Pub. 3 2015 Issue 4

10 San Diego Dealer H ow did you become a car dealer? Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? In 1988, I moved to Los Angeles from St. Louis, Missouri to come and be part of the California culture. I wasn’t decided for sure that I was going to be in the automotive industry, although I had some previous experience in it. I came out here more for motorcycle racing and to have some fun doing things that youwouldn’t have the opportunity to do stuck in a small town in theMidwest. I spent a lot of time in Springfield, Missouri which is a lot smaller than St. Louis. I originally came out to California to race threewheelers, hoping to do that professionally. Three-wheelers were later banned because they weren’t safe and were no longer supported at a professional level. So I had to go back doing what I knew how to do, and that was selling cars. I worked for Pacific Coast Ford in Oxnard for about a year. I worked my way up from Salesman to Finance Manager. The General Manager from that store, Art Dorrin, moved to San Diego in May of 1989 to start working as the General Manager for El Cajon Ford. One month later he invited me to join him in. He wanted me to take the position of Used Car Manager. In a big town like San Diego, at 23 years old, I thought that it just isn’t going to get any better than this, I’d better go! So I moved to San Diego and started working for Mr. Leader who is the owner of El Cajon Ford. I just really found it to be home. I loved the area, I loved the store, I loved the people, and I said that if I ever get the chance to be a dealership owner, I want to own a part of this store. So I worked my way up from Used Car Sales Manager to Sales Manager to General Sales Manager and in 2007, Mr. Leader was kind enough to give myself and another partner in the store, John Blake, a piece of the store. John Blake is the Controller of the store and he is a long-time 30 year employee of El Cajon Ford. Do you have family members in the auto industry? I think in time my youngest son may join the dealership in a sales capacity, but right now he’s getting ready to go off to college in the fall. Describe your education background. What did you study? I finished my freshman year of college at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. I took a summer job as a salesman at Douglas Toyota in Springfield, (a huge Toyota store at the time) and somehow in my first month in the car business, I was Salesman of the Month. I found I really enjoyed selling cars. Are there any specific individuals that had a major impact on your career? Of course Mr. Leader, he has taught me that hard work pays off. Also Art Dorrin for hiring me in Los Angeles and then bringing me to San Diego. My Dad has also impacted my career by teaching me to always treat everyone with respect. What is the most rewarding part of your career? I have enjoyed becoming involvedwith somany good people and their families, whether it’s employees, which we have great employees, to the customers in our dealership. Currently, over 20 employees have worked here for over 25 years, which to me is unheard of in the car business. We also have about 30 employees getting ready to celebrate their 15 year anniversaries. I get to know the people that work here, our customers, and their families. I consider so many of our customers to be like family. I think it’s getting the chance to meet great people and work with great people that has been the most rewarding part of my career. What do you see will be the dominant trends in the next 5-10 years? I think the major change in the auto industry will be self-driving cars. The technology is here now, it’s just whether the public is ready for it and how that transition is going to happen. I think the next 10 years are going to be super exciting as we see a major change in how we get around and what happens to our cars. What is the biggest importance of being a NCDA member, what makes it beneficial? In the short time as a boardmember I have learned a lot of things from the other dealers. Learning about the good and bad issues that have affected their businesses will ultimately help our dealership become stronger. Do you have past experiences that help your leadership in NCDA? Currently I’m inmy second term as the Chairman of the San Diego Ford Advertising Association. We have once a month meetings with every Interview with Paul Dyke Photographs by Pete Liebig