Pub. 2 2019-2020 |Issue 2

16 Hall of Fame Inductee, Joh n Wa t s on How did you become a car dealer? Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? From the time that I was a young man, I loved cars, so yes, I had a desire to be involved in the industry, even though I didn’t have any family involved in the business. My neighbor and the father of my best friend owned a detail shop here in Ogden. I started working there when I was 14 years old. I became really good at making used cars look new. A lot of the dealers liked my work, so they started wanting me to detail their cars. I got to know some of the local dealers, and one of the perks was that I could borrow a car here or there and take a date out in a really neat car. Of course, this only encouraged my love of cars. All through high school, I worked on cars. In addition to detailing them, I learned how to fix them mechanically. My interest in mechanics led to me buying old cars and fixing them up and selling them to my high school friends. I graduated high school and started Weber State College (it’s since become Weber State University). I got my generals done, served a mission for my church, came home and went back to college. I didn’t complete college — I started selling cars instead, and pretty soon I was back in the car business. I opened up a used car lot, and I bought my used cars from a franchise dealer in Rock Springs, Wyoming. I bought cars and sold them, saving what I could. When I was 26 years old, the gentleman in Rock Springs offered to sell me his dealership, Benson Pontiac Buick GMC. I had been saving money, and my best friend, Rod Griffin, bought the dealership with me. We changed the name to KarCo Pontiac Buick GMC. Rod and I eventually sold KarCo and split the proceeds. Rod and I no longer work together and haven’t for many, many years, but we’re still good friends to this day. I started on the path of buying and selling dealerships. Each one was bigger than the last one. Over the years, I’ve bought and sold many dealerships, until I bought the one I currently own, John Watson Chevrolet. Do you have family members in the auto industry? I do now. I have two sons, Cory and Cameron, my two oldest boys, and my son-in-law, Erik, all work here. Describe your educational background. What did you study? Well, I did go to college and got my generals done. After serving a mission for my church, I went back to college with the intent of getting a law degree, but it moved too slow. And, quite frankly, the car business was calling my name. Are there any specific individuals who had a major impact on your career? Yes, there have been many. My father passed away when I was eight years old. I was lucky to live next to my best friend, and I was even more fortunate that my friend’s father, Alton Griffin, took me under his wing, so to speak, and became a second father to me. Mr. Griffin owned the detail shop I worked at when I was 14. He taught me that honesty and integrity are the true mark of an individual. When it came to success, he let us know that hard work was the most important thing. He encouraged us to build something and leave it better than how we found it. Buying and selling dealerships, as I have done for much of my career in the car business, you meet and become close to the dealers. Most dealerships pass from one generation to the next, but in the case of a sale, of course, that doesn’t happen, so I think it’s natural for the dealers to want to get to know the person who is buying their legacy. I met many wonderful and very inspiring people this way, and I learned some invaluable lessons. I bought this dealership from a gentleman named Merrill Bean, and he became a dear friend and mentor. Of course, he placed a great deal of trust in me to take care of the business he had built. What is the most rewarding part of your career? I would say, “people building.” Developing and encouraging the growth of our employees is incredibly rewarding. What do you thinkwill be some of the dominant trends within the auto industry in the next 5-10 years? This industry has had more than its fair share of disruptors in the last 10 years. From the economic downturn of the Great Recession during 2008-2010 to the new technologies we’re looking at today, this is an industry that has many moving parts. It’s a challenge to run a business because there are many variables. Today the talk is, of course, about electrification, rideshare and autonomous vehicles. And who knows what will happen and when it will happen. But I do believe that this is a people business. People want to touch and feel a car before they buy. They want to sit behind the wheel and feel the drivability of the car. It’s a big purchase. I believe that dealers who emphasize the people aspect of this business and provide excellent customer service will flourish.