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Ryan LaFontaine on Building a Family-First Dealership Empire

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Ryan LaFontaine shares how family values, resilience, and a long-term vision helped transform LaFontaine Automotive Group into one of Michigan's largest dealership organizations. In this Executive Profile, the CEO reflects on the lessons he learned from his parents, overcoming cancer during one of the company's most pivotal moments, and why culture remains the foundation of every business decision. He also discusses fixed operations, affordability challenges, Chinese automakers, pricing transparency, and what it takes to build a dealership group that lasts for generations.

In this episode, you'll learn:

  •  How Ryan LaFontaine's parents shaped the culture behind LaFontaine Automotive Group. 
  •  The personal cancer battle that changed his leadership philosophy. 
  •  Why treating employees "like family" remains central to the company's success. 
  •  How fixed operations and used vehicles provide long-term stability. 
  •  His perspective on vehicle affordability, Chinese automakers, and FTC pricing transparency. 
  •  Why building a dealership for every customer—and every stage of life—is key to future growth

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Executive Profile with Jim Fitzpatrick.
For more interviews with the leaders shaping retail automotive, visit CBTNews.com and subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast platform.
If you enjoyed the episode, please rate, review, and share it with someone in the industry.

Welcome And Why Ryan Matters

SPEAKER_03

Hello everyone, I'm Jim Fitzpatrick. On this edition of the Executive Profile, I sat down with one of the automotive industry's most respected power dealer leaders, Ryan LaFontaine, CEO of LaFontaine Power Automotive Group in Michigan. The La Fontaine name has become synonymous with growth, innovation, art, and a commitment to people who are both customers and employees. But behind the success of one of the nation's most recognized dealership groups is a story that begins long before the boardroom. It's a story rooted in family, hard work, values, and lessons passed down from generation to generation. In this conversation, we're going beyond the business headlines and dealership acquisitions. To learn more about the person behind the title, we'll explore Ryan's upbringing, his earliest experiences in the automotive business, and the profound influence both his father, Michael Lafontaine, and his mother Maureen had on shaping his leadership philosophy, work ethic, and vision for the future. Ryan's journey offers valuable insights not only for automotive professionals, but for anyone interested in leadership or family business and building a legacy that lasts. Here now is Ryan LaFontaine on the Executive Profile for exclusively on CBT News. The Executive Profile is sponsored by the Dave Canton Group.

Growing Up In A Dealer Family

SPEAKER_03

Ryan, thank you so much for allowing us to come into your dealership here and spend some time with you.

SPEAKER_01

My pleasure. I appreciate it very much.

SPEAKER_03

So let's go back in the beginning here. I mean, you've been a very uh automotive family. Um where were you brought up? You were brought up right here in the in where we are right now in Highland?

SPEAKER_01

Uh very much so. I've lived in uh Highland all my life since I was six months old, moving from Farmington here, okay, from that perspective. This store wasn't where it was back then, right? From all perspectives, in 1984, we bought a Pontiac Calla GMC store in downtown Milford, which is about 15 minutes from here. Okay, right on a side street. And this store back then sold 25 cars a year. 25 cars a year. Okay, okay, yeah. It's growing just a little bit.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, it's my backyard. That's fantastic. Wow. And your dad uh was the dealer, right? And uh your mom joined him shortly after she they opened.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yes and no. So my dad started with a Toyota store in 1980. So he started selling cars in 1966 uh at a uh Volkswagen Pucho Mazza store. Oh, boy. Uh became part owner in that store, okay, and then broke off in 1980 and bought his own store in Dearborn, Michigan, a Toyota store, which those that know Dearborn, uh that's Ford Headquarters, that's you know, domestic headquarters, at least back then. Of course, right? To start off at a Toyota store, right, in Dearborn, right, was definitely unique in the business. Yeah, and then uh my mom went from being a stay-home mom to selling at that store, and then we had the opportunity in 1984 to buy the Pontiac Kelly Chansey store, and she became the dealer principal of that store. So she ran that store, my dad ran the import stores, and we kind of grew it from there.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, as I mentioned before we got recording, my wife and I had the pleasure of meeting your parents on a trip to Cuba a few years back, and we were just amazed with your mom's uh knowledge of the overall industry. She was a legend in the industry, wasn't she?

SPEAKER_01

Oh, by far. She was four foot eleven, but by far she was a giant, right? A mom, everyone called her Madre inside the company. It's because I called her Madre, right? She taught us a family deal, right? Even back then, she didn't realize her actions. She was defining who we are as a company, our culture, right? The family side of it really comes by that because everyone said, I remember when I started my career, right, selling cars at 15. I remember when summer asked her, hey mom, how do I never lose my way? She said it's simple. Treat your employees like family, treat your customers like family. So, really, the family philosophy, right? My mom would come in four foot eleven, but give you a big giant bear hug. Everyone just felt like she was she was family, like and she just treated you that way. So it really kind of was exuded to what we are today from all philosophies, but her presence, her passion, her energy, right, is still alive. We reference her in our spirit of work, right? In everything that we do, right, from all those aspects. Because most people don't know I learned my career or understudied under her majority of the time. That's right. Right. So I spent most of my time at the Highlands tour.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, that's great. That's great. And uh big part of your dad uh and your mom's success, right? The fact that you really do run this like a family. I mean, you've got so many associates that have been with you a long period of time, which is tough in the industry.

