Villa Ford sales history of Orange County Ford Dealers Southern CA.


VILLA FORD - Orange County	General Info:	(800) 639- 8367
2550 N. Tustin St. Orange CA. 92865	Sales:	(714) 637- 8222
	Parts:	(866) 514- 4981
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1970	Service:	(866) 514- 4983

Villa Ford History Since 1970

Herb and Wanda Baldwin opened an English Ford Dealership in Bellflower, California in 1956, calling it Plaza Motors. Herb had his start in the car business in Bakersfield, where he was the sales manager for the Cadillac dealer.

During the first months of owning Plaza Motors, they learned that having a dealership is a tough business. However, business was especially outstanding during the last five years of the 15 years of Plaza Motors when they sold the English Ford Cortina line.

The Baldwin dealership sold more imported Fords for those five years in succession than any other dealer in the United States.

When Ford USA brought out the Pinto line and closed down all the Cortina dealerships, Plaza Motors was given a full domestic Ford franchise. On March 2, 1970, the 23 employees of Plaza Motors began the move to Villa Ford in Orange. Everyone, including their two daughters Karen and Peggy, helped to drive the 50 new cars and the 11 used ones to the new lot. Villa Ford received its business license on March 5, 1970, and began to sell cars.

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The venture was very successful from the beginning with the new company quickly becoming one of Ford's top 100 dealers in the country in volume of sales. The borrowed capital used to open Villa Ford was repaid in just 35 months. This success led to the purchase of the facility from Ford Motor Company and expansion of the property and service area.

Beginning with the first year and continuing for 18 years in succession, Villa Ford received Ford Motor Company's Distinguished Achievement Award, given in recognition for progressive management, sound merchandising practices and high-quality standards of service.

Karen Baldwin joined the company in 1974, serving in car rentals and investments. In 1975 Wanda took over Herb's duties for a few months because of his ill health.

Peggy Baldwin-Butler and Brian Butler, started in the car business in 1982 at Villa Honda in Hemet, California. When Herb sold his share of Villa Honda in 1988, Peggy and Brian moved over to Villa Ford in Orange.

By August 1992, Herb felt confident to retire, and by December of that same year, Wanda followed. They sold the business to Karen, Peggy and Brian. When Herb passed away on October 28, 1998, he and Wanda had been married 56 years, and had worked together for 22 years at Villa Ford.

The Governing Board of Villa Ford

President:	Peggy Baldwin-Butler
Vice-President:	Brian Butler
Treasurer:	Karen Baldwin
Director:	John Connor
Director:

Villa Ford's easy business philosophy:

A) Sell vehicles in high volume at No-haggle pricing.
B) Make your car buying experience simple and pleasant.
C) After the sale, make sure every customer leaves
    COMPLETELY SATISFIED.

    Customer Loyalty is our main concern!
    " Peggy Butler - President "

Villa Ford, in April 2000 in its 30th year in business, at the anniversary luncheon for all 150 employees, broke ground to construct a brand new showroom on the same property. The new showroom and offices became the primary site on the anniversary date of March 5, 2001, exactly 31 years to the day of the original opening. Wanda and her sister Hazel were on hand to bear witness to this transition.

Over time other family members have joined the business. Brian's Butler's daughter Jenifer Butler has served in various positions learning the business since 1995. She is currently one of the new Ford vehicle specialist in the Villa Ford Fleet department, and a graduate of the Dealer Academy through the National Automobile Dealer Association in 2003.

Judy Butler, Jimmy Butler: Brian Butler and Peggy's daughter Judy, worked part time since 1998 as receptionist and clerk, and in May 2004 graduated from California State University Long Beach with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Occasionally Jimmy Butler, Brian and Peggy's son, works with the service technicians as an assistant as he pursues a college education, and Wilson Raiser (Brian's brother) joined the business in 1999 helping to create and maintain Villa's Websites and is the IT Manager, maintaining all the information technology systems.

May of 2008: Villa Ford welcomes it's new Internet Management team with their V.I.P. e-pricing buyers service with "Pre-Arranged Pricing". Contact our Internet Sales Manager's for insider vehicle pricing incentives.

The goal of Villa Ford is to continue Herb and Wanda Baldwin's philosophy of doing business successfully: high-volume sales, low pricing, and congenial work atmosphere of mutual respect and profit sharing for all employees.

Villa Ford is proud to be one of the largest Female owned auto dealerships in the United States and an exclusive member of the Woman's Business Owners Association. Villa Ford would like to thank you, our loyal customers and employees, who have ultimately made this business a success.

