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Park Place Jaguar Plano and Lotus of Plano names General Manager Mike Cuzzo

Jaguar Plano General Manager

Plano, TX (July 13, 2012) – Mike Cuzzo has been named General Manager of Park Place Jaguar Plano and Lotus of Plano. Cuzzo joined Park Place Dealerships, Dallas/Fort Worth’s premier luxury automobile group, in August of 2010 as General Sales Manager of Park Place Lexus in Mission Viejo, California. Cuzzo then moved to Park Place Lexus Plano where sales, member morale, and client satisfaction soared.

During his tenure at Lexus Plano, Cuzzo served as a leader in the Circle of Excellence program, a group whose charter is to raise money in support of local community charities. Within the first six months of his leadership, this group has more than doubled charitable contributions.
 
Cuzzo has worked for almost two decades in the automotive industry. He started his career in 1994 as a salesman for a Honda dealership in Orange County and was quickly promoted to Sales Manager. In 2005, Cuzzo became General Manager of Ford and Mazda of Orange. Cuzzo joined Park Place in 2010 at Park Place Lexus Mission Viejo.
 
Mike Cuzzo lives with his wife and two sons in Frisco.
 
Park Place Jaguar and Lotus of Plano are located 4422 West Plano Parkway, Plano, Texas 75093.
Jaguar Plano General Manager
Mike Cuzzo; The new general manager of Jaguar Plano and Lotus of Plano
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Park Place Dealerships Adds Infiniti Brand To Dealership Group

Nevada’s Business Friendly State Major Factor in Purchase

DALLAS (July 2, 2012) – Park Place Dealerships, a luxury automobile group based in Dallas, announced today it has acquired Towbin Infiniti of Las Vegas for an undisclosed price. The dealership, located at 5605 West Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas, has been renamed Park Place Infiniti (parkplaceinfiniti.com).

“Nevada is a ‘business-friendly’ state which is important to our company when we consider expansion opportunities,” said Ken Schnitzer, founder and Chairman of Park Place Dealerships. “The Infiniti brand is a terrific brand and has tremendous long-term potential. Infiniti recently launched two new 2013 models – the 3-row/7-passenger Infiniti JX luxury crossover and the IPL G Convertible. In May, The Robb Report placed the Infiniti JX on its “Best of the Best” list of sport utility vehicles for 2012.”

Situated on six acres, Park Place Infiniti includes a 40,000-square-foot facility with a six-vehicle new car showroom, 26 service bays, a make-ready and detail area, and a six-vehicle pre-owned showroom. Renovations to the facilities will begin soon.

The company has named Stephen James General Manager of Park Place Infiniti. James transferred from Park Place Jaguar in Plano, Texas and was also a part of the Park Place Lexus team that was awarded the coveted Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, the highest recognition a business can receive from the President of the United States.

“Stephen is a great asset to Park Place and will extend the culture and community of our company to residents of Las Vegas,” said Schnitzer. “We are excited to bring the Park Place brand to Nevada and look forward to being a part of the landscape for many years to come.”

On June 1, Infiniti reported U.S. sales of 10,592 units for the month of May, an increase of 65.8 percent versus 6,389 units a year earlier. Infiniti sales have increased 7.2 percent to 43,941 vehicles for the first five months of 2012.

“With a sales increase of more than 65 percent, May was a fantastic month for Infiniti, our best since 2007,” said Ben Poore, vice president, Infiniti Americas. “Our retailers reported strong traffic in their showrooms, not only for the all-new Infiniti JX, which has successfully fulfilled customers’ desires for a unique, new take on a luxury crossover, but for our Infiniti G and M lines as well.”

Total Car Score, a leading automotive ranking and comparison website, recently recognized Infiniti as the number one scoring brand on its listing of the “Top 10 Best Car Brands for 2012.” The study, which focuses on the strength of a brand’s overall product range, is based on numerical ratings for 2012 model year vehicles by independent automotive media and reviewers.

Infiniti offers a full-line of luxury performance automobiles, including the G Coupe, Sedan and Convertible, Infiniti M sedan, EX and FX crossovers, the QX full-size SUV and the all-new JX luxury crossover.

