| 1935 |
Mr. Wise built an Oldsmobile/GMC dealership on 35th Avenue and East 14th Street in Oakland, California. |
| 1964 |
A new state-of-the-art facility opens on East 14th Street and 105th Avenue in Oakland, California, fulfilling Mr. Wise's desire to open a "Dream Dealership." |
| 1972 |
Mr. Wise hires Anthony Batarse, Jr. as General Sales Manager of his Oldsmobile Dealership. One week later, Tony hires Steve Rodman as a rookie salesperson. |
| 1973 |
Tony convinces Mr. Wise that it is time to expand. The Oldsmobile and GMC truck franchise needed bolstering. Much to Mr. Wise's dismay Tony showed him the merits of an upstart company just entering the country selling small economy cars. So with a $500.00 parts investment and a sign Lloyd Wise Companies welcomed Honda to its selection of products for its customers. |
| 1974 |
Honda rocks the market by introducing its new engine technology the Civic CVCC engine. Being more fuel efficient and reliable the Honda franchise starts to take off. |
| 1976 |
With the sad passing of Mr. Wise, Tony takes his rightful place as leader and owner of the company. Tony's desire is to grow and become a mega-dealer. |
| 1977 |
With brisk Honda sales and Oldsmobile sales breaking all records, Tony negotiates for 4 more acres of land to expand and build a separate Honda facility adjacent to the Oldsmobile/GMC store. |
| 1978 |
After mastering the finance department and with expansion plans on his mind Tony promotes Steve Rodman to General Sales Manager of Lloyd Wise Companies opening the field for Tony to grow the company beyond even his wildest dreams. |
| 1979 |
The opening of a new and separate state-of-the-art Honda facility occurs. |
| 1980 |
Tony starts to expand and buys the local Datsun dealership. This is the beginning of an expansion of dealerships and facilities throughout the 80's. |
| 1984 |
Tony grows his expansion plan and buys a Buick/GMC dealership in Hanford, California. |
| 1986 |
With the success of Honda, Tony builds and opens Poway Honda in Southern California. |
| 1987 |
The growth continues with the opening of the Acura dealership in Concord, California. |
| 1990 |
Tony begins negotiations on developing Vacaville Automall...a forward thinking vision of multi-franchise locations conveniently located directly adjacent to the freeway. |
| 1992 |
The growth continues with the opening of the Honda dealership in Brentwood, California. |
| 1993 |
Tony becomes one of the original Saturn dealers in the Eastbay opening 4 locations in under a year. The Saturn philosophy helps mold Tony's vision of sales through the customer's eyes. This was the precursor to the "Square" philosophy. |
| 1994 |
The growth continues with the opening of the Nissan dealership in Vacaville, California. |
| 1995 |
Tony's vision of nurturing employees as well as growing franchises is exemplified with the opening of Chrysler of Vacaville. In 1980, a young African American sales associate named Clarence Williams begins working for Lloyd Wise Companies. By 1995, Tony and Clarence create a partnership, which allows Clarence to become the dealer/operator of Chrysler of Vacaville. |
| 1997 |
The growth continues with the opening of the Chevrolet dealership in Albany, California. |
| 1998 |
The growth continues with the opening of the Volkswagen dealership in Vacaville, California |
| 1999 |
Lloyd Wise Companies moves to San Leandro and changes its name to "Marina Square Auto Center". The Square" philosophy, which was conceived in 1993 by Tony, takes form. The Marina Square promise is simple, "Maximize value, Minimize the process." |
