MASERATI PUTS SPIRIT OF 523 HORSEPOWER BEHIND TOP THOROUGHBREDS AT KENTUCKY DERBY INCLUDING WINNER, ORB

Celebrating the first arrivals in North America of Quattroporte four-door and recent unveiling of the Ghibli sports sedan, Maserati salutes winning horse and team

At the world’s most famous horse race, Maserati celebrated the arrival of the very first examples of the all new Quattroporte reaching the shores of North America and the recent global unveiling of the Ghibli sport sedan. Many of the jockeys, including winner Joel Rosario, carried the famed Maserati name and Trident on their britches, bringing the spirit of the 523 horsepower Maserati V8 to each competitor.

The timing is noteworthy as both the Ghibli and the Quattroporte are designed with All-Wheel-Drive for Maserati performance even when conditions are less than perfect, as it was for the 139th running at Churchill Downs. As a brand with a nearly a century of tradition in competition, Maserati wishes to congratulate the winning horse Orb, Jockey Joel Rosario, Trainer Shug McGaughey and the team behind this victory.

About the 2014 Maserati Quattroporte:

The 2014 Maserati Quattroporte is a significant leap forward that not only sets the high-technology tone for the Trident brand’s upcoming range of new-models, but also remains faithful to Maserati’s long history of luxury sports sedans. The powerful and proprietary Maserati engines and the large cabin are at the core of the Quattroporte’s design. Dominated by a long, powerful nose and a concave Trident grille a clear link is created to both current and historic Maseratis.

The newly-developed direct-injection engine family boasts a 523 hp 3.8-litre V8 and a 404 hp/ 3.0-litre V6, both of which are twin-turbocharged, designed by Maserati Powertrain and assembled by Ferrari at their plant in Maranello. All versions come equipped with the latest eight-speed automatic transmission developed with ZF. The V8 is the fastest, most powerful and efficient four-door Maserati has ever built, reaching 60 mph in 4.6 seconds and achieving a top speed of 191 mph.

The all-new architecture retains the Quattroporte’s exquisite handling with near 50:50 weight distribution, double-wishbone front suspension and a state-of-the-art five-link rear suspension.

The V6 twin turbo Q4 All-Wheel Drive variant is capable of a top speed of 177mph. The “Q4” system is capable of redistributing the torque instantly from full rear wheel drive to a balanced near 50/50 distribution between front and rear wheels when more traction is needed.

New standards of quality in design, development, fabrication and process controls are employed in the facility building the Quattroporte, while traditional hand-crafted design continues inside and out of the Quattroporte’s cabin. Interior luxury leaps forward technically, too, with features like a touch control screen, adjustable pedals, WLAN-based WiFi and an optional 15-speaker, 1280 Watt Bowers & Wilkins audio system.

In 1963, Maserati established the benchmark for the luxury sports sedan. The new Quattroporte continues to elevate the standard of high quality engineering, supercar performance all within the space, luxury and daily driving ability of a sedan.

Tags: 2014 Maserati Quattroporte

Park Place Dealerships Named a 2013 National Top Workplace

Luxury automobile dealership group ranked #4 in the U.S. in the largest survey of American workers of its kind

DALLAS (January 31, 2013) — Dallas-based Park Place Dealerships has been named one of America’s Top Workplaces by WorkplaceDynamics. Park Place was ranked #4 nationwide among 872 organizations with more than 1,000 employees that participated in regional top workplaces programs.

“It is an honor to be recognized as one of America’s top workplaces,” said Ken Schnitzer, Chairman of Park Place Dealerships. “We have invested in hiring the best team to take great care of our clients and they do an incredible job. We value our team and we do everything we can to create an exceptional work environment.”

The National Top Workplaces list was determined solely by feedback gathered through an objective employee survey. The survey was conducted by WorkplaceDynamics, LLP, the leading on-demand employee survey provider, in conjunction with 30 leading regional newspapers. Park Place Dealerships participated in The Dallas Morning News’ Top Workplaces 2012 program.

The survey uses a proprietary set of 22 questions to rank companies. The survey data showed that employees most want to work at companies with high levels of organizational health. Companies that set a clear direction for their future; execute well; and bring real meaning to work are the healthiest.

“We have the support of the leadership team at all levels of our organization,” said Sherry Miller, vice president of human resources at Park Place Dealerships. “This enables us to implement workplace initiatives that create an environment where our employees are recognized and rewarded for their knowledge and skills, where their opinions are heard and valued, and where they can learn and further develop in their careers at Park Place.”

The Top Workplaces program accurately reflects the opinions of employees through measurement of engagement, organizational health and employee satisfaction. The survey is utilized year after year by human resource professionals and C-suite executives nationwide as the gold standard in internal measurement of organizational health and employee satisfaction.

