Planet Hyundai GM grew up following father’s footsteps

Planet Hyundai Sahara General Manager Jason Tamburro grew up in the car business, starting as a lot porter at the age of 19 in his family's Toyota dealership in Austin, Texas. The son of a veteran automobile executive, he followed a path to the top that required its own learning curve.

"I have done just about everything in the car business," said Tamburro, 38, who oversees the dealership at 7150 W. Sahara Ave. "I have cleaned cars, worked as a service adviser and have been a used-car manager. I'm not at all afraid to get my hands dirty."

The climb to the top of the car business hasn't been easy, especially since Tamburro's father required his son to work for another dealership as well as his own.

"My dad is a first-generation car dealer," Tamburro said. "His requirement for me moving into management was stricter than in most cases. He just wanted to make sure I would be successful before becoming a general manager. I went to work as a general sales manager for Penske Automotive in Austin because it was important for me to prove myself."

Two years went by in Austin before Tamburro accepted an offer to relocate to Las Vegas when Planet Hyundai was acquired in March 2010. Tamburro accepted an offer to work as the dealership's general manager.

"My dad always pushed me to be the best that I can be," Tamburro said. "Like me, my dad wasn't given anything on a silver spoon, since he had to start in sales and work his way up."

When it came time for the move to Las Vegas, there was a lot of work for Tamburro to do and the economy was still in bad shape.

Long-time family friend and co-owner Ron Coury said, "We are delighted to have Jason managing this location. His knowledge of the car business, coupled with his exceptional people skills, has been noticed by our customers and employees alike. I often receive letters or comments from those who interact with Jason. It has consistently been praise, time and time again, regarding his professionalism, courtesy and sense of fairness with all his interactions with everyone he works with."

"My dad always pushed me to be the best that I can be," Tamburro said.

"It was a leap of faith to come out here and put everything my wife and I had into this move. I had to fly to Scottsdale to buy 16 used cars to fill our inventory, so that we could get started. In the first month, we sold 173 new cars and 54 preowned. There were no guarantees that we were going to be successful, so we really had to change the mind set of the slow-to-spend local community and improve on the inventory at the same time."

More than a year later, Tamburro and his wife, Heather, couldn't be happier.

"Las Vegas is a great town, and we've met some wonderful people here," he said. "Business has been brisk, and I believe so strongly in the product line of Hyundai with all of the company's innovative programs, fuel efficiency and the best warranty in the car business. I am confident we will be staying in Las Vegas for a very long time."