470 Boston Post Rd.
(Exit 37 Going North, Exit 36 Going South)
Milford, CT 06460
Click on one of the people below to find out more information.
Robert E. Crabtree Jr.
Biography
4/5/13
I was born in Greenwich, Connecticut on July 27, 1964. Although my parents just made it to the hospital, my mother often tells the story that my birth actually began in a 1964 Chrysler Imperial. I was destined to be in the automobile business.
I am a third generation automobile man. My grandfather started in the business in 1928, and opened his own dealership in 1938 which marked the beginning of Crabtree Motors in New Rochelle, NY. After the untimely death of my grandfather, my father, only 26 years old, became the youngest Dodge Dealer in the Country, and continued for over 55 years in business with tremendous success until his death on February 9th, 2005. My father exposed me to the business as early as 11 years old, cleaning cars. He always told me, 'we are not just in the car business, we are in the people business", a philosophy I continue to hold today.
During my high school and college years, I worked summers, and was exposed to all aspects of the business, from prep to parts, to service, then as a Salesperson and eventually a Finance Manager. My summer education in the automobile business rialed my scholastic education. I knew from there that I wanted to be in the automobile business. After my graduation from Boston University on May 17th, 1987, I spent a year in the Chicago region as a Management Trainee for Toyota Motor Sales, then went on to sell cars at Crabtree Ford, and quickly became the Sales Manager. After the Dealerships in New Rochelle were sold in 1989, I came to work at Colonial Toyota. I began selling after-sales and soon became the Used Car Manager and was eventually promoted to General Sales Manager. Two and a half years later, I earned the General Manager Position. The Dealership was not healthy, but due to the dedicated young crew, we soon became Connecticut's #1 volume Toyota Dealer.
As early as 1993, I began to assist my father in our other operations which included Toyota of Westport and Lexus of Westport. In 1994, I became a 25% partner in Colonial Toyota. After my brother Michael's tragic death in 2003, with tremendous emotions; my father and I created the C.O.O. position and it was here that I learned the most. In 2005, I became the President and C.E.O. of Crabtree Automotive Group, which included Toyota of Westport and Lexus of Westport, as well as 100% Owner and Dealer Principle of Colonial Toyota in Milford. As President and C.E.O. of the Westport Dealerships, my responsibilities were not only limited to the day to day operations, but I was also appointed the lead man on our decision to sell the operations. We closed in March 2008. This was the largest transaction of two dealerships in the State of Ct.
In 2007, I earned the Presidents Award, and I began a massive renovation and re-engineering of the former Colonial Toyota which is now a one of a kind, state of the art Dealership. The year 2009, was a monumental year for me in many ways. The newly constructed Colonial Toyota, made its debut, along with my "No Haggle; One Associate" sales approach. That same year, I received the Businessperson of the Year Award by The Milford Chamber of Commerce, where I currently serve on The Board of Directors. In addition, I received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2009 from the American Business Defense Advisory Council.
My wife Carolyn, of 23 years and I have four daughters, Sarah 19, Morgan 17, Emily 16, and Maggie Mae 9. I was raised and continue to raise my children with a strong Christian value and spirituality which expands much further than just church on Sunday. We pray every evening and I consider us to be a very close knit loving family. We are all very involved in many activities such as snow and water skiing, snowmobiling, golf, trap shooting, crew and equestrian.
I was born in Nigeria West Africa. Happily married with a 4 year old son. I hold a bachelors degree in Business Management. I have been with Toyota for 8 years, 3 of them at Colonial Toyota. One thing I love about working here is the integrity and straight forward approach to doing business, which makes it possible for me to leave work everyday in good conscience, knowing that I actually helped someone with their automotive needs. You cannot say that with a lot of dealerships. I am very happy here.
Gloria worked in Television Advertising, Radio Advertising, Print and digital. She also owned an Ad Agency in Pa while raising two sons. When Gloria moved to Ct, Colonial Toyota was one of her clients at WTNH TV and later on Cox Media. She has over 20 years of advertising and marketing experience, and has become very connected to Colonial Toyota Gloria has always enjoyed working with automotive dealers because of their passion, and their sense of urgency. The Toyota brand has so many autos to choose from, and they are great cars. Loving advertising, and loving the car business, it is a win win!
Back in the year 2002, I was in the market for a car for my wife who was expecting our child. I drove to Colonial Toyota, from my home in Stratford Ct. From the moment we drove into the parking lot, my wife and I were treated with the warmth of hospitality and great buying experience during our selection of cars we were shown. This customer buying experience, is what I was used to giving the customers I came in contact with in my short 5 years experience working in call centers. About 2 years went by from that initial auto purchase. When the time came where I wanted to earn a little more income to raise my family a bit better, I decided to search for a job as a sales consultant. Guess where? at Colonial Toyota. Not knowing if this is a job I would grow to enjoy, it has become a career for me. I am entering my 8th year at Colonial Toyota. I have many awards, such as being named Salesman of the year, Three years in a row with 2007 275 Cars, 2008 with 225 Cars, and 2009 with 175 cars. Selling the Toyota Brand is the very easy part, because of the quality of the product. I take great pride in not just selling the cars, but also giving the customer a great buying experience that in turn leads to referrals of friends, family, and associates. A great buying experience is contagious, and people love to share how they were treated. We are all consumers, and everyone deserves a great buying experience.
I love to sell cars, and I love meeting the people I sell them to! The people here are great, the customers are great. Colonial Toyota is my second family. My first family is my wife and 5 wonderful children. I'm just a happy guy lovin my job!
Tracy has always been a customer service professional, from Quality Assurance in a manufacturing environment to Business Process Analyst in the electronics industry. She now applies her lifelong commitment to customer satisfaction to her role at Colonial Toyota by assisting service customers and others on the phones. She enjoys working at Colonial Toyota where going the extra mile for the customer is appreciated.
Hello, My name is Anthony Mao. I have been selling Toyota vehicles in New Haven County for 23 years. I am very proud to have gained all of this experience. Through the years, I have received many of the high honor awards fro Toyota Motor Sales USA.Inc.for customer satisfaction and professionalism. There is a great pride that comes with treating my customers honorably. In fact, I have made them my guests. When presenting the quality and convenience of a Toyota Vehicle, I feel it is important to ensure that the customer understands the vehicle inside and out before they commit to the purchase. Today, I am happy to have joined the Colonial Toyota Sales Team. With the Colonial Toyota selling process and philosophy, I feel confident in my goals to provide all of my customers with services they expect and deserve.