SPEAKER_01

It it is, but by far, I don't look at him as employees. As if you go around the entire company, we have 3,100 family members. Wow, right? And we really know them. So everyone runs their operation differently. I've only been in one company all my life, right? And I poured into it. Back then when I got out college, we had the two stores, right, to where we're at today. But that same philosophy, you go store by store, we're not a corporation. I hate corporations, no it, no disrespect, yeah, but we're a family-run business, right? We just have a lot of them. So when you go in the store, you'll be shocked how many of the people, whether it be technicians, porters, office parts that know us, right? That I know personally, I know their kids, I know all about them, right? Because we're traveling store to store, right? I don't know how to be an absentee owner, I know how to be in the thick of things, really just side by side, that's great, right? With all of our family members, porn each other. That's great. Iron sharpens iron, they make me better, and I pray that I make them better along this journey as well.

Scaling Without Losing The Family Feel

SPEAKER_03

That's great. Well, I I have a tendency to believe that you do. You do make them better. But uh so let's talk about the company today. How many locations, how many franchises?

SPEAKER_01

So we're up to 45 dealerships. Wow. When you look at franchises, some are duplicated. We'd probably be in the 60s or 70s because we have duplication of the brands, right? And depending on how you define them with Chrysler's Telanus and all the different brands and subsets. But we're all the way through Michigan. Everything's in Michigan. So when you look at it, we're from Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, all the way to obviously St. Clair and everywhere in between. We've really been trying to be disciplined about growth in Michigan, our backyard, right? Because I'm, again, not absentee. I go to all the stores. Okay. We travel them all, right? And obviously, I want to be intimate and involved with my managers, right? I don't like hierarchy and all these layers. Really, all the GMs report directly to me, right? We collaborate, and I sit here and get the bouncings off my dad, who's also my best friend, sure. About how do we want to grow the store? What do we want to do? How do we want to sit here and look at the vision, not just today, but 20 years from now. Right. What do we want the legacy to look like? And it's just been a blessing.

SPEAKER_03

Sure, sure. When you look back and you think about when you just started out selling cars at 15 years old and those those early days, did you ever imagine that you'd be at some 40 plus stores?

SPEAKER_01

I mean, when you look at your dreams and aspirations, I you can never uh quantitate exactly where you go, right? You just want to pour your heart and passion into each and every day.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Right? When every aspect, when I look up that sign, what drove me is I I looked at that, that wasn't my my last name. My mom and dad forged a path for us. I gotta earn my right. So every day I try to

Proving Yourself Beyond The Last Name

SPEAKER_01

work diligently and be honest with you, my age, being young, try to outwork everyone from that perspective and really do it through the through the philosophy of obviously work ethic, grit, passion, heart, integrity, right? Those family core values that we talk about. But if you go back to those days, I remember when I became sales manager at 21, right? It was unique. It was that store. I remember talking to the general manager, right, interviewing him for two hours on why you want to select me, right? Because I didn't want to get the position because of my last name. I want to make sure we looked at the vision, what he saw of a growth.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

And I I after going through that process and getting selected for the role, right, I sat down with the zone manager a weekend, right? And back then, zone managers would be the ones coming helping you with allocation or inventory incentives, things that were going on with General Motors. I remember I was super passionate, all excited, right? 21 years old saying, Hey, how do I become number one in the nation? Sure. Right. And I could still see the guy in front of me sitting there, right? He started laughing at me hysterically. He said, Ryan, you gotta aim your sights lower. You'll never be number one in the nation at Highland, Michigan. I guess he just didn't know our drive or tenacity. Now, mind you, back then we were probably number 18th out of like 25 stores. So we were a small store, great run store, yeah, but we were small. So, of course, 21 coming into him and saying, I want to be number one in the nation, right? He looked at it and again started laughing at me. But that fueled the fire. Of course. We spent 10 years grinding side by side with so many great people. I love to say, look at what I did, or my dad, or my mom. We have so many family members that have poured into it with our family of employees that do it each and every day. Yeah, but in that time period, we finally, the day we moved in this store in 2009, 2008, right, became number one dealer in the entire country for Pontiac. Wow. Right. So the year of 2009, right, we actually were 1,218 Pontiac sold that year. I'll never forget. Wow. No one can ever take it away from us. The number one Pontiac deal in the world, right here in Ireland, Michigan. And it was a pride moment of going to my dad saying, we did it.

SPEAKER_03

We did it. That's awesome. That's awesome.

Cancer, Vulnerability, And Momentum

SPEAKER_03

Now, 2008 was a pivotal year for you personally, right? Talk to us about that.

