The Race Is On!

From July 15-18, you would’ve found Concours stationed happily at Road America in Elkhart Lake. This time, it was for the Kohler International Challenge, an annual event featuring vintage motor sports car races. It’s noted as Road America’s signature event, “a blend of art-on-wheels and great competition between everything from cult favorites to priceless limited production models,” as the brochure states.

Bill Wuesthoff mentions that there were around 450 entries this year, making for lots of good participation and good racing. Two of the featured events were the sports car Concours d’Elegance on Friday and the race car Concours d’Elegance on Saturday.

Our dealership provided a display of many new and Certified Pre-owned Porsche cars for the public to see. Also, the new 2010 Saab 9-3 convertible was there—Saab is officially back with new corporate ownership in place. “This gave additional exposure for these exciting products to a group of very discerning motor sports fans,” Bill says.

On hand to help man the display and communicate with interested parties was our own Chuck Kadonsky from our sales team. He was on deck most of the weekend, and he was joined by Chris Wuesthoff (Karl Wuesthoff’s son), Jerry Zimmerman and Michael Scaffidi (sales managers), and Jeff Sorenson (Porsche and Saab Service Manager).

Traffic flow was good all weekend long. If you were a part of that traffic, we’d love to hear about your experience and perhaps see your pictures and videos! You can view more of our pictures and video on our facebook page, www.facebook.com/concoursmotors.

Live at the Lakefront

Milwaukee is buzzing with lots of outdoor activities and entertainment this summer. If you’re looking for some fun without spending a lot of money, check out the Live at the Lakefront concert series on Wednesdays throughout the summer!

Concours is a proud sponsor of the event that runs from July 7-September 1. You’ll find it at the Rotary Amphitheater at Discovery World. And no need to worry about inclement weather; the show goes on rain or shine. If it’s raining, the Promenade inside Discovery World will be the setting for the evening.

Shows are from 5:30pm-9pm, and Bartolotta’s provides food and beverage service, everything from steak sandwiches to grilled brats and hamburgers, and of course, beer and wine. However, you’re welcome to bring your own food and beverages, too! As for the music, Live at the Lakefront offers multiple genres. You’ll hear reggae, jazz, Afro-Cuban, bluegrass, salsa, rock, etc. Check out http://www.liveatthelakefront.com/ for specific concert dates and to see who’s playing!

Visit our Facebook page to see photos and even some video from the concerts so far this month! http://www.facebook.com/newsue#!/album.php?aid=200375&id=82042764123

Mazda Friends and Family Pricing!

Hello, friends! We invite you to read the following exciting memo from Tom Kossow in our sales department:

Concours is proud to announce Friends and Family pricing on all new Mazdas! As loyal Concours customers, you are ALL friends and can benefit from this great savings program. If you wish to take advantage, just contact any of our sales professionals and get the best deal in town on your next Mazda.

All pricing is based on supplier prices, and don’t forget your trade-in is worth more today! With strong used car values, now is the time to make your best deal. Check out our inventory online at www.concoursmotors.com. Offer ends 7/31/10.

As of 7/13/10, we have the following inventory available on our lot:

Mazda 3: 29
Mazda 5: 5
Mazda 6: 7
Mazda Tribute: 1
Mazda Speed 3: 3
Mazda Miata: 4
Mazda CX-7: 9
Mazda CX-9: 13

Stop in or call us at 414-290-1400 today!

Stars Among Us

The stars just keep rising here at Concours, in all different forms, from rock stars to service stars! Mercedes-Benz is currently in the middle of holding their Stars of Service Championships, and two of our own have advanced to higher levels!

Todd Dekker, Mercedes Service Advisor, and Dave White, Mercedes Technician, have both advanced in the competition.

The first round for both began with a series of online tests, involving everything from product knowledge to customer service knowledge to company history trivia. This round actually took place in March of 2009, but the competition was unfortunately cancelled, so the results carried over to April of 2010 for the second round of online tests.

Both Todd and Dave advanced to regionals, beating out thousands of others across the country. Dave mentioned that there were around 1600 techs that participated in the online testing! Todd was one of 24 service advisors to advance.

In June, they participated in the regional competition. Todd’s test involved a mock service write-up, everything from greeting the customer to diagnosing the problem and creating a repair order. There was also a technical aspect in which he had to demonstrate product/part knowledge.

Dave’s test involved 4 different timed stations. A vehicle was bugged in each one, and he had 5 minutes each to determine the problem and demonstrate knowledge of basic procedures, as well as proper protection of the vehicle and himself.

The next step is nationals, and Dave has already been informed that he is one of only 32 techs to advance! Todd will hear the service advisor results sometime this week, and he could be one of only 8 service advisors to go to the next level.

