New name, home for Dilawri Group Mazda

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FROM LEFT: Neil Cooke (chair of transportation, math and science, Red River College of Applied Arts, Science and Technology), Brent Sayles (Crown Nissan general manager), Red River automotive technician program students Patrick Parong, Pranay Bhapnagar, Dwayne Tuason and Martin Borginia and academic co-ordinator Len Grieve.

The Dilawri Auto Group's 11-year-old Mazda dealership at 3690 Portage Ave. has a new home and a new name.

After spending the past several months working out of a trailer on the lot, the sales staff moved into the new, renamed Crown Mazda (formerly Destination Mazda) last week.

"The name was changed to mirror some of our sister dealerships" such as Crown Nissan at the Waverley Auto Mall and Crown Honda on north McPhillips, says Crown Mazda general manager Mark Carver.

The old Destination Mazda building was about 25 years old. It opened for business as a Honda store. Destination Mazda moved into the building in 2002 after Birchwood Honda West relocated to the Pointe West Auto Park.

Work began on the $1-million rebuild in October. The building was completely rebuilt and is the first Mazda dealership in Winnipeg to sport the new Mazda image look.

The new, much more spacious Crown Mazda has a seven-vehicle showroom, a larger customer lounge, a children's play area and wireless hot spots. All the lighting will be brighter.

In the back are six full-service bays and a wash bay.

Carver reports a grand opening will probably be held later in the summer.

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Nissan Mazda selected Crown Nissan to deliver four Nissan engines to Red River College's Automotive Technician Program for students to work on. Crown Nissan general manager Mark Sayles was on hand to make the delivery on Monday, June 4, in the morning.

"We appreciate contribution of new technology in our program," says Len Grieve, academic co-ordinator at Red River College. "It allows students to see what's out there and get hands-on experience with the latest engines."

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Birchwood Keystone Ford and Frontier Toyota have both recently appointed new new-car sales managers.

Mark Johnson is the new-sales manager at Frontier Toyota. Johnson has been in the industry for 10 years, all of it in Toyota sales. He says he was attracted to Frontier Toyota not only for the opportunity for advancement but also because he appreciates the easy-going, family-like atmosphere and how staff treats customers. He assumed his new role in mid-May and is looking forward to learning what is involved in management.

Mike Krebs is the new new-vehicle sales manager at Birchwood Keystone Ford. Krebs was most recently the sales manager at Birchwood Hyundai. He moved to the Birchwood Auto Group's newest dealership in mid-May.

"This was the best May we have ever had," says Ron Ledbrook, the dealership's general manager. "We were the top-selling Ford dealership in Manitoba for May."

The Birchwood Group acquired the Ford dealership on Regent from longtime president Bob Kozminski on Feb. 1. "The Birchwood Group has great brand awareness in Winnipeg," Ledbrook notes.

He adds being affiliated with the Birchwood Group has greatly broadened the selection of vehicles that Birchwood Keystone sales reps can now offer their customers.

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Our congratulations to long-time industry and community leader Bob Kozminski on being awarded an honorary degree from the University of Winnipeg at its recent convocation.

And kudos to the Birchwood Auto Group and the Vickar Auto Group for their support for the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation's fifth annual Challenge for Life 20K Walk to raise money for cancer research. Both the Vickar Group and the Birchwood Group had teams entered in the Walk last Saturday. Birchwood Group was the main sponsor and provided a fleet of six vehicles for the organizers to use during the event.

This year's walk drew about 600 participants and has raised $955,000 to date, with more money still coming in.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition June 15, 2012 E4