James Toyota's New Look is The Beginning of a New Era

Toyota was first introduced to Canadians 54 years ago and arrived in Timmins 38 years ago. For some people their first car might have been a Toyota, and after all these years Toyota has new and modern look. You could tell that the grand reopening was the beginning of a  new era. MP Charlie Angus was in attendance, along with MPP Gilles Bisson, Mayor George Pirie, and even the President and CEO of Toyota Canada Larry Hutchinson.

” This facility is our new standard; there’s only a handful of them in Canada today. You can see when you look around it’s open, it’s welcoming, it’s modern, it’s a friendly environment. Timmins is not the biggest market in the world, but it’s a healthy market from a car dealership point of view. From Jim Bazuik’s (Owner of James Toyota) point of view, it’s a big investment for him. He’s put a lot into the city that I think has responded well to him over the years, and I think he’s paying back the community by giving them this new and improved dealership.” -Said Hutchinson.

For Jim Bazuik, who has owned James Toyota since it pretty much opened its doors here in Timmins, this was everything for him. This new and improved building seemed to bring him closure, and let him know that once he hands the dealership over to his sons… it will be in good hands.

” It’s funny because when I first started, I always said that Toyota would be better than Ford or General Motors some day. The person I was working with at the time laughed at me when I said that. It was also one of those things where most people would have thought this would never happened, and now look at it… it’s unbelievable!” -Jim Bazuik

That’s why for all of these years, he put in all this time and effort. He went on to talk about how the new look wasn’t just because it was time for one; the new look was for Timmins and the surrounding community. He realized early on that Toyota was all about the customers and the community. That’s what he liked about it, and that’s why this grand reopening meant a lot to him. They’ve come this far, and Toyota’s future in Timmins looks permanent and promising.

The big day also brought some good news for Timmins High Vocational School. After the ribbon cutting Bazuik and Hutchinson announced that Toyota Canada along with James Toyota, have teamed up to donate a 2012 Corolla to the school. The car will be used in the shop/mechanic classes in the fall and will help students develop their skills.

” It’s huge for us because, one of the things we try to do as an educational facility when we have students in our school’s, is to try to teach them real life problems, (working on vehicles). So for Toyota to donate this real vehicle so that kids can learn how to change tires, diagnose different errors on the codes for the car, it’s awesome, and you can’t replace those experiences.” -Said Principle Greg Vincze.

James Toyota has been in Timmins for 38 years; it has seen many people make their first ever car purchase, and it has always been about the customers and the community. Some people may look at this as just another renovation; but for Jim Bazuik, James Toyota, and Toyota Canada this grand reopening is the beginning of a new era. Not only for the company, but for customer experience, Toyota vehicles, and for current and future employees.