I work in the car business.

If you want to raise eyebrows, tell people you work in the car business. We are an industry still plagued with stereotypes. And being a woman in the car industry often prompts a lot of questions.

But the car world I work in is different than the stereotypes. The car world where I live and breathe is made up of good men and women. I have been in and out of this world for a good portion of my life. I started as a file clerk in the service department and worked my way through various parts of the dealership answering phones, taking appointments, making customer relations calls and working on special projects. Today I work in communicatons, e-commerce and now, dealership blogger.

The internet has changed the way that shoppers buy cars, and through this little piece of the blogosphere, I hope we can change the way you think about car dealerships.

Hi, my name is Erin and I work in the car business.

Employee of the Quarter: Denny Smith

Denny Smith works on a used car at Auburn Toyota.

Like the Toyotas he works on, Denny Smith is dependable— year in and year out. For 18 years the service department at Magnussen’s Auburn Toyota has been relying on Denny for his expertise in automotive repair and extensive knowledge. Denny started here as a line technician and today is a shop foreman and directs used car reconditioning. As shop foreman he is responsible for quality control, managing the technicians, working on complex jobs and interacting with customers.


“Denny is dedicated and hard-working,” says Lee Rafferty, Service Manager. “He is the nuts and bolts of somebody you want as an employee.”


Denny Smith is a lifelong local; he attended Alta Vista Elementary School, EV Cain and Placer High School before finishing high school in South Lake Tahoe. When Denny returned home, he spent three years in the automotive program at Sierra College. He took every course they offered. Denny received four certifications before going to work at a GM dealership in Placerville. When he was 21 Denny had his own shop in Coloma where he worked primarily on the seasonal vehicles used to tow rafts and passengers up and down the river roads.


Eventually Denny ended up at Auburn Toyota because of the quality of the make. “The customers love their vehicles so much and they trust in them,” he said. “And I do, too.”


In his 18 years Denny has experienced a lot at Auburn Toyota. One of Denny’s favorite memories was celebrating his 40th birthday here at Auburn Toyota. Employees decked him out in all the “Over the Hill” gear they could find. The other employees are one of the reasons Denny has been here so long “Good people work here,” he said. “I like the area, I grew up in the area and I know the people.”


In his free time you will find Denny playing golf, boating, or working on his own cars. His first car was a brown, 1970 Firebird which he turned it into a hot rod. One of his favorite cars was a 1968 Camaro which he made into a “13 second car” (it could go 1/4 mile in 13 seconds) which he built while attending Sierra College. When he got married he had a 1969 convertible Firebird that he fixed up. It was red with white interior. When his wife was pregnant she made him sell the car to buy her a new car.


Today you will likely find Denny working on vehicles with his sons. They build rock crawlers for Rubicon. Denny says that Toyotas are the best for this, “They work better.” Currently they are working on an ‘88 4Runner.


Denny has been married to his wife for 23 years and they have two sons and daughter who he describes as “really good kids.” He has been living in Cool for 30 years.

Welcome to Auburn Car Girl

Welcome to Auburn Car Girl, the official dealership blog for Magnussen’s Auburn Toyota and Magnussen’s Auburn Dodge!

There are plenty of professional automotive blogs available for those who are interested in industry business. This blog will be specific to who we are and our customer base. The content here will be varied: I will write about my experiences as a woman in the car business, my “adventures” around the dealership as I do things like learn to change oil and drive a stick, write about products that our customer base is interested in, highlight efforts we are making in our community, as well as discuss any industry topics that we think our customers will be interested in. This blog will be fun, educational and help you see a bit more into we are at Auburn Toyota and Dodge.

Our two dealerships are lucky to have many long-time employees in all of our departments. We will introduce you to some of those employees as we go along. We will feature some of our favorite customers, too—the ones who have been coming back year after year!

If there is a question or a topic that you would like us to address, please leave a comment or send me an email at cargirl@auburntoyota.com

Let’s get started, shall we?