Toyota Welcomes Buffett With Cheeseburgers in Hollywood

By Craig Trudell

When billionaire investor Warren Buffett became the newest entrant in the auto-dealership business last year, Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) rolled out the red carpet.
The world’s largest carmaker welcomed Buffett within weeks after his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/B) agreed to acquire Van Tuyl Group, the largest closely held U.S. auto dealer, said Bob Carter, senior vice president of Toyota’s U.S. operations. Carter set up a meeting for Buffett with President Akio Toyoda while his boss was in Los Angeles for a Lexus dealer meeting at the Dolby Theatre, which hosts the Academy Awards.
Carter managed to swing a meeting of his own with the famed investor.
“I said, ‘I’d love to buy you a lunch,’ and he goes ‘Yeah, let’s go for a cheeseburger,’” Carter said today in an interview at the Detroit auto show. “So Warren Buffett and
I walked down the middle of Hollywood Boulevard -- which if you’ve ever walked Hollywood Boulevard, you know every walk of life is on Hollywood Boulevard.”
The purchase of Van Tuyl represented a bet that the auto-retail industry will consolidate amid the best year of new-car sales in the U.S. since 2006. Van Tuyl, which has more than $8 billion in revenue, operates dealerships in states including Texas, Arizona, Florida and California, including more than 20 Toyota, Lexus or Scion franchises, according to its website.

Talking Business

“He’s a fantastic, sociable individual,” Carter said of Buffett. “We talked about his businesses and we talked about the car business. It was just really more social, getting to know each other. It was a pleasure and he was an impressive guy to meet.”
Toyota is forecasting 16.7 million sales of new cars and light trucks in the U.S. this year, which would be a sixth straight year of gains. Carter said strong consumer confidence, low interest rates and recoveries in the labor market and construction markets should boost industry sales to as much as the low-17 million vehicle sales range in the coming years.
Carter declined to discuss in further detail what he and Buffett, 84, discussed at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, calling it a private conversation. He was, however, willing to confirm that he picked up the check.
“He was my guest, so I told the waitress, don’t even bring the bill. I’ll take care of it when we leave.”