SPEAKER_01

So 2008, it was a lot of trials and tribulations, right? We get tested for different reasons. Sometimes we just don't know. I went from never missing a day of work, right, in my entire life for being sick, to all of a sudden I'm at dinner with my mom and dad while this store that we're in was under construction and I was coughing a ton, right? I remember we're just feeling my neck right here, and there was a perfectly round uh ball up there. I'm like, that's weird, right? Don't think much of it. I do go to the doctors, yeah, right, and get checked out. He didn't think it was much, thought it might be the construction dust, gave me some allergy stuff, gave me an inhaler, and told me the lump was nothing. Thank God he pushed me there a month later, and I went further, and they checked further and found out that I had cancer. So it was unique. I didn't tell anyone but my family for the first two months of my cancer treatments because this was what was going on. This this building was getting produced. There's so much excitement, right? And I'm not one that tells people my problems. Usually everyone comes to me with their problems. I'm supposed to solve them. But I remember we moved in the store by June 2nd of 2008. We had a huge flag raising. CNN was here, tons of people were here. I think we had you know five, six, seven hundred there just for that opening day, let alone the couple hundred thousand, or I mean two thousand people that came to the grand opening. But after we did CNN, after we went out there and told everyone about what we're doing, and the first green store, go lead certified, return of motors, right? I came in and actually told all our employees that I have cancer. Wow. One of the most humbling things I've ever had to do, but I found strength and vulnerability. So as I told them, and of course we were emotional, shedding tears, right? Afterwards, I had a family friend. Uh actually back then we had a hair salon in here, had him go in there and shave my head, and we never looked back.

SPEAKER_02

Wow.

SPEAKER_01

Uh God uh was looking out for me, protecting me. You go obviously through that journey all the way through uh October, right before Halloween. Uh, and looking back now, uh over 18 years ago, fully cancer free. So very blessed in that kid.

SPEAKER_03

That's fantastic. That story is, I'm sure, very inspiring to a lot of people that uh that just heard it. So that congratulations on that. That is fantastic.

Acquisitions And Culture Integration

SPEAKER_03

Um, you've had some big acquisitions here recently in the past couple of years. Talk to us about that.

SPEAKER_01

So I wouldn't even say last couple of years. We've been on a major growth spurge, right, over the last 10 years. But you can have definitely look at last five and just say it's been expounded upon. I think going back a year ago, we had nine acquisitions. Last year I said, hey, I'm gonna be disciplined and not buying stores. And even in that discipline, we had a new Hyundai Genesis store open, we had a brand new Chrysler Stalanus store open, and three Mitsubishi's open, let alone all these construction projects that came to an end. So we always have something going, right? We always have that growth, but it's been key. We we really want to grow our different segments we don't have. So we brought on a lot more luxury, right? It's a segment that we want to build out with Aston Martin, Mercedes, okay, things that we're doing with the vault to really look at the high-end exotics. Because we want to be that dealer that has something for everyone. Because everyone goes through different seasons. And sometimes in a season that you know what, I just need a cost-effective car or I need a fuel efficient car. Sometimes they've earned the right to go out and get the luxury car they've always dreamt of or performance vehicle, something for every stage of the exactly. And and we look at everyone in the entire state. I don't care what brand you buy, I just want you to buy it from us, and hopefully we can water the seeds and earn the right to get all your repeat, your referrals, right? Because we're watering seeds and building relationships. So by having these brands, they never have to leave. So if a customer that once was buying a Cadillac someday aspires for a different brand, we have it here to keep them loyal to our company. We did 55,000 vehicle sales just under last year in the state of Michigan, let alone the hundreds and hundreds of thousands repairs we did all throughout the state. But we do that because we have the diversification of brands. We've also brought on what we call LAP or La Fontaine Automotive Performance Vehicles, right? When you look at that stable point, same thing, the enthusiast brands, right? The performance side, and not just the sports cars, you can do it with obviously the trucks, ATVs, off-road, all the segments. So we really were disciplined, and then we've leaned into franchise that we love, that we want to grow with, that we feel to have a bright future for the next 20 years, right? It's unique because all this growth, I've passed on more dealerships than I've bought by far. Yeah, because I'm really trying to be disciplined on ones that really help the entire family of employees, right, for growth opportunities and are great for us long term in this discipline process. We also stretched out the network to be bigger. Okay. That's why we brought on Kalamazoo, Grand Rapids, right? St. Clair, right? That's why we really four or five different things in our nucleus and try to do clusters. So there's been a lot of growth, a lot of fun, but it always comes down to the people. Yeah. And we're blessed with great people inside our company.

SPEAKER_03

When you acquire a company that's up and running, it's not a new point. How do you merge that that culture of that existing store into the La Fontaine family deal?

SPEAKER_01

So it really is a step-by-step pouring into each and every day.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Right? You have to assess the employees, you have to assess maybe why the store was struggling or failing, if that was the case. A lot of stores we've bought, uh, that is what the example is. Some not, some are great stores. But usually the people are looking for leadership in some category. And some of the leaders are right there. So it's assessing that. But we've also had great success of promoting from within. If you look at uh every general manager, if not 99% of the general managers in our company, we're promoting from within.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

So what I try to do is build the on-deck circle now of future leaders. So they know our culture, they know our way, they know our history, they know where we came from, they know my mom and dad, their visions, they know my vision, they know where the future is looking, so they can pour that into the store. So we really try to bring a merger of our current family, and then we invite all the family in because we retain every employee that was from the previous deal. Okay, and we give them every opportunity to work side by side with them. I'm intimate in the stores. I have deployment teams, my RDMs, my retail development managers go in and they're training. My directors are in there, right? And and brand GMs are in there on a daily basis, making sure the store kicks off in a phenomenal way and grow from within. So we have had success doing that, even in markets that are further out, right? Like when you look at two hours away, because we bring our culture with you.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And we live it. So it's not, you know, I've struggled when I've hired someone from the outside and say, oh, go go emulate our culture. They don't know our culture. Right. So we've had better success bringing it from within and merging it together.