The ultimate prize is a trip to Germany for only 2 advisors and 5 techs to compete against 16 other countries and battle it out to be named the best in the world!

Be sure to congratulate them and wish them luck next time you see them! We’re proud to see Todd and Dave succeeding in this competition and to be able to say they’re part of the Concours team.

What A (Car) Show-off...

Ladies and Gentlemen, It’s the first day of summer, and it’s also car show season! Perhaps you’ve even been to a few already. Tonight (June 21) is particularly special for us. Over at Brew City Grill in Mequon, it’s Saab/Volvo/Spyker/Koenigsegg night!

Join them from 6pm-10pm to experience the enthusiasm. Concours will be providing some Saab merchandise from our accessories department, and Brew City will provide beer and food specials!

Interested in seeing car shows all summer long? Looking for your favorite franchise? Check out this link: http://www.wiscollectorcar.com/car-shows/car-show-calendar.html

There you’ll find the calendar listing local car shows across the area and even into Illinois. Many provide food specials and even dj’s to add to the atmosphere. Let us know your favorites and share your experiences on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/concoursmotors.

A Look Into the Future!

It’s time to take a look ahead…into the FUTURE!

We’re prepping here at Concours for all of the new additions and revamps coming from each of the franchises we represent, and if you’ve heard the news, we hope you’re excited for the future as well! Here are the latest updates for our store:

• BMW is bringing out a new 5-series 2-wheel drive this month and an all-wheel-drive in the fall. We should also be getting new Hybrid X-6 and Hybrid 7-series vehicles soon, and we expect anytime to receive the refreshed X-5 and refreshed 3 coupe and convertible! Look for a new X-3 next year.
• Mazda will be bringing out the Mazda2 late this summer. A gas version will be available first, and for all you diesel drivers, expect a version you’ll love to arrive a little later.
• The Mercedes E cab is available now! We also have an E-550 here for showing—we won’t be getting very many of these, so we encourage you to stop in soon! We’ve also been told that the R class will be refreshed and the CLS revamped, so be on the lookout for those. If you’ve heard that the SLS is already out, you’re right; we just unfortunately do not have any available yet.
• Regarding Porsche, the Panamara has been quite a popular vehicle! Expect a version with a V-6 to arrive in a few weeks! Pricing will be in the mid 70s, with mid 80s pricing including a few extra options. We’ll also see a new Cayenne at the end of the month, followed with a hybrid later in the year and a diesel next year. (Check out the blog on our GM Jim Clark’s trip to Germany to see and experience the new Cayenne first-hand earlier this year!) Porsche will also be releasing the GT2 RS, a 620-hp 911, costing around $245,000. They are also releasing a Speedster 911 for around $204,000 late this year. As you might expect, the GT2 RS and Speedster 911 will be in limited production, so speak up early, as it will be difficult to get our hands on them! In Spring 2011, look for a GTS Carrerra coupe starting around $103,000 (convertible will start at $112,900) as well as a Cayman Derivative starting at $65,000.
• What a ride Saab has had recently! Thankfully, the franchise will get to live on, with a new 9-3X wagon already available. We will see a 9-5 around July (with a 9-5 wagon expected next spring), the 9-4 SUV late this year or early next year, and an all-new 9-3 coming in 2012. Within the next 2 years, we should see the Saab line completely revamped!
• Volkswagen will be bringing out the new Jetta this September and the new Touareg later this year. They’ve also opened a new plant in Tennessee that will release the new, compact NCS next year and the new mid-size NMS next spring. And the New Beetle? Look for that in 2012! Want to get a first-hand look at the NCS that NOBODY has been able to see yet? Tune in tomorrow morning to “Live! With Regis and Kelly” to see the official reveal.

Have any questions? Interested in test-driving and/or purchasing any of the vehicles? Give us a call! You can reach our main store at 414-290-1400 and our BMW store at 414-290-4200.

Check out the New E-Class!

Have you heard about the all-new 2011 Mercedes-Benz E350? It was unveiled at a special showing of Sex and the City 2. The event was sponsored by Concours and held at the iPic Theatre in Bayshore Town Center. The Mercedes shown at the premiere was a replica of the one that Carrie drove in the movie.

Two of the people in attendance were our marketing rep, Katie Heup and one of our Mercedes salespeople, Dierk Schulz. An after-party was held at MOCT (pronounced “most”) in the 5th ward, and the place was decorated in a Moroccan theme in keeping with the movie location! There were also Mercedes-Benz and Chanel-themed door prizes.

Dierk tells me that the 2011 E350 is an all-new 4-seater convertible. There had been a version available in the mid-1980s, and now it has officially been brought back! It’s intended as a successor to the CLK.

Here in our showroom, we do not currently have an E350 available to drive, but we have an E550. We’d love to show it to you!