I met John Elway: Read (part of) Monday's Story Today

South Bay residents can expect to see a lot of John Elway, the retired NFL Hall of Fame quarterback who was ubiquitous on sports TV and radio broadcasts less than a decade ago.

Last week, Manhattan Beach Toyota Scion rebranded itself as John Elway's Manhattan Beach Toyota Scion, which the football star co-owns. The two-time Super Bowl champion joined two business partners to purchase the car lot in May of last year.

Elway followed the dealership's so-called re-grand opening Thursday -- an event that drew more than 400 people -- with an appearance the next day at a Mira Costa High School football game. Elway gave the home team a pep talk before announcing to spectators in the bleachers that he plans to spend more time in the area because his involvement in the car lot means "now I have more reason to be here."

In an interview, Elway said he plans to participate in future South Bay public events.
"We look forward to getting involved in the community," said Elway, who still exudes the cool self-confidence he was famous for as a player.

At the dealership, at 1500 N. Sepulveda Blvd., a new banner draped in front of the showroom sports Elway's image and the dealership's new name. A display case inside includes some of Elway's trophies and game balls.

Elway and his partners waited more than a year to rebrand the car lot in order to improve customer satisfaction procedures.

"The worst thing you can do is change the name on the store . . . but everything else is the same," said Mitch Pierce, co-owner who also is a partner with Elway in a Toyota dealership in Ontario east of Los Angeles.