Gulf States Toyota, founded in 1969, is a private distributor of
Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
vehicles in the United States. They are
franchised
Franchise may refer to:
Business and law
* Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
* Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...
by
Toyota Motor Sales, USA
Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. (TMS, also known as Toyota USA) is the North American Toyota sales, marketing, and distribution subsidiary devoted to the United States market. Founded in 1957 in California, TMS currently employs more than 6,500 p ...
to sell vehicles to
car dealership
A car dealership, or car dealer, is a business that sells new or used cars, at the retail level, based on a dealership contract with an automaker or its sales subsidiary. Car dealerships also often sell spare parts and automotive maintena ...
s in the five states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, and Texas.
[Kaplan, David.]
No. 1 private company: Gulf States Toyota
" ''Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
''. June 22, 2013. Retrieved on April 30, 2014. Corporate headquarters is located within the
Houston Energy Corridor
The Energy Corridor is a business district in Houston, Texas, located on the west side of the metropolitan area between Beltway 8 and the Grand Parkway. The district straddles a stretch of Interstate 10 (the Katy Freeway) from Kirkwood Road west ...
on a campus with a five and ten-story building beside an eight-story parking garage.
History
During the 1960s, one of
Thomas H. Friedkin's hobbies was racing cars. He was friends with
Carroll Shelby
Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified duri ...
, famous for designing the
AC Cobra
The AC Cobra, sold in the United States as the Shelby Cobra and AC Shelby Cobra, is a sports car manufactured by British company AC Cars, with a Ford V8 engine. It was produced intermittently in both the United Kingdom and later the United ...
and the
Shelby Mustang
The Shelby Mustang is a high-performance variant of the Ford Mustang built by Shelby American from 1965 to 1967 and by the Ford Motor Company from 1968 to 1970.
In 2005, Ford revived the Shelby nameplate for a high-performance model of the fi ...
. Shelby had turned down an offer to become a distributor for Toyota because
Lee Iacocca
Lido Anthony "Lee" Iacocca ( ; October 15, 1924 – July 2, 2019) was an American automobile executive best known for the development of the Ford Mustang, Continental Mark III, and Ford Pinto cars while at the Ford Motor Company in the 1960s, an ...
told Shelby that "the domestic makers were going to push the Japanese back into the ocean".
Shelby introduced Friedkin to Toyota, and Friedkin entered into an agreement to distribute Toyota vehicles from the
Port of Houston
The Port of Houston is one of the world's largest ports and serves the metropolitan area of Houston, Texas. The port is a 50-mile-long complex of diversified public and private facilities located a few hours' sailing time from the Gulf of Mexico. ...
. Gulf States Toyota Distributors (GST) was founded in 1969
[Forbes: "Under the Radar" by Doug Donovan]
October 1, 2001[Automotive News: October 29, 2007-U.S. distributors gave Toyota a toehold in a mysterious new market by Kathy Jackson]
/ref>
when all Toyota vehicles were manufactured in Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and imported into the US. Three years later, the company employed 35 associates and had sold 5,000 cars and trucks through 14 dealerships.
In 1979, GST had the highest import car, truck and combined import sales in the United States with 65,826 vehicles sold.
Operations
Gulf States Toyota is the smaller of just two private distributors of Toyota vehicles in the United States. The other is Southeast Toyota Distributors in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
, founded by the late Jim Moran
James Patrick Moran Jr. (born May 16, 1945) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia from 1985 to 1990, and as the U.S. representative for (including the cities of Falls Church and Alexandria, all of Arlington ...
. Dealerships in the remaining areas in the United States are supplied by Toyota Motor Sales, USA.
Toyota Motor Sales opened seven manufacturing facilities in the US since 1984 and today, the majority of vehicles distributed by GST arrive by Rail transport
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
.
New Rail Site
GST signed an economic development agreement with Temple, Texas
Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the city has a population of 82,073 according to the U.S. census, and is one of the two principal cities in Bell County.
Located near the county seat of Belton, Temple lies in t ...
in 2008 to construct a $50-million Inland Processing facility. The city is located between Houston and Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
. GST was granted a 300-acre tract as an incentive to locate there. Construction was expected to begin in July 2009 and be completed by December 2011. However, the Financial crisis of 2007–2008
Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fi ...
and 2009–2011 Toyota vehicle recalls
The 2009–11 Toyota vehicle recalls involved three separate but related recalls of automobiles by the Toyota Motor Corporation, which occurred at the end of 2009 and start of 2010. Toyota initiated the recalls, the first two with the assistance ...
caused Gulf States and Temple to adopt an amendment to the agreement in 2010. GST was allowed to postpone construction for up to five years while compensating the city for infrastructure improvements already made: $4.6 million over three years. The project was never resumed.
Hurricane Harvey
Hurricane Harvey was a devastating Category 4 hurricane that made landfall on Texas and Louisiana in August 2017, causing catastrophic flooding and more than 100 deaths. It is tied with 2005's Hurricane Katrina as the costliest t ...
inflicted severe damage on the company's headquarters in August of 2017, causing staff to relocate for several months while repairs were made.