SPEAKER_03

Gotcha. I would imagine it comes as good news in a lot of cases when you acquire a store that they were bought by La Fontaine because of the reputation and how much you care about your people.

SPEAKER_01

By far. I mean, of course. Yeah. But there's always nerves. And no one likes change.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Even if it's a good change, right? They're used to something that's been there for a constant or long time, right? So it's really getting eyeball to eyeball with them. And I think we've had success with that. Is before we acquire the store, we we go back and we meet all the employees. Usually I'll take every manager off site and do a one-on-one where we spend a couple hours with them, getting to know them, letting them get to know us. Yeah. So they feel more comfortable. Then we meet all the employees, we go back there and talk to them for a good hour. Then we do one-on-ones with them. We really try to break that down and make it as easy as possible. Okay. And then we give them ourselves and we're available from that day point forward. Okay. So they're really part of our family the day we meet, if that makes sense.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, for sure, for

Post-COVID Reality And Earning Sales

SPEAKER_03

sure. Um after COVID, we saw, you know, obviously business took off and retail automotive dealerships on average were making 3x what they were making prior to COVID hitting. Um and the cost of acquisition was pretty high. That's kind of subsided now, right? I mean, in terms of looking at a store, uh, what numbers do you use?

SPEAKER_01

Do you use the So I've never been a numbers guy like that? There's a lot of people who do three times or or some brands like a Mercedes is nine times. Of course, I look at the guides.

SPEAKER_02

Sure.

SPEAKER_01

But I also am better with my gut that I go into a store and more assessment on what we can build it to be.

SPEAKER_02

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

Right? Because if you're buying the underperformance store, you're gonna base the blue off the underperformance, yeah, right? Sure. They're probably not gonna accept that.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Right? They're certain franchises are worth a certain amount, and within ranges, then you look at a performer of what the growth will be. Right. But yes, certain brands it's settled down, right? Other brands are still very high right now, right? It's still one of those markets that certain franchises, right, you're gonna pay a big premium for and there's a big demand. But that's softened, and COVID time was unique. I don't think we ever would have thought that would have been the most profitable uh time of our entire history for any company, right? That obviously you had a car, right? Anyone's coming in, they're gonna buy it, and there's a waiting list for it. So unique times, yeah. But then the last three years have been the opposite of that, yeah, right? It's reteaching everyone culture, reteaching everyone work ethic that we aren't entitled to the sale, that we earn it each and every day. Right. That we have to work for what we get. So very proud of really taking the company post-COVID, right, and really getting it turned 180 to run the right direction about the principles of what we define this entire company on.

SPEAKER_02

Right?

SPEAKER_01

The work ethic is great, caring about customers. You know, when you look at family deal, treating them like family, those aren't words to us. Yeah, like family strong, like there's emotions behind it, right? Our employees wrote our mission statement, right? There's there's things we do that really mean so much to us because it defines our DNA, our culture, who we are, and then the community knows that, and then we just pour into that.

SPEAKER_03

That's right,

Digital Retail And Pickup Delivery

SPEAKER_03

that's right. Wow, that's great. Um during COVID, you know, we saw so many people that really went online to either do most of the shopping online or uh actually take full delivery, the way we see Caravana delivering cars and and maybe some other retailers. Um where do you stand with that today? Are you delivering cars? Uh are consumers, is that even a thing today where consumers want to do the entire transaction online? And if so, can you deliver on that?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, of course. There always will be consumers. I would say you have to meet the consumers where they want to be met.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Many consumers we never meet, and it's pick up and deliver door to door. Oh, really? Right? Multi-states, right? From all perspectives. Okay. We can do everything everything digital, right? From all aspects. Technology's really helped that equation. We can even do finance presentations, right? Go through obviously all the benefits, all the features, right? Talk about that, look at warranties, look at everything. So everything can be done off site. Okay. But there's a lot of consumers that want to come in, still kick the tires, drive the vehicle. There's a motion behind a car. So you're getting everyone. It's no different than where the market is with EV or hybrid or just your traditional obviously ice vehicles, right? The consumers don't want me told what they have to do, they want options. So as a dealer, we provide those options. But we pick up and deliver throughout the entire state. I don't care if it's the state's over, we'll deliver right to them. Right? We do it all the time. We do it not just for sales, we do it for service. We even have mobile body shop, we have mobile service vans. I mean, so we really have customized it because I would say COVID created everyone to feel like they want that, and it's simple. Or whether it be the Amazons or whether it be other delivery service, right, or even the food deliveries obviously going on right now. People just want things when it's convenient for them. And us as retailers have to accommodate.

SPEAKER_02

That's right, right?

SPEAKER_01

For sales, service, buy shop parts, whatever it may be. So I'd say yes, and it will continually grow, but it will never replace people coming in the dealership. Yeah, I think that's been the the thing everyone's like, okay, someday dealers won't dealerships won't be there. No, people still want it's the biggest investment. Besides their house, it's their second biggest investment they'll ever do. And they want to touch and feel a ride in it, see how it drives, put their kids in it, yeah, look at comfort. Are you tall, are you short? What what what are you looking for in the vehicle? And that's where obviously they'll come in and do the emotional side of stuff.

