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Park Place BodyWerks Director Eric McKenzie Works To Overcome Body Shop Industry Reputation

When Eric McKenzie arrived at Park Place Bodywerks in Dallas, Texas, to be the body shop director, cycle time at the luxury-brand dealership shop was an astounding 60 days and the collision center was not profitable.

“I was blown away, I couldn’t believe it,” McKenzie says of the shape the shop was in when he started five years ago.

But within one year, using his industry knowledge, financial acumen and management skills, McKenzie helped drop cycle time to 20 days and profits soared to nearly $2.2 million, with annual revenues of about $18 million. Customer service index (CSI) scores increased from around 80 percent to 97 percent. Revenue has grown steadily since, and the dealership recently opened a second shop in Grapevine, Texas.

Read the full article on FenderBender.com

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Elton John’s Vintage Jaguar To Go To Auction

To us, it is reminiscent of the “Shaguar” of Austin Powers movie fame, (sans the British flag paint work of course) but this little beauty is actually two years older, and could be yours for 70,000 euros at auction next month.

It is – in fact, a Jaguar though,  a classic 1965 Jaguar E-Type that was once owned by the Rocket Man – that’s right – Sir Elton John.

Sir Elton bought the car in 1987. Often described as one of the most beautiful cars of all time, it was one of the fastest cars in the world in it’s heyday.

Learn more about the car and it’s history from The Daily Mail.

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Maserati Launches Jewelry Line Just In Time For Valentine’s Day

Is your true love a real Maserati fan? If so, here is a unique gift idea, just in time for Valentine’s Day. Maserati is now offering three collections of jewelry, crafted exclusively for Maserati by Italian jeweler Damiani. Each of these collections include a key ring, a pair of cufflinks and a necklace, all of which sport the Maserati Trident.

The collections are called ICON, ELEGANCE and PURE; all three making use of silver. ICON and ELEGANCE are mostly oval in shape, while PURE is more round. All three collections are sleek and clean; and the ICON collection actually has an added bit of color and style with a blue enamel accent.

Prices range from $270 to just under $500.

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Park Place Volvo in Dallas Only Dealership in Texas to Receive Volvo President’s Club Award

Park Place Volvo in Dallas has been awarded the Volvo President’s Club award, now for the second time since taking ownership of this Volvo dealership. Only a handful of Volvo dealers across the country are bestowed this honor each year, and Park Place Volvo is the only dealer in the state of Texas to receive this award for 2011.

“Our team has worked hard to earn the recognition associated with the Volvo President’s Club award, and I am very proud of them” said Rob Schweizer, General Manager of Park Place Volvo. “It is an honor to be included on the list of the best Volvo dealerships in the country and the only one in Texas.”

“This elite group of Volvo retailers have excelled in the arena of new and used vehicle sales, parts sales and customer satisfaction,” says John Maloney, President and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America. “This award serves “to truly recognize the ‘best of the best.'”

To see first hand why Park Place Volvo has earned this award, please come visit us for yourself. We look forward to proving our commitment to excellence during your visit.

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Park Place Community Partner Spotlight: Children’s Medical Center

Children’s Medical Center is private, not-for-profit, and is the seventh largest pediatric healthcare provider in the country with 559 licensed beds, two full-service campuses and 10 outpatient sites.

“Since 1999, Park Place Dealerships has been a loyal supporter of Children’s Medical Center. Park Place’s contributions have totaled more than $250,000 cumulatively over the last decade, and they have graciously hosted numerous fundraising events for the hospital. Children’s is proud to call Park Place Dealerships a corporate friend, and salutes the organization for its years of support of our mission to make life better for children throughout North Texas.” Said Pete Kline, President of the Children’s Medical Center Foundation.

Children’s was the state’s first pediatric hospital to achieve Level 1 Trauma status and is the only pediatric teaching facility in North Texas, affiliated with UT Southwestern Medical Center. For more information about Children’s or how to give, please visit www.childrens.com.

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John Travolta’s Vintage 1970 Mercedes-Benz SL Discovered In Pieces

John Travolta has finally received some closure on the theft of his vintage 1970 Mercedes-Benz SL.

Last week, the car was discovered, in pieces, in a California ‘chop-shop’ belonging to an automotive theft ring when police detectives shut it down.

Suspects were arrested, and some sources are reporting that they might just owe Travolta a restitution (to the tune of $50000) for the loss.

Travolta’s car was stolen in Santa Monica last September when he parked and went inside a Jaguar dealership.

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100 Year-Old Rolls-Royce A True "Ghost"

The centurion Rolls-Royce was made-to-order for Lord Pirrie, chairman of Harland and Wolff chairman and one of many behind the construction of the Titanic as well as it’s sister ships in 1911 and was named after the doomed RMS Titanic.
For the last 101 years, the “Titanic Ghost” been restored several times, bought and owned, sold and traded – and was even an ambulance for some time. Now, it’s been fully restored and will be the main attraction at the annual vintage, classic and sports car show in Newcastle, Ireland this week.  One of the show’s organizers, Martin Cromwell, mentioned that it was apt that the car return to the birthplace of the Titanic in the 100th anniversary year of the ship’s tragic accident – considering it’s lineage: “This car has a unique link to a special time and place in our history ,” he said.

“I’m sure visitors to the show will find themselves transported back in time by the experience. You can just imagine Lord Pirrie driving to the shipyard in this Rolls Royce to check on the progress of the great ship.”

1911-rolls-royce

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Design At It’s Best – The Lexus LF-LC Concept

Lexus has, since it’s inception in 1989, been known for luxury, safety and quality. More currently, with the luxurious super car – the Lexus LFA, and now the Lexus LF-LC concept – we can most definitely add super sporty, ‘super car’ and serious performance to this list. There have been suspicions and rumblings about something pretty special coming for Lexus with it’s hush-hush secret development of the Lexus LF-LC concept. What we’re seeing now, with the sneak peek reveal of this exquisite vehicle – is truly extraordinary. The buzz abounds with the excitement surrounding this car. And, it seems – with good reason.

We got a sneak peek from the Road and Track article posted below. The article itself focuses on the specifics of the design, and one interesting tidbit is that the car’s shape, was inspired by nature – a tree leaf, to be exact – for it’s flexibility and ‘flow’. Designers were given full reign on the designs for interior and exterior – with only a few requirements. It is said that CEO of Toyota, Akio Toyoda – asked the designers to ‘make sure the concept has “wow” factor’, including characteristics of avant-garde beauty, originality, driving joy and unequaled technology.

The Lexus LF-LC concept will be making it’s debut at the Detroit Auto Show on January 9th. Click here to read more from Lexus.

Read the full Road & Track Feature on the Lexus LF-LC Concept