In 2019, GST celebrated their 50th year in business. They have been consistently ranked as the #1 or #2 privately held company in Houston by the Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
since 2010, and have also been in the top 100 on Forbes' list of America's Largest Private Companies.
Leadership
Toby Hynes served as president and general manager at GST from 1999 to 2012.
Martin "Marty" Collins, formerly a marketing executive for Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
, was hired after Hynes retired. Ford filed a lawsuit in Detroit, claiming that Collins violated his employment contract by working for a competitor and sharing proprietary information. Collin's attorney responded that Collins was employed by the Friedkin Group, an investment company which owns GST. The suit was eventually dropped.
Collins quit abruptly in 2017 and was replaced by Jeff Parent, a Senior VP who remains in that position as of early 2022.
Vehicle processing center
Vehicle Processing is located at 1602 Wooded Pine Drive in Houston. It includes an industrial spur
A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line.
Industrial spur
An industri ...
with 7- sidings to offload vehicles from Rail cars. Vehicles are prepped, accessorized, assigned to dealerships and loaded onto Car carrier trailer
A car carrier trailer, also known as a car-carrying trailer, car hauler, or auto transport trailer, is a type of trailer or semi-trailer designed to efficiently transport passenger vehicles via truck.
Modern car carrier trailers can be open or e ...
s for transport to the dealerships. Window tinting is one option that the processing center does quickly and efficiently. All vehicles destined for Texas receive the required state inspection before leaving the center.
The small percentage of vehicles that are not produced domestically arrive by ship at the Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as the Harbor Department of the City of Long Beach, is a container port in the United States, which adjoins Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for US–Asian trade, the port occupies of land wit ...
.
Parts
Gulf States Toyota completed construction and opened its Parts Distribution Center (PDC) near Sealy, Texas
Sealy is a city in Austin County in southeastern Texas, United States. The population was 6,839 at the 2020 census. Sealy is located west of the downtown Houston area, on the most eastern part of the Texas-German belt region, an area settled by G ...
in 1986. The center was expanded by 40% in 2019 to in May, 2019. The $11 million project created a shipping dock on the north side of the facility to separate shipping and receiving operations. Manuel Sanchez, director of the parts distribution center stated, "that will allow us to process, ship and manage more orders at the same time, providing faster service to dealerships.” The warehouse handles 55,000 different parts/accessories and ships over $1 million in sales each day.
GSFSGroup
Gulf States finance & services group provides dealer support tools.
Training
Training is available to dealership employees in most facets of the auto business. In the service department, courses range from entry-level to advanced vehicle maintenance and repair education for Toyota vehicles using computerized diagnostic equipment and hybrid technology
A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids.
The basic princip ...
. Gulf States Technical Services department provides diagnostic assistance and advice to Toyota dealership technicians. Gulf States Toyota has two training centers: one is a facility on their corporate campus in Houston; the other is located in Coppell, Texas
Coppell ( ) is a city in the northwest corner of Dallas County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is a suburb of Dallas and a bedroom community in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. Its population was 42,983 at the 2020 census. A small area in the ...
, a suburb of Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
.
Software
Gulf States dealership software includes systems for accounting, service, parts and warranty. Computer programs are available to provide summary data to management, helping to identify problems and take corrective action.
Products
Dealers can generate additional revenue by selling Vehicle Service Contracts, Maintenance Programs, GAP insurance, Tire & Wheel Service Contracts, Lease Protection, Limited Warranty & Credit Insurance along with the vehicle.
Employees
GSFSGroup can assist dealerships in recruiting, training & retaining personnel.
Community
Outreach efforts in the community include several programs.
Hurricane relief
After Hurricane Harvey in 2017, Toyota people from the US raised over $1.5 million for the ''Friedkin Disaster Relief Fund'' . GST parent Friedkin Group also donated $500,000 to the United Way
United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public, prior to 2016.
United Way organizations raise funds ...
of Greater Houston.
Stadiums
In September 2013, the soccer-specific stadium
Soccer-specific stadium is a term used mainly in the United States and Canada to refer to a sports stadium either purpose-built or fundamentally redesigned for soccer and whose primary function is to host soccer matches, as opposed to a multi-pu ...
formerly known as Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas
Frisco is a city in Collin and Denton counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and about from both Dallas Love Field and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. Its population was 200,509 at the 2 ...
was renamed Toyota Stadium. It is primarily used by Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...
club FC Dallas
FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...
(also sponsored by Gulf States Toyota) and Frisco Independent School District
Frisco Independent School District is a public school district based in Frisco, Texas, United States. The district covers portions of Denton and Collin counties, including portions of the cities of Frisco, Little Elm, Plano, and McKinney as w ...
.
GST also purchased naming rights to Toyota Field
Toyota Field is a soccer-specific stadium in San Antonio, Texas, United States. Located next to Heroes Stadium, and adjacent to the STAR Soccer Complex and Morgan's Wonderland, the facility opened on April 13, 2013. The stadium is the home ...
in San Antonio, home of minor league soccer team the ''Scorpions'' in 2013.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Gulf States Toyota website
The Friedkin Group website
GSFS Group webpage
Toyota
American companies established in 1969
Automotive companies established in 1969
Automotive companies of the United States
Companies based in Houston
Privately held companies based in Texas