SPEAKER_03

Absolutely, absolutely. Uh with regard to online, um, and and we know consumers, they say

FTC Pricing Transparency And Compliance

SPEAKER_03

90-99%, it's probably more like 100 that will hit the internet or their phone, you know, what have you, or from their phone uh to check out the dealership that they're gonna go to. The FTC recently has come down and said, hey guys, you know, you gotta all play fair in this in this environment. Consumers are done. You know, they gotta know that what that price on that, you know, whether it be a third-party lead provider or on the dealer's website, that's what the price of the car is. Can't you can't bump them for doc fee when they get there or special types of incentives that maybe they don't apply for or uh qualify for. Um what what's your take on that with the FTC?

SPEAKER_01

So I mean there's always gonna be the need for rules and regulations, right? Everyone can look at it and say is a good thing or bad. I like transparency. So the key is is making sure we all understand what exactly the FTC wants to do and make sure state by state we can apply. Right because some states, every state's a little bit different in regards to their fees, how they do structures. So as long as it's clearly communicated, we can provide. Like if you look at this state particular, you know, in particular, right? GM, most people get GM discount, four discount, or pricer discount. So we got to make sure we can still accommodate to those guests, but also accommodate people that don't. But now that we understand the guidelines and direction, really it's just getting a uh different formatting done from our websites to our different providers through the lead sources, but it all can be done. But we believe in transparency, that's why we do videos anyway. So, like we do videos, make our technicians do a complete walk around in your car, right? And we send you the video for the same reason the FTC's talking about on the variable side, right? Is people want transparency. Variably, we send you a video with the quote walking you through everything, right? So you don't misread the numbers. Oh, that's great. So there's no gray area. So I'd rather live in transparency all the way through. We just gotta make Sure, we know exactly what they want so we can execute, and then we have the timeline to be able to change the technology to obviously accommodate because some of these software companies weren't prepared for the changes. I know. But good thing is, everyone we've talked to are rapidly fixing it as we speak, sure, and I'll just make it better for all. But I would say we've always like our family deal price, always was transparent, everything already already disclosed already, right? So it was real easy for us adapt to that's right, that's great, that's great.

SPEAKER_03

And the dealers that I talk to around the country say, I'm all in on this so long as my competitors are as well. Because everybody hits the internet and says, okay, well, you know, your Ford F-150 is X, and this guy's Ford X X uh or F-150 is X, he's lower, I'm gonna go there to give him the opportunity, even though they know that there's or realize that there's there might be some you know playing around with the numbers there. So uh it's gotta be something for the whole industry, right?

SPEAKER_01

I think that's always a word, right? When you have this many dealers, right? Everyone's gonna be on the same playing field. Yeah. But I believe the way I'm reading it, the FTC and and obviously all the states are gonna mandate that. So as long as we all are in the same playing fields, then 100% it makes sense.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, for sure, for sure. Um

Gas Prices, EV Choices, And Demand

SPEAKER_03

there there is obviously some things going on out there right now. Um when you when you look at um you know the the war in I Iran right now and the gas prices, uh your gas prices are pretty high right here in Michigan, that's for sure, five dollars a gallon or what have you. Has that put much of a of a crimp in your business at all?

SPEAKER_01

I I can't say crimp in the business. Okay. It changes the buying habits.

SPEAKER_03

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

So some people now are very gas conscious, so they're coming and looking at EVs or they're looking at vehicles that have obviously great gas mileage.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01

So it might change their thought process. Right. They're still buying the vehicle, but they're just changing what they were buying before, right? When gas prices are down, maybe obviously they're they're not so concerned about that. But sales, we're actually up. We're you know, we're pacing. I know the industry's down, right? When you look at our first quarter, we're up in the market, right? That's great. Used and new and fixed ops. Wow. We actually each month continually have uh records in the fix ops department, but it it's uh it's like anything else, is what you put into it. Yeah right? Life of hey, the COVID days where maybe I don't have to work as hard at it, right? That's long gone. So the dealers that have employees and family members that are willing to put their heart and soul in what they do, right? The consumer has a demand, we just got to adjust to meet that demand, right? Whether it be gas, whether it be EV, whether it be range, whatever they're looking for, and it's gonna constantly change. Right. So I think our industry especially is used to adapting. Yeah, so I think our gas scenario right now is just one uh way we're adapting, just to pivot for the spring and summer market.

SPEAKER_03

Sure,

Chinese Brands And Market Guardrails

SPEAKER_03

sure. Perfect segue to my next question, which is a very hot topic right now in the industry, as you know, and that's the uh the idea that Chinese vehicles would come into the U.S. Where where do you stand on that? What's your take on that?

