Timeline
GLENN E. THOMAS DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP TIMELINE
Our Signal Hill Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Ram dealer all began with a family from Nebraska moving to the great state of California. The timeline below spells out year by year how Glenn E. Thomas came the successful Dodge, Chrysler, Jeep, Ram Los Angeles area dealer it is today.
1908 Samuel L. Thomas moved his family out of Nebraska to Long Beach, CA
1909 Samuel bought a car dealership. He named it the Long Beach Auto Company where one of his sons, Glenn, joined to work with him.
1918 Samuel passed away and Glenn purchased the balance of the company’s stock from his father’s estate.
1920 Glenn changed the name from Long Beach Auto Company to the Glenn E. Thomas Company.
1926 The dealership moved to Anaheim Street near Long Beach Boulevard after outgrowing the property on Pacific Avenue.
1929 The Great Depression hits, but the company would push on.
1933 Glenn E. Thomas Company building gets damaged but the major Long Beach earthquake. Despite the obstacles, the dealership continues to sell.
1934 Glenn enters a franchise deal with Chrysler and agrees to sell their line of Dodge vehicles.
1944 Glenn meets navy pilot, Monte Davis, while enjoying one of his favorite activities, duck hunting, at the Bear River Duck Club in Brigham City, Utah. Monte was on leave and working at the club as a guide. After being beyond impressed with Monte, Glenn offers him a job at the company when World War II was over.
1945 Monte moves to Long Beach and works his way up to General Manager of Glenn E. Thomas Company within 4 years.
1968 Monte becomes the sole owner of Glenn E. Thomas Company.
1973 Monte’s son, Bob, joins the business.
1976 Bob was selling more cars than any other Dodge salesman in the country.
1984 Chrysler introduced their “Five Star Award” the Glenn E. Thomas Co. has become one of only three dealerships in the world to win the award every year to this date.
1992 The company moves to Signal Hill, near the 405 freeway. Bob Davis became president of the company.
1996 Monte Davis gets inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.
2000 Glenn E. Thomas Co. receives the “Top Dealer Award” from Chrysler’s Zone Manager. When presented with the award, the Glenn E. Thomas Co. was called, “the flagship of all Dodge dealerships.”
2019 Glenn E. Thomas Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ram receives the 2019 Customer First Award for Excellence Certified by J.D. Power. This accolade is only for dealers who have achieved the highest level of customer experience recognition in the program’s five core areas: Customer Treatment, Employee Engagement, Processes, Training Certification and Facility.
Today Glenn E. Thomas Co. continues to be a successful Signal Hill Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, RAM dealer serving the Long Beach, Huntington Beach and Los Angeles area.