Founded in 2006, WorkplaceDynamics is the fastest-growing employee survey provider in the United States. Based on their “on-demand” employee survey, last year they surveyed more than 5,000 organizations, polled 1.7 million people and handled over a million employee responses.

Details about the National Top Workplaces, a full list of the Top 150 companies, the survey methodology, and factors that drive organizational health are available at www.topworkplaces.com.

Park Place Dealerships was founded in 1987 by Ken Schnitzer with a single Mercedes-Benz dealership on Oak Lawn. Park Place currently operates 15 full-service dealerships representing Bentley, Jaguar, Lexus, Lotus, Maserati, McLaren, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, smart, Volvo and Rolls-Royce. In addition, the dealership group includes two Park Place Bodywerks locations. For more information about Park Place Dealerships, visit parkplace.com.

Tags: Park Place Awards, Top Workplaces

Forbes’ Most Beautiful Cars of 2012

The definition of beauty is a highly subjective matter, one that hinges on personal opinions and emotions, but as a whole, it’s pretty easy to agree that Forbes did a fantastic job in coming up with their list of the “Most Beautiful Cars of 2012.”

With incredible Italian, English, Danish, and German examples of automotive artistry, this “top 9” list pulls from a broad spectrum to excite your visual sense. Even more exciting, in our personal opinion, is that 5 of the top 9 most beautiful cars of 2012 can be found in a local Park Place Dealership.

For the full list, you can read Forbes’ “Most Beautiful Cars Of 2012” here, or check out the gorgeous cars on the list that can be found at Park Place Dealerships below!

Jaguar F-Type

To be perfectly honest, you can’t actually see the F-Type in our showroom yet because it hasn’t been released, but it’s easy to see why this re-animation of Jaguar’s sports-car heritage made it on the list

McLaren MP4-12C and 12C Spider

Based on styling cues and technology straight out of F1 racing, this entirely carbon fiber supercar truly is a thing of beauty, with the power to back it up. The flawless, sweeping lines of the body are completely uninterrupted as you will find a lack of hardware, with the incredibly unique dihedral doors opening with a high-tech touch interface rather than traditional handles.

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster

AMG took the lead in designing both the body and powertrain for this impressive, aircraft inspired, example of AMG engineering. Want to turn heads in a classically styled, modern behemoth of a car? This is a brilliant choice.

Bentley Mulsanne

The Mulsanne blends the best of yesteryear with today’s modern touches. Plush interior, supercar power, and refined design prove where Bentley’s focus stands, the pure joy of the driving experience. That is evident in this quote from Car and Driver, “As extravagant and comfortable as the Mulsanne is, its most impressive trait is its poise.”

Maserati GranTurismo Sport

If your tastes hail from Italy, this inspiring GT car is as good as it gets. With bold lines, an almost sinister style, Italian engineering under the hood, and all of the refinement you’ve come to expect from Maserati in the cabin, this is a car that can scare you and put a smile on your face at the same time.

Tags: Luxury Cars Dallas

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.

Tags: Charity, Community, Events, Park Place Dealerships, Texas Rangers, Triple Play Event

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

Tags: Client Experience, Processes, Service, Technology

Maserati Kubang Concept SUV To Become A Reality In 2014

Maserati has officially announced that the final production Maserati Kubang SUV will be presented to the public at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show.

The Kubang made it’s world debut last September at the Frankfurt show, Maserati has been moving fast to take this from concept to production. “After Beijing, we will retire the Kubang concept. Our SUV will reappear in its production form and with its final name in due time,”  the company’s CEO, Harald Wester, told InAutoNews.com.

Even though the model will be in direct competition with upcoming super-luxurious crossovers such as the Lamborghini Urus and the Bentey EXP9, Maserati expects to sell around 20,000 Kubang SUV units annually, with the United States and China sharing the majority of owners.

Tags: Maserati, Maserati Kubang, Maserati SUV

Three Reasons To Choose Park Place BodyWerks For Collision Repair In Dallas/Ft. Worth

What makes Park Place Bodywerks superior to some of the other big chain, highly advertised body shop and collision repair centers out there? You know – the ones that insurance companies try to send all their repairs to? Competitors like Service King and Maaco? We’ve got the top three reasons to choose Park Place BodyWerks over the rest.

Number Three: A major difference that sets Park Place BodyWerks apart, is our state-of-the art equipment and technologically advanced facilities that the other shops don’t (or wont’) make the investment in, to insure that vehicles are returned back to factory specifications after a collision. We are held to a higher standard, because of our brands. And of course – we are certified to do repairs on all of them and more. Which brings us to….

Number Two: One more key advantage that we have that no independent shops have is our manufacturer training for all the brands we represent.  Each one of our brands are constantly putting out new models made with more and better technology as well as being made with newer and lighter and in many cases exotic materials.  We are at a distinct advantage to the independent shops since we get constant repair information updated direct from our manufacturers, and have the unique ability to send our technicians to the most current training available.