SPEAKER_01

So I I'm uh I'm one that 100% wants to make sure we're protecting our economy and protecting obviously how we've always gone about our ways with the growth of automotive. And I think the government does a great job of mandating that and keeping it all equal and all fair, right? When you go into scenarios of of different markets, let's take Europe and and China obviously bringing all their vehicles into Europe, right? It's changed their entire economy.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It changed their entire market, right? So looking at that sample study, you can't just say, hey, this makes sense. It's got to be equal playing field, and as long as just like you're saying about incentives, each manufacturer's held the same standard, then we can look at all competition.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

But there is reasons and benefits of why everything's been pushed in the US to promote our economy, our growth, and our future as a nation, right, which I'd stand behind all day, every day. So whether it be Chinese or however they want to do it, I trust the government to look at that and say what's best, and I trust our legislatures, whether it be MADA or DADA, who we consult with all the time to look at what's best for dealers. But having someone come in and disrupt that without the infrastructure like what's happening in Europe would make no sense at all.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So I think putting regulations in that would dictate that or control that only makes sense.

SPEAKER_03

Sure, sure. In the early 80s, when your dad was a Toyota dealer, as you know, they put uh it was they kind of went to the Japanese, Nissan and Subaru and Toyota and Honda and said, look, you know, this is gonna put a hurting on our on our domestic products here and that we build right here and our on our car market. So we're gonna limit this. We're gonna limit the number of Japanese vehicles that can come in and kind of walk before we run here, um, unless, of course, uh you want to build factories here. And then we saw obviously every one of those manufacturers build factories here. Would you be okay with uh a very limited supply of Chinese vehicles coming in to the U.S. as long as there were some guardrails that said they're gonna have tariffs on them and it's only gonna be an X number of vehicles that come in? Sure.

SPEAKER_01

So first that's not my decision to make, right? From all perspectives. So I trust our leadership and government to make the right decision. Uh based on the facts I'm seeing, it seems like it makes more sense not to have that open up until they understand what that limitation should be. Yeah. So I think once they understand it better and what that growth could be or the impact on the economy, then they could potentially open up for some. So I think they really need to do a full study to understand what about obviously the manufacturer, what is it gonna do to obviously hurt and obviously the brands that are so invested in here that have poured billions of dollars into infrastructure already. Right. Right? We got to protect the ones that have also been so great to our economy for so many years and jobs inside the United States. Right? We gotta make sure we're protecting them at the same time. Right because if we bring in someone else and it hurts all that, that's gonna hurt jobs as well. So I trust the government from that perspective. My opinion would be not at this time until they have the rules and regulations and game plan irontight that they can mandate and control.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, yeah. If they iron that out, would you be open to buying a Chinese franchise?

SPEAKER_01

So we have a Chinese franchise in Volvo, right? Volvo's been in the market for a long time. True story. They also have Polestar. Yeah. But again, Volvo has history going back years upon years upon years investing in our country, right, before they became a Chinese brand. So there are some that I don't know might have to be grandfathered in because they've already been here. But again, there's only so much when it comes to czar, right, from a uh input infrastructure could happen. So I think we have to do a study on that before, and then we can make that decision. But depending on what the government states and what regulations they put in, right, we're always looking at brands. I assess every brand, whether it be from out of the country or inside the country, and look at what they stand for, what their culture is, right, and what our consumers are looking for. Sure. Right? Because it always changes. Right? Think about it. Tesla wasn't here years ago. Look at what they're doing today. So again, our industry has gone through a lot of iterations, a lot of changes. I don't fear any change. I lean in. I look for the opportunity where those in where those are. Right. Right? So instead of fighting it, when I know understand what the rules are, I look at how can we sit here and grow inside that and benefit our guests, right? Yeah. Our key to success, our family of guests that we have that we pour into each and every day. So depending on what they need, their their needs, they'll dictate what the future looks like in the US for any market.

SPEAKER_03

Right, right. Um, a couple of things that we just touched on, which is obviously the FTC, which is a hot issue, so is the Chinese uh manufacturers wanting to come into the US. And uh but

Affordability Pressures And Product Mix

SPEAKER_03

affordability is at the forefront of every OEM's mind, consumers' mind, and obviously dealer's mind, with the average price of a new car now being in excess of $50,000, payments almost $800 a copy. Um as the leader and the CEO of a company that's selling thousands of vehicles every month um to consumers. Does that keep you up at night, the affordability issue?

SPEAKER_01

Well, 100%, you're right. You look at where the economy is, it's fragile.

SPEAKER_02

Sure.

SPEAKER_01

Look at obviously debt, right? It's obviously higher than it's ever been, especially credit card debt. Look at FICO scores going down. So of course, I look at it all the time.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_01

And it's something every OEM has to look at. They all kept on getting their price and quality. Don't get me wrong, quality has gone up when price went up as well, right? But it's not gotten to a point where you might be past that affordable side for the the average consumer, right? Right? That's why we have diversity of brands, it ranges, right? Sometimes obviously it'll be general motors you're sitting in that has the best program or best option. Sometimes it's not. If it's something that's looking for, obviously, uh, even like something like an entry-level like a Mitsubishi all the way through. That's why we have every brand for those reasons, right? That we sit here and can make sure wherever that is from affordability or whatever the circumstances are, we got it covered. But I would say every dealer council that I'm on, which I'm on multiple, we talk about that all the time.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And they listen. So I know General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Toyota, you look at Subaru, any brand you want to bring up, right? They're talking about the same thing we're talking about right now and addressing it.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_01

And I'm not saying that they address it with every one of their models, yeah, but they do have to make sure they're not forgetting where the market is and what the market could afford.

