It took just two days for Orange County auto dealer Bob Tuttle to be approved as U.S. ambassador to Britain.
In Washington, D. C., Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice promptly swore Tuttle in on July 14 and off he jetted with his wife Maria to London. Tuttle replaced William Farish.
Now the co-owner of Irvine-based Tuttle Click Automotive Group and “Bush Pioneer” (raised more than $100,000 for President Bush’s re-election) is known as Robert Holmes Tuttle.
Tuttle was named assistant to President Reagan in 1982. Three years later Reagan appointed him director of presidential personnel. Tuttle later joined the board of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library Foundation.
What a time for Tuttle to take on the ambassadorship.
One of his first duties in Britain was to lay a wreath at the Victoria Embankment Gardens in memory of the people who died in the July 7 London bombings.
There has been talk that Tuttle might sell his share of the dealerships to his partner and cousin Jim Click, but that hasn’t been the case so far.
Tuttle oversaw the group’s OC dealerships, including Tuttle Click Ford and Tuttle Click Chrysler Jeep. Tuttle Click has about 15 dealerships and annual sales of more than $700 million in all.
Jim Click, based in Arizona, is running the dealerships. The employees are mum on a possible sale.
Tuttle Click’s Tustin Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge in Tustin recently finished an upgrade and expansion. The dealership now has a six-car showroom, 100,000-square-foot storage and parking structure that can hold nearly 400 cars, nine new service bays for a total of 40 and an expanded parts area.
Auto Madness
The Orange County Auto Dealers’ Association’s California International Auto Show at the Anaheim Convention Center is coming on fast.
The show is set for Oct. 5 to 9, followed by the Los Angeles Auto Show and then the monster Detroit North American International Auto Show, both in January.
Last year, the California show saw 12 autos debut. This year, about five auto introductions have been confirmed so far. The Detroit show introduces about 70 autos.
New to the OC event this year will be the “Auto Show Underground,” a 140,000-square-foot display area that features automotive accessories in a hip club-like setting, with a deejay and local bands.
Exotic cars, sport compacts and muscle cars, including some celebrity owned cars, will be modified to show off the latest in accessories.
Last year’s exit survey showed that more people wanted to see accessories, said John Sackrison, executive director of the OC dealers’ association and co-director of the auto show.
Mixed Registrations
Auto registrations, an indication of sales, were up 1.9% in OC in May, according to the Orange County Auto Outlook, a report put out by the local dealers’ association.
But registrations through May this year still were in negative territory, down 1.5% from 2004. That matches the trend in U.S. registrations.
Toyota’s new Scion posted the top percentage gain with a 90.7% jump in registrations through May. Land Rover posted a 32.3% increase.
In the county’s luxury battle, Mercedes registrations are up 8.1% for the year, with Lexus up 2.5% and BMW down 4.3%.
At the bottom was Isuzu, with a 63.8% decrease in sales through May. Mitsubishi was next with a 37.8% decrease.
Teen Scene
OC’s best shopping for kids, according to Embassy Suites: South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Main Street in Huntington Beach and The Lab in Costa Mesa.
Strangely, Fashion Island didn’t make the list.
Embassy Suites’ “kids eye view” gives vacationing teens recommendations on what it thinks are a region’s best desserts, best outdoor spots and so on.
Biggest Shopping Centers
South Coast Plaza checked in as No. 2 in gross leasable space in a ranking of shopping centers, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
South Coast’s 2.8 million square feet of leasable space is second to West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, Alberta. The Canadian mall has 3.8 million square feet of leasable space.
Video Conferencing
About 700 bigwigs in computer and video game retailing, known collectively as the Interactive Entertainment Merchants Association, touched down at the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa recently.
Members include retailers such as Target, Blockbuster, Circuit City and Sam’s Club.
The retailers were told to stop selling the violent and raunchy “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” game that carried an “M” for mature rating.
The Entertainment Software Ratings Board has revoked the game’s M rating and said retailers must put an “adults only” rating on the game. “Grand Theft” was found to have pornographic material hidden in the game.
Less than 1% of the games rated by the board receive an “adults only” rating. Some retailers won’t carry the game even if it carries the “adults only” sticker.
About 60% of the games that will be on store shelves this year are bought at the conference. The show was held in Las Vegas last year after outgrowing the Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel, where it was held the previous year.