 

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Generations of Baird Family Enjoy Years Of Lexus Quality and Park Place Hospitality

Everyone knows that at Park Place, we work hard to enhance the ownership experience. We do this by building lasting, meaningful relationships with our clients. Last week, Park Place Lexus Grapevine Sales Consultant Troy Griffin sold long-time client Billie Baird her 4th Lexus GS. Ms. Baird took delivery of her first brand-new GS in 2002, which a few years later she passed down to her son.  The second Lexus GS was a 2006 model year, which she passed down to her son; at which time, he passed the 2002 Lexus GS to his own son. The third Lexus GS was only 2 years ago, in 2010 which Ms. Baird passed down to her son, and he passed the 2006 to his son, and the 2002 was recycled again within the family. The fourth was the 2013 Lexus GS,  and of course – the passing down continues.

A special thanks to Ms. Baird and her family for being a part of the Park Place tradition of excellence, and for making Lexus a family tradition of their own.

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Park Place Lexus Plano to Build New Dealership to Keep Up With Growth of Lexus

In 1991, Park Place Dealerships opened their first Lexus store and after 15 expansions, Park Place Lexus Plano is preparing for the next chapter. The company announced today it is moving the dealership to Spring Creek Parkway and the Dallas North Tollway, approximately three and a half miles north of the current Preston Road location. The new multi-million dollar facility will open in the fall of 2013.

“We are positioning the dealership for the additional growth that will come from Lexus introducing new products over the next several years. As Collin County continues to grow, we must also be prepared to manage an expanding market,” said Ken Schnitzer, Chairman of Park Place Dealerships. “We will build a facility that is aesthetically exciting, but also extremely efficient so we can provide the best ownership experience for our clients.“

The 170,000 square foot facility will sit on 27.5 acres with five acres reserved for future development.  The new car showroom will accommodate up to 14 Lexus models in stylish, contemporary surroundings.  The interior of the facility will feature a lighter, softer palette with classic furniture that is tailored and sophisticated. Park Place Lexus will use rift oak, white marble and grey washed hardwoods.  The interior design continues with the direction set by the dealership’s exterior elements emphasizing light and transparency with a series of glass panels and dynamic curved ceilings.

The exterior will feature soft, smooth lines that invite guests into Park Place Lexus Plano.  A curved, sweeping wall that is the length of a football field features the Lexus emblem and can be seen from the northbound and southbound lanes of the Dallas North Tollway.  The feature wall starts at 35 feet on one end and rises to 50 feet at the other, framing the showroom and showcasing cars on the plaza with branded Lexus images above the fleet of cars.  The dealership will front the access road of the Dallas North Tollway with additional entry points on Spring Creek Parkway.

Park Place Lexus Plano will increase its service and make-ready bays from 68 to 119. More than 8,000 square feet will be dedicated to a dent and ding body repair as well as a tint service facility.  The service drive will encompass nearly 7,000 square feet allowing Park Place to easily provide personalized service for every client.

“After expanding the dealership 15 times over 21 years, we are simply out of space,” said Jordan Case, President of Park Place Lexus. “We started with 36 employees and have grown this store to more than 300 members today. Over the next several years, we will be adding technicians, sales associates, and service advisors among other job positions. We expect to have a 10 percent increase in jobs once the dealership opens.”

Located in Collin County, Park Place Lexus expects to see significant growth as a result of the demand for the Lexus brand as well as continued growth coming from Collin County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the population in Collin County increased nearly 60% from 2000 to 2010. Eight of the 10 fastest-growing cities in North Texas are in Collin County. Historically, after Park Place has opened a new dealership, the company has seen up to a 20 percent growth in sales and service.

The architectural firm for the project is Dallas-based Good Fulton & Farrell Architects with Hill & Wilkinson handling duties as general contractor.  Emily Owens Design Group has been selected as the interior designer.  Civil engineer is Spiars Engineering.

Park Place Lexus is the only automobile dealership in the United States to receive the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Given by the President of the United States, the award recognizes a company for performance excellence.  Park Place Lexus Plano has also received the Texas Award for Performance Excellence and the Elite of Lexus Award 20 times in its 21-year history.

