Glenn Larsen. The Man. The Myth. The Legend.
As a young kid, Glenn worked on cars with his dad in the garage. Auto repair is in his blood. His dad worked at a dealership, then opened a repair shop behind his childhood home. Glenn also worked with his uncle, a Bonneville Salt Flats World Record holder, and together they would wrench on his hot rods. Eventually, Glenn’s father bought a garage behind a gas station and opened an auto repair shop that set the standard for quality repair. Glenn models this value wholeheartedly, and he believes it is still alive and thriving today under his nephew’s management, carrying on the Larsen family name.
At the age of 17, Glenn took a job at a nearby gas station. He rubbed elbows with Hollywood movie stars and filled their cars with gasoline. Before the days of automatic gasoline shut-off valves, and remembers listening carefully to the sound of a full tank so as not to overfill and damage the paint on the likes of Chill Wills car during the filming of McLintock!. After high school, Glenn accepted a college basketball scholarship in Montana, where he quickly found that the California weather suited him much better than the snowy winters in Montana.
After returning from Montana, Glenn took a job working as a mechanic. He spent the summers traveling with his friends to Yellowstone, Banff National Park, Lake Lousie, catching the Calgary stampede, or cruising down the California coast. Glenn then returned to work as an auto mechanic in the fall. Once Glenn reconnected with his lifelong love, Candy, he settled down as a mechanic at his father’s growing auto repair shop. Both he and Candy worked together there. Eventually, Glenn purchased Larsen’s Laguna Hills Unocal and then Foothill Auto Service. He turned both into booming businesses through hard work, integrity, dedication, quality leadership, and of course, humor. To this day, Glenn and Candy are still a happily married couple of 49 years and counting.
Every member of the Foothill Auto Repair team agrees that Glenn and Candy are incredibly generous with their time and resources, and they have a wonderful sense of humor. Nearly one year ago, when COVID-19 began ravaging the world, Glenn chose to give his employees an extra day making it a three-day weekend to spend with their families while paying their full wages. Quoted from Brian, “What I like about him, he is a good man. Glenn exudes integrity. To put it in my own words, Glenn keeps it real - doesn’t say what people want to hear; he keeps it real. Glenn will tell people, ‘your car is broken so let’s fix it.’ He is a no snake-oil salesman. I wish more men were like this.”
The Foothill Auto Repair team likes to laugh and have a good time. Glenn’s sense of humor sets the standard for the shop’s morale with his can-do attitude and kid-at-heart personality. The team is always playing practical jokes on each other around the shop. A funny story came up about a prior employee who liked to “milk” his jobs, taking advantage of his boss and colleagues’ good nature. This fellow ended up getting the nickname “The Milkman,” and the team was joking about getting him a dairy sign above his toolbox. Another standing joke in the shop is to ask if you stayed up all night thinking of ways to mess this up when it comes to a job gone awry. Everyone at Foothill agrees that Glenn is a funny guy, and they appreciate his good humor.
Employees and customers alike at Foothill Auto Service know that Glenn takes care of his customers for life. This standard is passed down to each employee. Diagnostics are Foothills specialty. They have the most knowledgeable team in the area with the latest state-of-the-art factory equipment for GM, Ford, Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen, and Audi. Glenn sets the bar high for customer service, which is why the community has nicknamed Foothill Auto Service “Lake Forest’s best-kept secret.”
Customers from Lake Forest, Foothill Ranch, Portola Hills, Rancho Santa Margarita, Coto De Caza, Mission Viejo, and Trabuco Canyon have come to trust our commitment to quality auto repair. If your vehicle needs preventive maintenance, repairs, tire service, or a check engine light diagnosis, call us today or schedule an appointment online so we can take great care of you and your vehicle. Experience the Foothill Auto Service difference. You’ll be glad you did! We are located at 26911 Vista Terrace, Lake Forest, CA 92630. If you see Glenn on March 2nd, be sure to wish him a happy birthday.
We look forward to seeing you!