What was different about Toyota, as compared to Lincoln Mercury?
The Toyota relationship with the dealer body was – and is – exactly the opposite of the Big 3 relationship. Toyota and its dealers are on the same team, symbiotic rather than adversarial. Toyota would rather have its dealers make $2 over the $1 the Big 3 insist on. That builds a lot of faith in the factory team, as well as the product. It also paved the way for your landing one of the first Lexus franchises, didn’t it? It did indeed. We regard ourselves as the first Lexus dealer, opening in the new building in Tustin, CA just southwest of Orange. We opened in 1989 with the ES 300 and the LS 400, and who could have guessed Lexus would be the No. 1 luxury-car seller eleven years later? The Wilson Group’s growth – did it kick off from the Toyota of Orange and Tustin Lexus openings of the 1980s? And what is your growth philosophy? We grew steadily, taking on Toyota of Riverside, CA from a retiring owner in 1992, adding Ford of Orange and even acquiring adjacent Honda and Toyota stores in m
