Bob Kelley, the former publisher of Irvine-based Kelley Blue Book who came from a family with deep roots in Southern California’s car culture, died May 28 at his home in Indian Wells. He was 96.
Born in Los Angeles in 1927, Kelley joined his family’s dealership, Kelley Kar Company and Kelley Blue Book, after serving in World War II.
The family business got its start in 1918 when Kelley’s uncle, Les Kelley, launched the Los Angeles car dealership with just three Model T Fords. The eponymous car appraisal business debuted in 1926 and would become the essential guide for used cars across the United States.
The Los Angeles Times in an obituary of Les Kelley in 1990 wrote that Kelley Blue Book was used by nearly all automotive trade, banks, financial institutions and courts of law in the West when establishing the value of cars.
Kelley’s father Buster Kelley managed the business for many years before Bob Kelley took the helm.
Known for his expertise in appraising, reconditioning and pricing, Kelley would help the dealership sell hundreds of used cars a month.
The dealership was sold in the 1960s, leaving Bob and Kelley Blue Book to grow from its well-known book form into a popular internet resource. Kelley also extended the Blue Book’s coverage to imports, trucks, motorcycles, RVs, mobile homes, and new and classic/collector cars.
His son-in-law and former KBB editor Charlie Vogelheim said it was Kelley who moved the Blue Book in the late 1970s to Irvine.
“Bob was unique in his varied and deep background with used cars,” he said via email Friday, May 31. “He took great pride in taking on the challenge of accurately representing all vehicles in a pocket-sized book. That challenge led him to welcome new technologies (computer then internet) which enabled the opportunity to provide more timely and specific valuations.”
The storied Blue Book, now more commonly known as kbb.com, was sold in 2010 to Cox Automotive’s Autotrader.com for a reported $500 million.
Kelley, a longtime Newport Beach resident, is survived by his wife of over 50 years Wanda, five children, 12 grandchildren, 10 great-grandchildren and his sister.