For most of my career, my reputation has been intertwined with Nissan. But before I came to notoriety as a Nissan dealer, I was loyal to a different Japanese automaker – Toyota.
My entry into the car business began as a salesman at Toyota Bell Road in Phoenix, Arizona. At the time, I was already familiar with the brand’s automotive prowess, having owned a Toyota Tacoma SR5. What I really learned at the job, however, was the depths of Toyota’s quality, culture, and the values that determine how they operate on a daily basis.
When I started at Bell Road, Toyota had been on American soil for 30 years. Just a couple of years prior, in 1986, the brand became the first import automaker to sell more than one million vehicles in the U.S. in a single year. In other words, Toyota was selling like wildfire, and it was clear as a salesman that the brand had upped-the-ante on what consumers expected from their vehicles.
In the early stages of my career, I briefly moved brands as I climbed the ladder from being a salesman to General Manager. That was until I was offered a position in Las Vegas at Toyota West. In just a year’s time, the same company transferred me to take over their Nissan store, Nissan West, which later prepared me for running United Nissan.
Once I became a dealer, I immediately knew I wanted to join the Toyota franchise; it was a longtime dream of mine. When that happened earlier this year after I acquired 3 dealerships in Imperial Valley, it felt like a blessing.
Even though I am the new kid on the block, I feel like I’ve been with the brand forever. I learned very quickly another side to Toyota, which is their commitment to building relationships with their dealers. They treat our matters like it’s equally important to them.
The same philosophy I apply to build trust between my teams is the same that Toyota does for their dealers. They make sure to emphasize the importance of what we’re doing, and they make it a priority to support us in all areas. From people to performance and profitability, Toyota ensures they are doing the most to assist us. That’s why I think being a Toyota dealer is so inspiring; you really feel like you’re working with a partner who has your best interest at heart.
It’s clear having worked with Toyota as a salesman, Finance Director, and now as a dealer, that they truly embody their “Respect for People” and “Continuous Improvement” ethos. My testimonial is only one perspective, but you don’t have to just take my word for it. There’s a reason Toyota ranked No. 1 car company for the sixth consecutive year on Fortune Magazine’s “World’s Most Admired Companies” list.
Besides operating with integrity on an internal level, I also admire Toyota’s initiative to use its influence for positive change. Companies of their stature have world-changing influence, and Toyota’s “Beyond Zero” flagship is one example of how they plan to change the future. Most auto manufacturers have goals of reducing their carbon footprint to zero, but Toyota (like how they raised the bar with their vehicles) plans to go beyond that and into a net positive impact.
Today, the brand remains the world’s leading manufacturer of hybrid cars with more than 1.7 million hybrid vehicles on the road. And though they weren’t the first to release an all-electric mass-market vehicle (props to Nissan with the LEAF), they certainly aren’t late to the game.
The new bZ4X that was announced at the LA Auto Show marks the beginning of Toyota’s electrification era, and I believe this will be a turning point for the auto industry. I also anticipate incremental business growth from the upcoming, all-new 2022 Toyota Tundra. I was fortunate to see it at the National Dealer Show, and again at the Regional Dealer Show, and to say the least, it’s fantastic. It needed to be redone and the next generation will surely give competitors in the segment a run for their money. Overall, the next era for Toyota’s lineup seems promising and I’m eager to see what they have in store.
