John Davis is the President at Glenn E. Thomas Dodge Chrysler Jeep, the oldest established Dodge dealership in California and the 14th oldest established Dodge dealer in the country. As a third-generation dealer, John is proud to carry his family legacy forward and continues to grow the business established over 115 years ago. 

The Long Beach Auto Company was founded in 1909 by Walter L. Thomas. His son, Glenn E., became very active in the company and eventually purchased the dealership. The name was then changed to the Glenn E. Thomas Company. In 1934, Glenn entered into a franchise agreement with Chrysler, and Glenn E. Thomas Company became a Dodge dealership serving Long Beach.

In 1944, a young Navy fighter pilot, Monte Davis, and Glenn crossed paths. Glenn was duck hunting at the Bear River Duck Club in Brigham City, Utah. Monte served as Glenn’s guide while he was home on leave, and a bond between the two men developed. Glenn knew that Monte would be good in business and offered him a job at his car dealership when the war ended. In 1945, Monte and his wife moved to Long Beach. He began his automotive career with Glenn, starting in the parts department and eventually working his way up to general manager of the dealership.

Monte became the sole owner of the company in 1968. Monte’s son, Robert (Bob), joined him in the car business in 1973. Chrysler quickly recognized him for selling more vehicles than any other Dodge salesman in the United States in 1976.

In 1990, the Glenn E. Thomas Company opened a new multi-million-dollar facility in Signal Hill near the 405 Freeway. At this same time, Bob Davis took over the reins as president, while Monte served as chairman. Bob followed his father in serving the automotive industry and community. Bob is a past President of the Southland Motor Car Dealers Association. He was on the National Sales Council for Dodge and served as the National President for two years. He was nominated as TIME Magazine’s Dealer of the Year in 1998.

Today, Monte’s son and grandsons, John and Brad Davis, continue to do business the way they were taught by the patriarch of the family — going above and beyond to provide customers with superior service. Following the golden rule to treat customers as they would want to be treated.

We recently had the opportunity to talk with John and learned more about his career path, his experiences in the industry and what serving on the GLANCDA board looks like. The following are excerpts from our conversation. 

How did you get into the business? 

Initially, I was considering the car business, but I was also interested in the medical field. So I attended Brigham Young University with the intent of becoming a doctor. I worked at the dealership during the summer months and really enjoyed it. I also worked at a hospital in the Emergency room for a couple of summers, assisting doctors and nurses and translating Spanish for patients who needed assistance. I decided that I liked the car business more than the medical profession, so I quickly changed directions and pursued a new career path. I graduated with a degree in business management, a minor in pre-med and a minor in Spanish, and joined the family business. 

Have you had any mentors, and what did they teach you?

My father and my grandfather are most definitely my two most significant mentors. Early in my career, I shared an office with my grandfather and was blessed to work closely with him. He was really good at working with both customers and employees. He had a gift of getting along well with people, and everyone respected him as an individual and as a businessman. He had an entrepreneurial spirit about him. 

When he first moved here after World War II, they didn’t have many cars to sell, as most manufacturers had been building airplanes and equipment for the war. During that time, a lot of people were moving to California. My grandfather would go to the DMV, where everybody was waiting in line and hand out welcome packets to them. He’d talk to him about the dealership and insurance, which he was selling as well, to drum up business. He was always trying to find creative ways to grow his business. He taught me how to build relations with people, work hard and always find unique ways to promote the dealership. 

I’m thankful I’ve had the chance to work with my father for a long time. He does a great job of helping our employees know how much he cares about them. He taught me that even though this is a job where we come every day, we might as well come to a place where we feel welcomed, valued and appreciated. That mindset permeates throughout the dealership, and I see its benefits. 

What pieces of advice would you pass on to someone you are mentoring?

1. Building relationships is crucial. Whether it is the lack of interacting with individuals because of the internet, computers or whatever, relationships are more complex to develop today. But developing relationships with a customer, an employee, a factory representative or someone in politics — as we do with the GLANCDA board — is an essential aspect of having a successful business and a business that you enjoy working at. 
2. Don’t take things personally. In life, unfortunately, situations arise where you may not agree with someone, something happens that did not go the way you wanted it to go, or some decision may hurt you individually or financially. Failures happen, and difficulties are unavoidable at times. But don’t take those things personally. 
3. Have a good work ethic. I’ve always been a big proponent of hard work. That’s one thing that overcomes any deficiency. No matter how skilled or gifted someone might be, if they don’t have the work ethic to put forth, they’re not going to be as successful or have as easy a time as somebody who knows how to work hard and do the jobs that someone doesn’t want to do. 
4. People are important. Have patience and help grow those around you. Being a parent has taught me many things, and I have learned a lot from my children. I learned to be patient and how to teach other people. Taking from experiences like these, you can then put that knowledge into place in the workplace. We receive many incredible benefits in our business because of what we learned from our families, and vice versa. The values we learn as business owners, dealers and managers are transferable to our families, and they should be. If you treat people kindly wherever you are, you will have a healthy business and relationships. The balance part of this equation is essential. When you’re spending time with your family or spending time with your business, 100% of your focus must be on who you are with and where you are at. 

What has been the most rewarding part of your career?

Seeing the success of individuals and the success of teams or departments, and sharing with those individuals in their accomplishments has been the most rewarding. We want our people to find ways to grow and increase their skills and knowledge, and to be able to give them all the tools that they need to be more productive in their jobs. We want to promote from within if possible. Many of our managers have been with us for over 30 years now, and that speaks volumes. 

What are the biggest challenges in the industry?

Every dealership is going to have a different relationship with its manufacturer. Our industry in general is going through some transition where the manufacturer is trying to figure out the best relationship with dealers, and dealers are doing the same. That is one of the challenges that we are facing. At the end of the day, we are partners with our manufacturers, and both of us need to figure out ways to sell more vehicles. 

Additionally, more and more dealership groups are publicly owned. There’s a different dynamic with that than there is at a dealer body that is largely family-owned. So there are always challenges there. The other challenge we have is with the EVs, especially in California — trying to find the right balance between EVs and customer demand. We are all trying to navigate that and find what’s best for the consumer, while trying to accomplish the goals our local government officials. 

How did you get involved in GLANCDA leadership? What are the benefits of membership?

We’ve been a GLANCDA member for a long time — ever since I can remember. I felt like I was at a point in my career where getting involved with the association was the right move. I have previously served on the Southland Motor Car Dealers Association board, which is no longer around, and worked with CNCDA on various issues, so I understand the importance of working with our local politicians and finding ways to better our business. 

What is your favorite way to spend your free time? Do you have any hobbies? 

I spend most of my free time with my family. I’ve been married to my beautiful wife, Brooke, for almost 22 years. We have five children, ranging from age 20 to age 9. The oldest is Joshua, age 20; Luke, age 18; Caroline, age 15; Hunter, age 13 and Redge, age 9. You’ll often find me at one of my children’s sporting or dance events. 

I also try to play basketball a couple of times a week. I played basketball in high school and developed a love for the game then. In addition, I spend a lot of time with my local church congregation helping members of the community through various efforts. 

Something unique about our family is that we have a lot of chickens, a dog, cats, bees and a large garden. Our yard at home is like a little mini farm in Orange County. We spend a lot of time as a family, gardening together and with the animals. It is important to my wife and me that our children learn the skills that these activities bring. 

Something unique about me is that I speak fluent Spanish and I really enjoy it. I learned to speak Spanish in Guatemala while on a two-year mission for my church. We have a large Hispanic clientele and many employees who speak Spanish. My brother speaks Spanish as well. Being bilingual has always been a big part of our dealership, and that is important to us.