Wanda and Herb Baldwin married on May 16, 1942 at the First Christian Church in Long Beach. Wanda recalled, “The minister invited the congregation, plus our family and friends–so there was a large crowd. I think I paid $19 for my beautiful wedding dress.”

“Always beautifully groomed and smiling,” Wanda will be missed.

Wanda and Herb Baldwin married on May 16, 1942 at the First Christian Church in Long Beach. Wanda recalled, “The minister invited the congregation, plus our family and friends–so there was a large crowd. I think I paid $19 for my beautiful wedding dress.”

“Always beautifully groomed and smiling,” Wanda will be missed.
Wanda and Herb Baldwin were a team for 57 years. “When Dad died 10 years ago, it was really hard for mother to adjust, even with the help of family and friends, and the company of her beloved Pomeranian, ‘Rocky’,” said daughter Peggy Baldwin Butler. “Her world revolved around Dad.”

Knowing that they are reunited made Wanda’s passing on Sept. 19 comforting for family and friends who celebrated her life on Sept. 27 in the Crystal Cathedral Arboretum.

Born in Springfield, MO in 1921, Wanda lived the values she learned growing up on a farm in what is often called “The Heartland” of our nation, one of the four geographic regions recognized by the census bureau.

“Dad said he wanted to marry mother because she was very pretty and she could cook, which was important to Dad, because he had five sisters, none of whom could cook,” Peggy remembered.

When she arrived in California on Jan. 11, 1937, with her parents and sister, Hazel, however, Wanda said she just felt like a “country bumpkin”. In the autobiography “All Ways, Always: The Life Stories of Herb and Wanda Baldwin” co–written by Wanda and Herb, Wanda admitted, “There was nothing in my school years that was in any way outstanding. I’m sorry to say that I was only looking forward to graduating.” But she demonstrated other valuable talents: in her junior and senior years, Wanda worked after school at Fortner and Miles Auto Parts, owned by family friends.

One of her jobs was counting the cash at closing time and doing the balance.

“The after–school work . . . gave me some experience in bookkeeping in a business rather than at school and in a workbook—but both were good for me and helped prepare me for future business with my husband.”

After graduating from Long Beach Polytechnic High School in June 1939, “the Fortners sent me down the street to Charlie Renfro’s garage for a job as a ‘bookkeeper.’ Charlie hired me for $10 per week, and I think it was part–time.”

Few couples remember the exact date on which they met, but that date–March 25, 1940–was etched in Wanda’s memory as clearly as the date on which they were married. They were introduced by a business associate, the owner of O’Neal Insurance, who had just hired a new employee, “a tall, handsome, broad–shouldered young man with black curly hair. I think my heart jumped a little.”

On their first date, they went bowling at an alley in Long Beach. Their second date—a scavenger hunt designed by Herb’s boss, and chicken dinners at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, followed by a movie—all was paid for by Herb’s boss with a crisp, new $5 bill!

This set the tone for their courtship: “We went to church (First Christian Church at Fifth & Locust in Long Beach) every Sunday morning and also most of the time to Christian Endeavor in the evening,” Wanda recounted in her book. “Our life was centered around the church—also our social life.” And, of course, they were married at that church on May 16, 1942. Wanda was 21; Herb was 23.

During their courtship and early married life, cars came and went, depending on circumstances, but in her book Wanda clearly remembered the “1941 Nash, a pretty red car, but with not much power” that she bought for $600 dollars “without Herb seeing it” which ultimately carried her and two friends to several destinations en route to her final destination, Columbus, Georgia, to be near Herb, who was stationed at Fort Benning.

One way and another, cars were a constant thread throughout their lives.

“After the end of World War II in 1945, Dad started selling cars,” Peggy said. “Ultimately, mom and dad opened Plaza Motors in Bellflower. He sold Cortinas, a mid–sized family car built by Ford of Britain in various guises from 1962 to 1982.

According to Wanda, “He ended up selling more English Fords than other dealers and won his first (among many more) trip to Europe in 1965. This led to the Ford franchise in 1970.”

For 22 years Wanda worked alongside Herb to make Villa Ford a success, until they retired in 1992 and sold the dealership to Brian and Peggy Baldwin Butler, and Peggy’s sister, Karen.

“Mom was always beautifully groomed and smiling,” Peggy said. “She was the proverbial helpmate, at work and at home, where she loved to entertain; holiday dinners were always at mom and dad’s, and she always made sure we went to see both grandmothers on important holidays. She was a wonderful role model as a career woman, a wife and a mother.

“As we celebrate the holidays with our extended family and friends, we will feel their spirits with us, once again, a team.”

Villa Ford
2550 N. Tustin St.
Orange CA. 92865

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