Newport Lexus has opened in Newport Beach with something to prove.
The opulent dealership spent months readying for its debut catty corner to Fletcher Jones Motorcars, the standard-bearer for luxury auto dealers and Orange County’s No. 1 auto seller.
“Fletcher Jones has done a fabulous job,” said A.J. D’Amato, co-owner of the Lexus dealership with Orange County’s Toyota king David Wilson. “If we can do half as good as he’s done ”
Newport Lexus is $65 million in the making,half of that for the dealership’s 8.5 acres of prime land on the Newport Beach-Irvine line.
The Trappings
The dealership’s trappings are lavish.
A Yamaha player piano plays near a fireplace in the 43,000-square-foot showroom. Then there’s a game room, a putting green, a waterfall and a fountain marking the gateway to Newport Beach.
D’Amato even brought in a 120-year-old palm tree, hand-picked in Temecula. It’s now at Newport Lexus’ outdoor patio, where customers can hang out while their cars are serviced.
Ninety minutes or less is the target for any service, D’Amato said. Loaner cars are at the ready.
There are waiting areas throughout the dealership. One’s quiet. Another is for kids. There’s one with a couple of laptops. The furniture is comfy, with chairs modeled after those at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar in Fashion Island.
“I like Fleming’s restaurant,” D’Amato said.
Part of the showroom wall is dedicated to a custom wheel display. There’s also a boutique selling Tommy Bahama garb and Oakley sunglasses.
Antonio Cagnolo’s Antonello Ristorante near South Coast Plaza is supplying coffee and snacks for Cafe Lexus.
The extravagance extends to the bathrooms with flat-screen TVs above the urinals.
Big Ambition
D’Amato and Wilson even have carved out a nook to hold the prestigious Elite of Lexus trophy they intend to win.
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Putting green at Fletcher Jones: pioneered royal treatment |
The luxury trappings are designed to keep up with the Joneses.
Fletcher Jones pioneered the royal dealership treatment with a manicurist, putting green, business center, cafe, free car washes and airport shuttle, all in a lavish setting.
Fletcher Jones should hold its own, said Jack Nerad, market analyst for Kelley Blue Book in Irvine.
The dealership has a great reputation, he said, and Mercedes has 100 years on Lexus.
For status seekers, there’s no substitute for a Mercedes, he said.
“Mercedes still has more prestige than a Lexus,” Nerad said.
Fletcher Jones has helped make Mercedes the top luxury car in OC. More than 10,000 new Mercedes are sold here a year, followed by BMW and Lexus.
Nationally, Lexus rules, followed by BMW and then Mercedes.
BMW and Lexus are gaining on Mercedes here, thanks to Crevier BMW in Santa Ana and Tustin Lexus, also owned by Wilson and D’Amato.
Since opening in 1989, Tustin Lexus has tripled in size. It now spans 10 acres and has 61 service bays. The dealership is No. 8 in sales among Lexus dealerships.
Sales Goal
Newport Lexus stands to boost the brand here, Nerad said.
Lexus enjoys Toyota Motor Corp.’s reputation for trouble-free autos, Nerad said. Mercedes has had a few technical glitches in the past, he said.
Being next to Fletcher Jones works in Newport Lexus’ favor, according to D’Amato.
“It’s kind of like the food court concept,” he said. “Everybody will come here to look for food.”
Newport Lexus’ goal for its first year: sell 4,000 new cars and 1,200 used cars. That would make Newport Lexus No. 3 in the county by vehicle sales, after Fletcher Jones and Crevier BMW.
Fletcher Jones sold 6,304 new autos and 2,209 used ones last year.
The Lexus dealership has been in the works since the mid-1990s. That’s when Wilson, owner of Orange-based David Wilson’s Automotive Group, first tried to get land in Newport Beach.
Wilson wasn’t the first to apply to be a Newport Beach Lexus dealer, D’Amato said. Lester Elmore of Elmore Toyota had the first letter of intent but wasn’t able to find land, he said.
Another dealer tried and had the same problem, according to D’Amato.
Wilson and D’Amato did their share of looking.
“We looked at every piece of dirt listed,” D’Amato said.
When a real estate broker found the land across from Fletcher Jones, the partners jumped on it.
Now that Newport Lexus is open, D’Amato said he would have done one thing differently in the run-up: recruited employees earlier.
“We should’ve started six months ago,” he said.
The dealership had to sift through more than 400 applications and train salespeople. They have to have the knowledge to “present” cars to customers, showing them how to use memory seats, navigation screens and other features.
Luxury Training
Executives at Newport Lexus underwent training in the ways of high service. They have studied how the five-star Four Seasons Resort Aviara in Carlsbad handles guests during busy times.
They also learned how Starbucks Corp., Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd. and Apple Computer Inc. handle customer service.
Employees have it good. They have a huge plasma TV in the break room, which has a kitchen. On the roof is a patio where D’Amato and newly appointed general manager Allen Moznett intend to flip hamburgers at company barbecues.
Moznett’s office is a 400-square-foot glass room in the middle of the dealership. D’Amato’s office is directly upstairs. The dealership has six sales managers, all behind glass so they can see what’s going on.
“Luxury buyers like to be treated like luxury buyers,” Kelley Blue Book’s Nerad said. “There’s an element of bragging rights.”
At cocktail parties, customers can declare, “my dealership has a grand piano,” Nerad said.