SPEAKER_03

That's right, that's right. Yeah, we saw so many sedans go bye-bye in the last few years. Everybody said, Oh, we're gonna go in, and not just on EVs, but you know, on SUVs and pickup trucks. But you know, now with the affordability issue, it looks like some car companies are going, well, maybe we need to bring back some sedans, right?

SPEAKER_01

I don't know if all sedans should have gone in late in the first place.

SPEAKER_03

Right.

SPEAKER_01

There's a market for each, right? And and when we start dictating the consumer, the only markets they can go into, that's a mistake. Yeah, like when we went into EV and said, hey, everyone's going to EV. I don't know about you or me, but I don't I don't like being told by ideas. No, no, we're gonna do it. No as a consumer.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

Give them options, right? Right. Same thing with the obviously price range. Sure. Give them options. Here's your entry level, the affordable price, right, all the way up to the premium. That's right. Like that's what we've done for years, and that model works. I'm not saying you have to oversaturate those markets, but there's a demand for sedan, there's a demand for EV. Yeah, it's just not the demand, they're acting like it was gonna be, oh, it'll never be 100%. It's gonna be a certain percent of people that want what they want to choose. Sure. And I think every manufacturer has to sweet uh look at their sweet spots. Sure. Right? But I definitely think sedans will be back in some category, yeah. Right? Even minivans. I remember my first vehicle I sold was a Pontiac uh Montana. Beautiful vehicle. Yeah, yeah, that's right. Minivans are coming back to certain sections, but there's demands, and we just got to listen to the consumers. Yeah, every time we might not know which way to go, if we listen to consumers, we'll always go in the right direction.

SPEAKER_03

That's right, that's right. When you hear Jim Farley talk about the fact that he's driving a uh a Chinese vehicle to find out you know what what the the the special sauce is, and and he's impressed with the vehicle. I mean, he's like these things are are great vehicles and we can learn a lot from that. Um what what is your take when you hear about hear that?

SPEAKER_01

Well, all OEMs do reverse engineering for all brands, yeah, whether it be Chinese, whether it be amongst themselves. Sure. That's how we've gotten quality up for every brand, yeah, right, from the 80s to where we're at today. That's right. I mean, honestly, you can look at almost every brand we have in the United States, there's great quality.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So yes, I think it's smart to understand and reverse engineer and study a market, especially how to see if it might be coming or not coming. So we have to look at that space and then understand, can we get there, right? What do we have to do to as well build a car at that price point, right? Right, with that quality from that regard. But also look at the European market. I don't know if they're saying the same thing about quality that might be being said right now, obviously, based on that one scenario. I know they've ran into parts problems, right? What do they do after repairers after a couple years? Like everything looks great now, but the question is longevity. People keep their cars for a long time. Yeah, how's that going to be with 200,000 miles, 100,000 miles, 300,000 miles, right? What's repair experience, right? All of those will factor. I think we're too early to tell. Yeah. I just think there's some telling signs in Europe, but again, I'm not an expert in L markets or the Chinese. I only can tell you my opinion. Sure. And I tell you, uh, competition builds a better product.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So understanding what they're doing well can help us get a better product than I'm all for.

SPEAKER_03

Okay, okay.

Fixed Ops As The Foundation

SPEAKER_03

Sounds good. Um, talk to us a little bit about fixed ops. Uh, fixed ops has obviously become a real focal point for dealers as we see margin compression on the new car side. And uh, you know, it's it's kind of one of those uh situations. I came up in the industry in variable ops, uh, not fixed ops. Uh so my that was always my focal point, you know, was to say, how do we sell more cars, how do we make more money? But whenever we saw the sales go down and either new or used, we said, what can we make in in you know fixed ops? And uh but I think we learned a lot in these last you know six years since COVID. Um talk to us a little bit about your vision for fixed ops among all your stores.

SPEAKER_01

So I can't tell you what every other dealer's doing and whether they are leaning into fixed ops, like you say, because I say some are and some aren't. Some are still living the way you did or I did, come up with variable. Uh I will tell you if you're in our company, let's say the last five years, yeah, and you could survey any employee I have in the entire company, any family member in that regard. They're gonna you ask them which departments I talk about the most? Service, yeah, used cars. Service, use cars, those two will be our foundational points, right? So it'll weather any storms. So if new cars are struggling, yeah, or that lease is 900 bucks that you're saying, or whether it's 200 bucks, I can't control that.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_01

But what I can control is making sure I have a strong use code department used car department that feeds my service, parts, and buy shop business. I'm I can make sure I take care of my guests in that service department each and every day that also feeds my parts and buy shop, right? It's about watering seeds. We've brought down on 400 hoists in the last two years. Most haven't. We don't have an image like a problem getting technicians. We're full of technicians. I'm adding because we have so much growth in fixed ops, right, from all perspectives, where other dealers typically aren't, they're struggling for technicians, right? It's because we live in each every day. So every meeting I have, I don't just have variable, I have the same thing in fixed ops. We treat our service lane just like the front end operation. It's the same aspect. Think about it. It's phone calls, it's overcoming objections, right? It's transparency, that's right, it's listening to customers and building a relationship, it's product knowledge walk around, right? It's solving a problem, it's transparency in video. People just don't want to think about it that way because I'm not mechanically inclined. I'll tell you that.

SPEAKER_03

Neither am I.

