New Toyota Dealership Set To OpenIn the past 20 years only two new Toyota dealerships have been opened in the Midwest.
Monday, the third will open in Warsaw.
Brothers John and Dan Rice, who also own Rice Ford, have teamed with dealer Dave Illingworth to open Toyota of Warsaw off Ind. 15, just south of Rice Ford.
The other two Toyota dealerships built in the past 20 years in the Midwest were in Indianapolis and Minnesota.
Illingworth joked John Rice took him for a ride several years ago and threatened to drop him off out in the county if he didn't build a Toyota dealership in the Warsaw area.Illingworth worked for Toyota for 28 years and lived in California before moving "back to God's country."
Illingworth held several titles with the company, the last being senior vice president and chief planning officer.
He grew up in West Virginia, and attended Ohio University before working for Toyota.
His office is lined with racing memorabilia. In one of the areas of the 24,000-square-foot facility is a glass table mounted on top of an engine from a car Michael Waltrip drove at Talledaga last year.
Construction on the new dealership began in October.
Now is not the best time for automakers with bailouts and bankruptcy being the talk du jour for the industry.
Illingworth is confident that despite the auto industry's struggles - Toyota itself has seen a 35-percent profit decrease - the company believes now is the time to start new businesses.
"Things are only going to go up," said Illingworth. "Why not? We could sit in the bunker and hide, but that's not going to work."
The new dealership is expected to employ between 20 and 24 people including sales staff that is already in place.
A grand opening is scheduled for the third week of July. Illingworth is in talks to bring a professional driver to Warsaw, though nothing has been finalized yet.
The dealership is expected to have between 80 and 110 new Toyotas on the lot.
