Jim Christiano joined Buick in 1971, serving in service and sales roles for the Buick Motor Division at locations across the United States. In 1981, he transferred to Buick’s home office in Flint, Mich., and took on the role of director of fleet sales, his first official role in fleet. He led Buick’s Olympics project, placing 10,000 Buicks on the ground in Los Angeles.
After leaving Buick in 1986, he opened a dealership for a time, which he sold in 1991. He later managed sales for a drive-away business, and founded PARS in 1998. In its first year, PARS quoted 50 moves a day and received 10 orders. Since then, the company has grown dramatically, recently moving into new 10,000 square-foot headquarters in Gainesville, Va. He led PARS until 2006 (when his daughter, Lori Rasmussen, took over), but remains active in the business.
He was inducted into the Automotive Fleet Hall of Fame in 2018.