SPEAKER_01

But you don't have to be to run service. The technicians and the service manager can do that. That's right. I can help them with a relationship to service. And when it comes to customers and make sure they have the experience, they should. So my advice for dealers is lean into that service line.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Don't be intimidated to do it by it. Look at it the same way variably and devote equal time. Because again, everyone wants to go, hey, how does let's go up front, man? It's fun to sell a new car or used car. Everyone's got to look at a customer that comes to service.

SPEAKER_00

Sure.

SPEAKER_01

Right? We're sitting in a store, our largest store in our entire company, right? You look at their RO count, right? Let's look at in any month, right? From all perspectives. Let's take an easy number, right? In a in a day, we have a hundred repairers coming. Jeez, right? 50 of them never bought their car from us. Wow. Right? You think our oldest store, our our longest store, post longevity, we don't turn over people, growth, growth, growth, growth. Record, number one in the nation, yet half of them don't obviously buy their cars here. Wow. So think about that.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Why aren't we watering the seeds with them and building relationships? That's right. It's obvious that your future customers. But they're coming here for a reason, right? Either they live here or they work here.

SPEAKER_03

That's right.

SPEAKER_01

Right? But for some reason they didn't know us to buy their car. So if we invest in that service lane, you'll also get the return on investment in future sales. Yeah. People just don't want to take the time. That's right. People don't want to listen to phone calls. You want to grow service? Listen to your phone calls. So I'm telling you, the things are being said, they're missing the opportunities right there. That's right. And the gut customers are getting irritated with that. So I think you can communicate, you have to have transparency, you got to lean into the guest experience. That's right. That's how you grow service. And then technicians, as long as you're growing the service lane, right, you have hours with techs to turn, you can lean into that as well. But we've had, again, record growth, even more so than variably, than fixed ops. I am so proud of my fixed ops directors, my managers, and if you go to our general managers, even our general sales managers, they know service because I don't want them to only know variable. So I make them service. That's great. Not mechanical, how to impact the service line, how to impact obviously, getting more customers to come in, looking at warranty, looking at customer pay, looking at one-aligned repairers, looking for opportunities on the coals, or coaching, teaching, mentoring, and it's paid huge dividends to change that culture inside of our entire company. Sure. Because it can't say I was always that way. Back in the day when I was a sales manager, I only cared about new cars. But we had to adapt and grow. And now if you look at anything, we talk about service, used cars, even more than new, so new cars can be the frosting. But we got to have the cake built or the foundation strong to weather whatever storm. If nothing else, COVID taught us that, or the Chinese coming in, or EVs coming in, or whatever the versity is, we don't know what the next versity is. I guarantee you there'll be one, but the strong ones that invest in service and used cars are gonna be healthy and here for the long run.

SPEAKER_03

I love it. Service and used cars. I couldn't agree more. Uh just a couple more

Third Generation And Lasting Legacy

SPEAKER_03

questions. Uh, your second generation dealer, and I will get you out of here for sure. Uh second generation dealer, third generation, are they coming up? Are they being groomed to take over your spot? So I have five kids at home.

SPEAKER_01

Very blessed, right? Three boys, two girls. Wow. All of them in high school, two sets of twins and an elder beautiful girl. Two sets of twins. So yeah. God knew that I need to do this. So he overwhelmed me there, but I'm blessed with a phenomenal wife at home. That's it. Uh, and we sit here and pour into them.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I'll never force that they go in the business.

SPEAKER_00

Okay.

SPEAKER_01

That's gonna be their decision.

SPEAKER_00

Sure.

SPEAKER_01

Right? Do they have a passion for it? Yes. Yes. But but whether they do or don't, I want them to decide. That's right. So as they navigate, going to college here shortly, we'll see where that uh um in you know revolves or or becomes or or what they want to do or their passions are. Yeah, I'd say now, third generation looks strong, right? Even from my sister's side and her kids running the classic side, all those aspects. There's a lot going on there. Yeah, but but God willing, right? I'm 48 years old. Looking back, I tell everyone I'm 27, right? When you look at this, God willing, we're looking 40 years from now, we're still here pouring into obviously people, because that's the richness, man. When you look at this journey, right, what you get to take with you is the people you inspire to be a better version of themselves, the people you made better along the journey, the people you poured into, right? That's what you take with you. It's not the money, it's not this. I could have sold the company or we could have back at COVID and never had to work again. It's not about the money, it's about the people, right? Whether it be our family of employees, our family of guests, that's the fun. And I love pouring into them. So I pray the third generation feels that way. Because again, I've been blessed to have my mom and dad, two of my best friends that taught me how to be humble. That's if you're blessed in life, bless others, right? That we got to work for, that all of us put our pants in the same way, we're all equals, no one's better than each other, right? And that type of lesson, and my dad's humility, like you'll never find him at a country club, you're gonna find him at the local watering hole, just talking to everyone. But he taught us that you really just gotta sit here and make sure you're humble along this journey. And I tell you, that's what we're founded on.

SPEAKER_03

I'm going to leave it right there because that is a perfect ending to this segment. Ryan Wafontaine, thank you so much for all the time that you gave us here at the Executive Profile on CBT News. Very much appreciated.

SPEAKER_01

No, my pleasure. Thank you for the time.