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Park Place Lexus Grapevine Supports Carroll Teacher Of The Year – With Members, Family and Community

For several years now, Park Place Lexus Grapevine has supported the Southlake/Carroll ISD. Every year, Park Place donates the summer use of a Lexus vehicle to the recipients of the school disctrict’s Teacher of the Year award, and generously supports  the Carroll Education Foundation.

This year, there were two Teacher of the Year honorees, one for middle school and one for high school. When presenting the two cars and the award to Mr. Mangham and Ms. Gilley, Park Place Lexus Sales Director Matt Woolsey thanked them for all their hard work and dedication to students of our community.

A former Dragon himself, and someone who grew up in Southlake, Matt chatted with the students, teachers and faculty of the Southlake/Carroll ISD.  He thought about community, his community, and just how close a connection he has to the neighborhood, the school district and this event . He commented, “I looked around the room and saw a few of my son’s teachers, several current teachers that are Park Place clients, my former principal Mr. Willingham, Mr. Lowery (former superintendent), and my fourth grade teacher Mrs. Anders.  I let them know how proud I was to be a Dragon, how proud I was to be the parent of a couple of Dragons, and how proud I am of Lance and Nichole’s service and dedication to our students.”

Nichole Gilley, teacher of the year for the 7-12 grade range, Carroll High School, is a Dragon too! And, Lance Mangham, award recipient for grades K-6, is a Duke grad, and is currently the accelerated math teacher at Durham Intermediate School (and he was actually Matt Woolsey’s son Austin’s Math teacher last year!)

Lance will be driving a 2013 GS 350 for the summer.  Nichole, a 2013 RX350.  Nichole is also a driver’s ed teacher and she said she usually drives her current teaching vehicle in June—not this June!  Lance mentioned he’s had two cars in the past 22 years, so he’s excited about this summer’s driving opportunity.

Pictured above (L-R): Nichole Gilley, Matt Woolsey, Austin Woolsey and Lance Mangham

 

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Car Pro Show Client Drives Six Hours To Park Place Lexus

Park Place Dealerships love the Car Pro Show, and its voice of automotive reason, Mr. Jerry Reynolds.  Jerry is a friend of Park Place, and a client too. We were thrilled when we heard about a client Jerry recommended to our store – having an Outstanding Client Experience.  What made it even better – was when we learned that this client had driven SIX hours to buy a car from us – and turns out, they bought TWO:

“Wow ! ! ! ! ! what a dealership and what a staff of the most courteous, helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable employees a person could ever want to deal with. Chris, the General Manager at Lexus Plano, met us and was just plain superb. All of our options were reviewed and discussed, and the pros and cons of going in one or a couple of other buying options. Well, the deal finally suggested to us was too fantastic to refuse, and we bought 2 new Lexus ES 350s and drove them back up to northwestern Oklahoma the next day. I would recommend to anyone interested in a Lexus to make the trip and visit with the staff at Park Place Lexus before making a purchase…”

Thank you Car Pro Show, and Jerry Reynolds for again recommending Park Place as a dealership of choice, thank you to Jim and Cheryl from Woodward, Oklahoma – for choosing Park Place to buy your cars, and thank you to Chris Brunner and staff – for living up to our core conviction of providing an Outstanding Client Experience.

Click here for the full article.

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2012 Texas Rangers – Park Place Dealerships – Triple Play Event

Park Place Dealerships is proud to once again be the title presenter of the Texas Rangers Triple Play event set for May 27th at the Hilton Anatole Dallas.  The Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation is dedicated to improving the lives of children in need within our community, and provides funding for youth in crisis, youth health initiatives, youth baseball programs, and youth education.  This event serves as their largest fundraiser each year. The theme this year is “Escape to the Hamptons.”  The reception begins at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner, the program, and then ‘game shows.’  The entire Texas Rangers team will be in attendance and there will be silent and live auctions. Ian and Tess Kinsler and Michael Young and Cristina-Barbosa Young are the hosts for the evening and Fox Sports Southwest’s Emily Jones will be the Mistress of Ceremonies.

To reserve tables or individual tickets, contact the Foundation at (817) 436-5933 or tripleplay@texasrangers.com. Click here fore the full press release on Texas Rangers.com.