Number One: The number one difference is the quality of our members. We’re Experts in Excellence. And it’s not just a tagline. From the professionalism of our front office staff to the expertly trained technicians repairing the vehicles, you won’t find better talent than right here at Park Place to handle your collision claim.

Tags: Body Shop Dallas Tx, Body Shop Grapevine Tx, Dallas Collision Repair, Dallas Paint and Body, Grapevine Collision Repair, Grapevine Paint and Body

Dallas Storms Bring Major Dent Repairs On Local Vehicles

Dallas was hit hard by the storms this Tuesday. Tornadoes, major winds and huge, (even horizontal) wrecked buildings, yards and cars for several hours this week. As Dallas folks start to pick up pieces and clean up – insurance companies are busy too, with storm claims.

The same thing is happening in our business with hail damage repairs and windshield repairs. We expect our body shop to be extremely busy over the next few weeks. And, we just wanted to remind all of our clients (and anyone who needs help with their car or has an automotive insurance claim on their car) that we are here to help, now serving you from our Dallas Body Shop as well as our Grapevine Body Shop.

We offer full collision repair, and will walk you through the entire process start to finish. We’ll work with your insurance company, to make sure that your car will be as good as new. We also offer auto glass repair – using the finest quality equipment. We can replace your windshield or repair chipped glass.

Perhaps your car was not damaged extensively, ad only requires paintless dent repair. There are any dents we can fix without paint, sanding or extended stays at the body shop.

Call us or come by for more information – we are happy to help you!

Tags: Collision Repair, Dent Repair, Insurance Claims, paintless dent repair

Park Place Salutes Community Partners – Grapevine/Colleyville Education Foundation

The Grapevine-Colleyville Education Foundation was founded in 1998 to provide funds for programs and opportunities that benefit GCISD students and staff. While core educational needs are met through the allocation of tax dollars, the margin of excellence is possible only by contributions and efforts that go above and beyond the minimum. Foundation funds are used to facilitate student achievement and skill development, recognize and encourage staff excellence and expand community involvement from individuals, businesses and civic organizations. Since its inception, the foundation has funded 875 projects, distributing more than $1.4 million to GCISD, affecting more than half the teachers and all the students.

“Like most Texas schools, our school district is facing unprecedented budget challenges under the current school finance laws. Park Place Motorcars has generously donated resources for the past few years to the Education Foundation whose sole purpose is to provide resources needed to our school district and where 100% of all donations stay within our school district to assist our students and teachers. Not only has Park Place been the featured sponsor for our Celebrating Our Stars Academic Recognition Banquet for several years, but also for the second year donates scholarships to graduates for continuing education. Park Place understands the importance of successful schools in communities and how communities must work together to ensure the success of our schools. Park Place’s support is a shining example of the need for and importance of collaborative efforts between our schools, community, and corporations. Our heartfelt thanks to Park Place!”  says Janice Kane, Executive Director.

With the unprecedented budget challenges facing Texas schools, the Foundation’s efforts are more critical than ever as educators are being forced to seek funding avenues outside the regular budget in order to continue vital educational programs. 100% of all donations to the Education Foundation stay within GCISD to assist GCISD students and teachers.

Tags: Charity, Community Partners, Events, Park Place Dealerships

Park Place Dealership Group Seeks Summer Interns

Park Place Dealerships is seeking interns for the summer following a successful inaugural year with its internship program.  As part of the company’s effort to recruit students, Park Place headed to area college campuses such as Baylor, Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, University of Texas at Dallas, and University of North Texas to find interns.

Currently, Park Place is looking for candidates who would be interested in sales, service, finance, IT, training, accounting, and marketing.  The program is designed to provide students with meaningful work experiences, on the job training and ongoing personal development.

“Our primary objective at Park Place is to ensure an extraordinary experience for our clients,” said Kurt Vanous, human resource brand manager at Park Place. “Through our internship program, we can teach students the importance of building relationships and the fundamentals of working on a team for the sole benefit of making the client purchase or sales experience the best it can be.”

The ideal candidates are confident, passionate people looking to grow and succeed with one of the most successful organizations in Dallas/Fort Worth. All candidates must currently be enrolled in college and working towards a degree program.

Farah Ellenbogen, marketing intern from UTD began her internship with Park Place Motorcars Dallas last summer and has continued working with the company. “I was looking for a well-rounded internship experience that allowed me to work on a variety of projects and have some autonomy,” said Ellenbogen. “Park Place offered just that. I was given the chance to take ownership of projects and really get some great hands-on experience. My internship at Park Place has given me the opportunity to hone the skills that I needed to begin my professional career. “

To apply for an internship, please contact Kurt Vanous at kvanous@parkplace.com.

Tags: Automotive Jobs, Careers, Internships, Summer Internships