Irvine-based Cosmetic Car Care Inc. gets cars ready for shows, be it a mall appearance, a national or regional auto show or a golf tournament.
“We make them shine,” Jeremy Marcus said.
He’s vice president of sales for a family business founded nearly 30 years ago by his dad, Jim Marcus, Cosmetic Car’s chief executive.
Among the company’s clients are automakers, exhibitors, marketing companies and dealers.
Cosmetic Car employs about 20 people full time. It has about 100 service staff across the nation.
The company doesn’t disclose sales.
At the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, Cosmetic Car handled vehicles at 14 booths, including those of Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Rolls-Royce, Acura, Nissan and Coda, an electric car by Santa Monica-based Coda Automotive Inc.
For auto shows, Cosmetic Car is responsible for getting vehicles into place, disconnecting batteries and sealing the gas cap, among other details.
Cosmetic makes sure vehicles stay shiny and secure during the show.
Auto shows run from September through April. When the company’s not doing shows, Cosmetic Car does events such as the Masters Golf Tournament. Or it might deliver a vehicle to sit inside the Shops at Mission Viejo or another mall as part of a promotion.
It even manages a vehicle’s appearance on TV.
“Our job is to make all of our clients’ jobs easier,” Jeremy Marcus said.
Cosmetic Car is hired by automakers or indirectly by exhibit companies, such as George P. Johnson Co., part of Michigan’s Project WorldWide Ltd.
Cosmetic Car handles vehicles at all major and regional auto shows, including the Orange County Auto Show in Anaheim, put on by Newport Beach-based Orange County Automobile Dealers Association.
During the New York International Auto Show, Cosmetic Car drives vehicles out on the stages of TV shows such as “Good Morning America.”
Prior to the recession, auto shows were the bulk of Cosmetic Car’s business. Now auto shows make up about half of its business. Special events and projects make up the rest.
During the recession, automakers reduced the number of shows they attended or pulled out altogether.
“When it hit, it hit really hard,” said Staci Marcus, who handles daily operations and has worked for the family business for 22 years.
The auto show business is improving. But automakers have cut back on the hoopla and scaled down booths.
“I don’t think it will ever be the way it was,” she said.
New Business
Jeremy Marcus said he intends to go after new auto show business this year.
Cosmetic Car does auto shows for just about every automaker except Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC.
Competitors, including Lake Forest-based Professional Detailers Inc., have those accounts.
Cosmetic Car keeps a Grey Goose Phantom Rolls-Royce—a one-of-a-kind car named for Bacardi Ltd.’s vodka brand—at the ready.
The company hires a chauffeur to shuttle celebrities to the Academy Awards, parties and movie premiers in the Rolls.
“At any second of any day it can go anywhere,” Jeremy Marcus said. “They just need to call us.”
Cosmetic Car makes sure the Rolls stays secure and clean and manages the car’s registration and other documentation for a monthly fee.
One of Cosmetic Car’s biggest annual events was last week’s Hyundai Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua in Maui. It’s the PGA Tour kickoff.
As the “fleet management vendor” for Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America Inc., Cosmetic Car managed 60 display vehicles and “drive” cars that golfers, celebrities and event staff drove around in. Most of the autos at the event were Hyundai’s new luxury Equus sedan.
When golfers pulled up to the valet, the keys were turned over to Cosmetic Car, which fueled, cleaned and polished the cars.
“They’re our behind-the-scenes people who make it look perfect,” said Grace Morgan, national manager of experiential marketing for Hyundai Motor America, part of South Korea’s Hyundai Kia Automotive Group.
This was Hyundai’s first year as title sponsor of the event. That led it to hire Cosmetic Car, which has worked the Tournament of Champions for the past 11 years.
“There are definitely challenges of doing something in Maui,” Morgan said. “They already went through that learning curve.”
Lisa Marcus, matriarch of the family business, was the point person for the event.
She takes care of all VIP clients.
The Hawaii event was a chance to possibly secure more work with Hyundai. Cosmetic already does auto shows for sister company Kia Motors America Inc. of Irvine.
Company Start
Jim Marcus started in the auto business as a truck sales manager for Nissan North America Inc., which has regional offices in Costa Mesa.
He saw a niche and founded Cosmetic Car nearly 30 years ago.
“He’s always had a passion for cars,” Jeremy Marcus said.
He also knows how to fix them. For fun, Jim Marcus collects cars, restores and sells them. He’s currently working on a 1957 Ford truck.
“He’s not your typical CEO,” Jeremy Marcus said.
Eventually, Jeremy Marcus and his sister hope to take over the business.
Their dad has “made it clear he wants us to take over if we want to,” Jeremy Marcus said.
“He wants to make sure we’re ready,” Staci Marcus said. “He puts our clients before anything else.”
