorcycles, personal watercraft and snowmobiles.