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Park Place Service Using RFID Tags and Technology to Enhance Client Experience

By Terry Box, Dallas News

Few cars go unnoticed on the busy service drive at Park Place Motorcars.

A couple of years ago, the Dallas Mercedes-Benz and Porsche dealership began attaching RFID tags, similar to TollTags, to new and used vehicles. Monitors on the service drive read the tags as customers pull in.

“When you arrive, it alerts your service adviser that you are here, tells the adviser what service you’re scheduled for and brings up your service history — all in a few seconds,” said Tony Carimi, director of operations at Park Place Dealerships.

The technology revolution that blew through showrooms more than a decade ago — ushering in Internet car sales — is now roaring through service department back shops.

Service advisors are trading pens and clipboards for iPads, while technicians tune cars with laptops. Devices embedded in service drives check tires on cars entering the dealership for wear and alignment.

Meanwhile, technicians use iPads to photograph worn parts on a vehicle, emailing the pictures to customers so they can decide whether to fix them.

Read the full article on DallasNews.com

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Grapevine Lexus Dealership Has Rare LFA Supercar

The pre-owned department at Park Place Lexus Grapevine is offering for sale a rare Lexus LFA. The vehicle is in exquisite condition as it was only driven a total of 300 miles. Only 150 Lexus LFA supercars were originally produced for the U.S. market, so exclusivity is guaranteed.

Featuring an obsidian exterior coupled with a sporty red interor, this supercar is a race car in Lexus clothing. With a super high-performance engine that generates a staggering 552 horsepower along with an incredibly light carbon fiber body, the car will ensure that every drive is memorable and exhillerating.

Outperforming almost everything in the world, the LFA has set record lap times on some of the most well-known race tracks in the world such as the Nürburgring (Nordschleife).

The 2012 Lexus LFA is available now and can be found front and center in the showroom of Park Place Lexus Grapevine. Racing license not required.

 

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Park Place Motorcars Dallas Presenting Sponsors of the Dress 4 Yellow Fashion Show – LIVESTRONG

Living Strong and Wearing Yellow!

Park Place Motorcars Dallas was proud to be the Presenting Sponsors of the first annual Dress 4 Yellow Fashion Show and Luncheon benefitting LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Cook Children’s Medical Center.  The event took place on Thursday, April 5 at the historic Adolphus Hotel and hosted a sell-out crowd of over 400 fashionistas all wearing yellow and eager to support cancer research.

Lance and his mother, Linda Armstrong Kelly, were front row center at the event as were other advisory board members such as Pat Smith, Amy Vanderoef and Chef Tre Wilcox along with event chairs, Jennifer Applbaum and Lee Nagel.

Couture designers created original, yellow-inspired fashions for the Dress 4 Yellow runway.  Among the notables were Abi Ferrin, Christian Louboutin, Diane Von Furstenburg, Donna Karan, Ellie Tahari, Justin Boots, Michael Kors, Nha Khanh, Peach Carr, Prashe, Ralph Lauren, Shirin Askari and Zang Toi.  Several of these fashions were presented in the Live Auction to raise additional funds for the organization.  Lesa Oudt won the Park Place complimentary Register to Win Package which included a Mercedes-Benz for the weekend, deluxe detail and year of gas for her own vehicle, a $500 Skintastic ‘More Beautiful You’ gift certificate, Abi Ferrin fashion, Kendra Scott earrings and a weekend for 4 couples with guest room accommodations and golf at the luxurious Boot Ranch in Fredericksburg, Texas.  The package has an estimated value of approximately $5,500.

The Dress 4 Yellow event team plans to produce a video entitled  “Why I Wear Yellow” which will allow walk up guests to state why they wear yellow.  This allows supporters that dedicate their time and energy to honor those in their lives who have bravely fought cancer and remember those who win the fight and those that are missed daily.  The video shoot and video premiere will take place at Park Place Motorcars Dallas this June.

Since 2009, the 4 Yellow Foundation has contributed more than $750,000 to LIVESTRONG in the global fight against cancer through their Swing Fore Yellow and Ski Yellow events in Texas and Colorado.  Park Place Dealerships, celebrating our 25th year, has a long history of supporting cancer research.