COLUMBIA, S.C. — Longtime auto dealer Dick Dyer Sr. died June 27 at age . In the mid-1950s, he started as a salesman at Courtesy Ford in Charlotte, N.C. In 1969, he opened Dyer & Beck Mercedes-Benz-Toyota in Columbia, S.C., which became Dick Dyer Toyota. That store and Dick Dyer Mercedes-Benz-Volvo remain family operated. Sonic Automotive Inc. acquired Dyer & Dyer Volvo near Atlanta in 1998.