Lambo and Lotus? What an odd combo...Still cool though.
Hey Brim.........how's it going !! Been hearing both those rumors forever......... Asgar at Weissach has been saying he's going to do a satellite Lambo/Lotus store here for 2-3 years now (don't get me wrong, I like Asgar and go back some 15 years in my business relationship with Weissach)........but I'm not holding my breath because IMHO the math wouldn't make sense unless you had a huge exotic used car inventory (50+ units) and a rock and roll service department with enough cars to fix already out there on the road.........Lambo and Lotus are not what you'd call volume brands. It would have to be really low budget, and while there is nothing wrong with that, I do not think it would be viable.......they'd have to spend money to duplicate what they have now, and probably only get the same amount of cars to sell between both stores.......or an incrementally greater amount of sales without financial benefit, due to the overhead of carrying two locations. Same goes for the talk about MCL moving a Bentley/Aston store into what will soon be the old BMW location. Both those cars are multiple tens of thousands cheaper in the US.......you'd have to be nuts to buy one here, and I doubt that they'd either get enough cars allocated, or let alone be able to sell enough cars to crack the nut on two pricey locations in western Canada as opposed to the one they have now. If either of these two things occur I wish both parties well.....because they'll need all the luck they're going to get to pull it off.......with low volume brands, and especially with record high RE prices and the eventual depression in Alberta looming right around the corner. As fas as Ferrari goes, Brian Ross (FMoV) has the lock on Alberta........and while this is all speculation, I doubt the math doesn't work either. IMHO the new to be built Vancouver store is going to be a RE play for him (and being an F-car owner and enthusiast) is what helped him get the franchise, which will cover the costs. They sell everything they get out of Vancouver quite easily, why build a place here when you don't get any extra cars to sell. People are going to them.......
Asgar seems to take the competition here quite personally. If a good location opens up I'm sure he will look very closely at setting up a shop. As for Ferrari, I think it is highly unlikely.
I have heard that MCL has no interest in the new Calgary franchise for Bentley. Also, I haven't heard anything about Aston Martin, but it will instead be a Maserati dealership joinging Bentley at the current Calgary BMW site (who's the new franchisee?) once they move to their new location. I have also heard that they are well behind schedule (like any other construction here in Cowtown), though they will still likely take deliveries of stock before the new store opens. I saw the acquisition of the Maser franchise as a "making nice" with the Italians to take a steptowards an eventual Ferrari store... they've been whoring out the Maser dealers in the 'states to anyone that'll take one...
I worked for a company that looked at a stand alone or dual Maser franchise here in Calgary.....it didn't make sense at the time, nor IMHO does it today.......and I certainly wouldn't do it merely for the "glory and privilege" of losing my own dollars to think that I could possibly have a "chance" at owning an F-store at some point years down the road.......which incidentally would probably be a break even proposition "at best" IMHO once RE carrying costs and other overhead is factored into the equation. You'd need to have a solid and stable "complimentary" brand of high end dealership already up and running in place to cover the overhead and allow you to take on either of those marques if you had any aspirations of coming out ahead. Why ? The existing sales figures and available allocations of vehicles as we know of are far too small for dilution of the marketplace by adding additional dealers not to have a dramatic negative effect. Interesting times we live in eh ?...........I love watching the egos of car dealers in action...............I've seen a few lose fortunes doing stuff exactly like this.........
Agree with everything you said; I was only stating what I have been told/heard. As you said though... the egos in that realm are huge and usually inhibit sound judgement. Doesn't mean it won't happen...
I usually get my information fourth hand, so I wouldn't exactly refer to myself as an accurate source. Take what I say with a few grains of salt! That said, my understanding is that Tony D has procured the Bentley dealership location already at the existing Calgary BMW site. He was also working on the Aston brand for the same location. They previously were looking at March 2007 as an opening date, I believe. Regarding Lambo and Lotus, I'm unable to comment much more about that.
I have heard (from the horse's mouth, so to speak) and can confirm part of what you're saying. The only point that we differ on is the Aston v. Maserati... Had heard a very different rumour regarding Lambo/Lotus about a year ago, from a good source, but I'm not sure how that is panning out.
What I heard from a Calgary BMW employee is the Bentley dealership will be in the new building along with new BMW sales. Automall location will still be used cars and have a detailing department for both locations.
LOL !!! Can't believe that I found the Alberta thread all the way down here.....see what a dose of snow and -10 does !!!! Pretty quiet place....LOL !!!
School, work...It adds up haha. Saw a silver 360 w/challenge grill ripping down 17th just before the last snowfall.
although many would say calgary is building up to become a strong city, i dont see ferrari will be brought into calgary. as of right now both toronto and vancouver ferrari control these dealerships. as of having another ferrari dealership in west it is very unlikely cause of brian ross' status he will likely prevent anyone else in getting it. maserati is not always a company someone would have alone without ferrari. lambo will come sooner or later to calgary most likely through weissach. same with aston martin it will come soon. it should be interesting to see how this unfolds
Hello all. Just a heads up, for all you "Enthusiasts" out there, on Monday Nov 13th myself in partnership with Shaw TV Channel 10 are excited to announce the launch of our new, local TV series. Called Enthusiast, it chronicles many exceptional collector cars in the city and the owners and their stories. The series will run for 26 weeks and can be seen every hour on Monday, Sat, Sun. It is a 3 minute segment about each car/owner. Some incredible cars. Can't tell which ones though, but being on FChat I can say that you will not be dissapointed. It has been such a pleasure, as I was able to hand pick the cars and can say I covered the full spectrum. This is not about deep pockets (although some are very expensive) it is about the owners passion for great cars. Could very likely run nationally for those of you outside of Calgary. Hope you all enjoy it.
I heard about this and I thought...that's AIR4C 1! FYI. The company shooting your show used to rent office space from me. Small world!
I'm from Toronto, could you post the episodes here, or on youtube.com? I'm sure other people would like to watch them too.
Hi, thanks for asking. It may run in Toronto, will let you all know. We will not be posting on youtube etc. Copyright rules etc. TV shows work a little differently.
Just curious, anyone here hear of this indie group called Shout Out Out Out Out!? These guys are off the hook! They are a bunch of Edmonton dudes and apparently are doing some serious concerts all over the place. I was at the legendary Horseshoe tavern last nite in T.O and they tore the place down. My family friend is their official photographer. Those of you who like Electronica & house music etc, may like these guys. Very very cool I know the chicks digged them....oh and there were lots http://www.myspace.com/shoutoutoutoutout
What the heck are you doing looking at chicks? I thought you were a happily married and domesticated good boy.
Mon erreur, ami. Je vois maintenant que vous etes sans attaches. Enjoy it while it lasts, because it won't last forever! ps: sorry if I mangled the French as badly as I mangle the English.
Brim, your command of both the french and english language is amazing, just stay away from using the Chi-talian and all will be ok!!
Haha I was wondering if you only lurked or if you actually posted! Say hello to your crew for me, high roller.
