Mark Motors of Ottawa - Porsche
1935 Louis Mrak was born in Maribor, Slovenia, just 16 kilometers from the Austrian border. He was raised by a foster family who had 7 children of their own.
1952 Louis moved to Austria to escape the Communist rule. His time in Austria was fulfilling with education at a mechanics college and a good job. At the age of 21, he was hungry to travel the world. And so he did. He boarded the SS Columbia, one of the smallest Ocean liners crossing the Atlantic. It was a 2week voyage to Canada.
1956 Louis Mrak came to Canada by boat and landed in Montreal. The train took him from Montreal to Bourget where the train never stopped…..just slowed down enough for him to jump off and for them to drop off the mail bags. He came to Canada with no knowledge of the English language, a suitcase and a few dollars in his pocket. He learned the English language as he worked at a service center in Rockland and took some classes. He remembers coming to Canada in one of the hottest, most humid summers. He always wondered why the residents of Rockland would burn a fire in front of their homes in barrels. It was the only way to keep the swarms of mosquitoes away from the house.
1957 Met his future wife Margaret Rapp (maiden name), who also came to Canada from Hanover, Germany around the same time. She in fact, supported him during the earlier years with his room and board. She was employed by the Chateau Laurier at the time and they married in 1959. They've been married for 50 years since November 2009.
1959 Louis Mrak opened up his business and called it Mark Motors. It was located a few doors down on Montreal rd from the current 611 Montreal rd location. He opened it up as a central European car service center. At the time he had 2 mechanics that worked along with him.
1961 he moved Mark Motors to 611 Montreal rd. and hired another 2 mechanics to make up a team of 5 technicians whom repaired European cars.
1973 Louis Mrak bought the popular Royal Burger spot beside his service garage and hire another 2 technicians
Over Mark Motors’ 50 year history Louis Mrak has represented some of the greatest car companies in the world; BMW, Alpha Romeo, Lamborghini, and Lloyd - but his focus and passion lay with Porsche and Audi.
1974 Porsche gave Louis the franchise to sell and service the renowned sports car.
1976 Audi followed shortly behind with their offer of a franchise.
Louis and Margaret have four children Andreas (Bodyshop manager), Michael (General Manager), Vincent (Assistant Body shop manager) and Liza (Business Development manager). All of them currently work in the business.
Louis and Margaret have always been a big support of the Austrian and German community. Louis was honored by the Austrian Canadian Council in November 2008 with a gold medal recognition or outstanding support and service in the community.
Louis and Margaret have been long time supporters of the Austrian Viennese Winter Ball which happens every year in Ottawa.
Louis, Margaret and the family are also big supporters of the National Arts Center and the NAC Orchestra. They have supported the Orchestra for over 10 years and plan to continue to support the arts.
In 2005, Mark Motors opened up a stand alone Audi Flagship store on Hunt Club Rd.
Louis and Margaret support the wildlife and are big animal lovers.
No signs of retirement for Louis who still comes in everyday to work and sometimes even on Sunday’s if necessary to catch up on some work
Mark Motors used to host Porsche Days that would draw hundreds of people to the 611 Montreal Rd location to see all years and models of Porsches.
