Travelin' man
The journey continues for dealer Michael Croxon

We are on a voyage of discovery. Sure, it's only to Newmarket, but as we make the scenic sweeping curve from Highway 404 onto Mulock Dr., we are in a land of contrasts. A land where one guy owns both a BMW dealership and a Kia store.

It's not surprising that Michael Croxon is a dealer for two brands at opposite ends of the spectrum - he is on his own adventure, creating some successful vehicle dealerships. The journey has led to this booming community where there are appetites for luxe vehicles and for import cars with good value.

Just to the south, he is also the dealer principal for two old-line GM stores in more mature suburbs; North York Chevrolet-Oldsmobile and Richmond Hill Pontiac-Buick-GMC are long established biggies.

So how does a 38-year-old who looks younger (is that a touch of grey to add maturity?) end up heading a four dealership operation?

Instead, he set out on another journey that took him to Western Europe, Morocco and the Middle East, Nepal, India and Thailand. In a year he burned through just $9,000, which left $1,200 to his name. He blew that on a ski trip to Whistler, B.C.

Thus prepared, and with no clearer idea of what he wanted, he decided it was now time to join dad's store. But Michael's motivation was fierce. If you're the son of the boss it means you have to work harder than anyone else because you're under scrutiny all the time. In his early days at the dealership he worked all six selling days and then came in on Sunday to get caught up.

The spectre of the boss' son getting an easy ride had an unsettling impact. Michael readily admits that he feels a need to create something bigger with his own stamp on it, which is quite an undertaking, since his father has accomplished a heck of a lot.

The elder dealer emigrated from England in 1952 essentially penniless, and acquired a chunk of land at Steeles Ave. and Yonge St. He built a fledgling dealership, where it still stands, and then sold a portion of the land to Roy Foss in the late 1970s, creating what was essentially the centre of auto retailing - the first auto mall in these parts.

In his early years as a car salesman, Michael discovered he had a knack for helping people and built his career quickly. He also built his golf game and even though he hits the links less than he would like, he boasts a nine handicap, fitting in 40 or 50 rounds with both business associates and family. His older brother and golf buddy, Bruce, eschewed the car business to become one of the founders of Lavalife, an Internet dating empire.

The construction was just winding up on the conversion of a loft to the ultimate bachelor haven at Queen and Claremont when Michael met his wife Sharon. He did squeeze in one more lengthy expedition, to Peru, where he hiked the Inca Trail, white-water rafted and spent some serious time at Machu Pichu.

Now Sharon and Michael have moved uptown and the only babe on the scene is Anna, age one. The journey of life has shifted from the mountains of Nepal and Peru to the bubbles of bath time. Michael notes with considerable pride that his current lifestyle includes being home to spend quality time with his daughter nine nights out of ten.

Mostly life revolves around the home scene, although Michael is very active on the charity front, involved in supporting causes and contributing at events. When they can secure a babysitter, he still enjoys hanging with friends or cruising down to Giancarlo on College Street, still his favourite dinner haunt.

A love of cars? Not really. Michael admits he won't be getting up early to watch Sunday morning F1 races anytime soon. Cars are the means to an end. "It could be cars or widgets."

The end is to achieve what he refers to as a personal validation, creating a successful set of franchises. With various sets of partners in his diverse operations, he has sought location and winning brands at investment costs that create profit. That has recently led to the acquisition of Kia of Newmarket and the opening of Open Road BMW. The formula appears to be working.

He does miss travelling though, and Croxon confesses, "I'm not sure visiting five-star resorts on dealer conventions is quite it." Still, a journey is a journey and this new one, the building of a successful business, seems to be unrolling in an entertaining and successful way.