Car sales, and a calling, come to St. Charles

Emir Abinion never thought he had what it took to be a successful car salesman. Growing up, he didn't have an electric personality.

He certainly wasn't the kind of guy you'd expect to oversee a major construction project on the way to opening his second business in St. Charles and third car dealership overall.

No, Abinion was supposed to be a Catholic priest.

His parents immigrated to Chicago from the Philippines, bringing their cultural views of success with them.

"You were either a doctor or a priest," Abinion said. "From a mother's perspective, they are the same. You are either saving lives or saving souls."

That's how Abinion found himself enrolled at St. Angela Catholic elementary school. From there, it was on to Lane Tech, a magnet public school at the time. But by senior year, Abinion had career anxiety.

"I was one of those lost souls who didn't know what they wanted to do," Abinion said.

Seeking direction, he leaned on his family's values.

I said to myself, 'OK, I'm going to be a priest.' "

He was accepted at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary in Chicago. But a month before he was slated to start, Abinion found new doubts. With no other plan, he kept the priesthood option alive by enrolling at North Park University, a Christian liberal arts school.

A couple of years in, Abinion's father lost his job - and Abinion lost his tuition, so he'd have to pay for school himself. That's when he spotted an ad saying he could make good money by selling cars, no experience necessary. Six months after he was hired, Abinion had made enough money to pay for the rest of his education and retire his existing student loans.

The Golden Rule, Abinion found, applies to business dealings just as it does to personal relationships.

"Selling cars was easy for me," Abinion said. "My parents taught me to deal with people honestly, keep your promises and follow-up. When you did that in the car business, you make friends. People want to buy from you, and they send their family and friends to you."

Jerry Gleason, an icon in the world of automotive sales in the Chicago area, soon took Abinion under his wing.

"He put his arm around me and said, 'Emir, I don't ever want to interfere with someone's higher education, but did you ever think that this could be your calling?' When he said that to me, something inside me clicked. I decided to try car sales for a little bit longer."

More than two decades later, Abinion runs a Volkswagen dealership in Schaumburg and a GMC dealership in St. Charles, plus he's about to move another VW dealership he owns from West Chicago to St. Charles, where he's lived for 20 years.

The new dealership will move to the seven acres on Main Street that are currently home to the DuPage Expo Center. The new location will allow nearly double the number of service bays the West Chicago location has, and he'll be moving the business closer to his customer base. A larger business also means more jobs - at least 65 - within two years of opening.

St. Charles aldermen are so confident in Abinion they approved a $1.5 million incentive plan to help him. About half of that is a low-interest loan, and the other half is sales-tax sharing plan of up to $700,000. City officials project the dealership will pull in at least $200,000 of new, annual sales and property-tax income.

The steel frame of the new showroom will go up in November, and the business will move from West Chicago next August.

Abinion said he's sure he chose the right career. He may not wear a priest's collar, but he still hears the call to help.

The success of his businesses allows him to donate a car to a different local charity every year. In doing that, he and his employees have gotten involved in other charitable efforts, such as Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity and Fox Valley Christian Action. His mechanics often provide free car repairs on Saturday nights for people who can't afford them.

"I don't think God blesses you just to keep it all to yourself," Abinion said. "You have an obligation. If you can help people, you have to."

There's one more reason Abinion feels sure he's following his true calling.

Jerry Gleason, Abinion's mentor, died four years ago. At his funeral, there was a photo of Gleason with another local car sales icon, Joe Madden. When he asked about the picture, Abinion learned both Gleason and Madden spent about 18 months attending Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary - where Abinion was set to enroll before his path to the priesthood was diverted toward car sales. Maybe car sales really could be a way to live out a spiritual calling after all.

"I wish I'd known that 25 years ago," Abinion said. "It would have made a lot of decisions a lot easier. But I guess God has a way of doing things on His own time."