Pub. 2 2013 Issue 1

10 San Diego Dealer A lot of dealers get into the business by chance. Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? Are there any specific individuals that had a major impact on your career? My father was a Ford Dealer in Denver, Colorado where I was raised. After graduating from college, I considered get- ting into the car business. My father was of the opinion there may be better things to pursue. He suggested something where you didn’t have to deal with managing so many people, inventories, sales variability, etc. He recommended my other consideration of going to law school. His comment was an attorney doesn’t have to deal with those things and besides “we deal with attorneys all the time.” So I went to law school, passed the bar, and practiced law for five years in Colorado only to end up with a bunch of car dealers as clients who were making more money and not working as much as I was (it seemed). So I decided with my father’s assistance to get into the business. A friend of his in San Diego, Ivor deKirby, owned Pearson Ford and wanted to sell for health reasons. We made a deal at his dining room table and I became the dealer at Pearson Ford in March 1984 right after my 30th birthday. What’s the most rewarding part of your career? Taking a business that is struggling financially andmaking it successful. When I took over, Pearson was struggling. Eventually, it became one of Ford’s top-selling dealerships in the country and was the recipient of numerous awards for its performance. In 2008, at the depth of the reces- sion, I was able to sell the property at Pearson and merge the operation with Kearny Mesa Ford and Kia, which was also struggling. From the outset, themerger has been successful and now Kearny Pearson Ford and Kia is one of the most successful Ford and Kia dealerships in the country. Likewise, I have owned Raceway Ford in Riverside since 1989. That market and the dealership have experienced both tremendous growth and shrinkage. We are now back in a growth mode and it is tremendously rewarding to see this after such difficult times. A s one of the most respected dealers in the state of California, John McCallan has been an ambassador for the New Car Dealers Association for over 25 years. By Shauna Guerrero John McCallan An Interview with Dealer What do you see as the dominant trends for the industry in the next 5-10 years? The car business will continue to be challenged on many fronts. First, profitability due to manufacturers’pressures to sell and the competitive landscape; second, retaining and properly rewarding qualified employees in a demanding sales environment; and third, service department environ- ment, which is converting more and more from repairs to maintenance. Additional challenges will continue from an unfriendly state and federal legislative and regulatory environment, as well as from aggressive, and often unethical, plaintiff’s attorneys who use a dysfunctional civil justice system to their unfair advantage.