Fast Track

When his dad died, Blair McIntosh became one of America's youngest car dealers


Young gun: He stepped into big shoes at a young age.

Heidi Dietrich
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)
October 13, 2006

The week Blair McIntosh graduated from a yearlong intensive training program for automobile dealers, his father suffered a heart attack during an airplane flight, and died.

McIntosh had planned to ease into responsibility at the family business, Kirkland Chrysler Jeep, but Bill McIntosh's sudden death at age 59 changed everything. At 23, Blair McIntosh became one of the youngest dealers of a major automobile franchise in the nation.

Now 27, McIntosh can recall the overwhelming feeling of suddenly being responsible for the family business. His mother had always had a minimal role in day-to-day operations, and neither of his brothers had any formal dealer training.

"It was a sink-or-swim situation," McIntosh said. "I had no choice but to learn it."

Though his employees could have rebelled against the idea of taking orders from an inexperienced 23-year-old, the exact opposite happened. McIntosh sat down with his key managers, who told him how much they loved working for his family and wanted to see the store stay in McIntosh hands. McIntosh decided to temporarily make his service manager a general manager, enabling the long-term employee to essentially run the business until McIntosh felt ready to assume control.

"It really was the unity of the staff that put me at ease," McIntosh said.

The McIntosh family also went outside the dealership for support. Ralph Martinez, owner of Town & Country Dealerships in the Portland area and a longtime family friend, served as a mentor after Bill McIntosh passed away. The family sent older brother Brian to work with Martinez for a year so he'd be ready to help out Blair, and Brian eventually joined Blair as dealer principal in 2005.

Martinez said he's always been ready to help the young McIntoshes.

"I've watched those kids grow up and they're like family," Martinez said. "They can get a totally unbiased opinion from me."

By taking over from his father, Blair McIntosh was stepping into big shoes. The elder McIntosh had started a nationwide Chrysler diversity program, hand-picking 24 African Americans to start dealerships and opening the 25th himself. According to Michael Verchot, director of the University of Washington Business and Economic Development Program, Bill McIntosh was widely known and respected for his ability to open doors for people of color to own automobile franchises.

Blair McIntosh always knew that he wanted to follow his father in the automobile business. As a child, Blair McIntosh hung out at the family's first Chrysler dealership in North Seattle, sweeping the lot, picking up cigarette butts, and doing other odd jobs.

When the Kirkland dealership opened in 1994, Blair McIntosh worked as a lot attendant, detailer, and salesman. Any meeting that Bill McIntosh attended -- whether a Chrysler corporate meeting, Rotary, or a minority dealer meeting -- Blair McIntosh went along. Bill McIntosh sat his son down with the financial statements and explained line by line how a balance sheet works.

"I got excited about getting involved in the business," Blair McIntosh said. "There's something really cool about being part of a family legacy."

Preparing for a future in the dealership did not preclude college, though. Having grown up in a mostly white neighborhood in Woodinville, Blair McIntosh was excited to attend the historically black Florida A&M University. After his first year, however, he transferred to the University of Washington to be closer to his father, who was having health problems related to diabetes.

"It was hard to make the decision to transfer, but I saw how much I needed to be here," McIntosh said.

He walked on to play football at UW but gave up the sport after his sophomore year because he wanted to devote more time to the family business. Immediately after finishing his degree at the UW, Blair McIntosh entered the National Automobile Dealers Association's one-year training program. It took Blair McIntosh a year after his father's death before he officially assumed the general manager position. He already understood finances, but the management skills he had to learn on the job.

"How to manage people is not something you can learn in the classroom," McIntosh said.

McIntosh said he was nervous about putting his leadership skills to the test so quickly. Verchot said he's been very impressed by how McIntosh has been able to retain key employees, keep the company profitable, and step up to being an owner at such a young age and without any transition period.

Martinez said McIntosh has handled the responsibility quite well. He noted that domestic dealerships generally are struggling these days.

"He's really risen to the occasion," Martinez said.

McIntosh said the Kirkland location has been key to growing sales, as locals tend to be educated consumers with high credit scores. Bill McIntosh first sought out the Kirkland dealership because he knew the affluent Eastside community would be prime real estate for selling cars. The dealership saw revenue jump by 120 percent from 2004 to 2005, to roughly $28 million a year.

Even so, today's market isn't without its challenges. Blair McIntosh said it's always harder to be a domestic dealer in the Northwest, as the region prefers buying imports. Chrysler has responded to higher gas costs by developing higher mileage vehicles, such as the new Jeep Compass that gets 30 miles to the gallon.

Now, Blair McIntosh is looking to expand, and may add the Dodge and Smart Car brands to the dealership. The McIntoshes are also interested in opening a dealership in Southeast Asia and a new store here that would sell a brand of Asian cars -- the details of which the family declined to disclose. Blair McIntosh and company adviser Shaun Williams plan to visit Southeast Asia this November to scope out possibilities.

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