Anything, Anytime, Anywhere. That is the motto of the all new Infiniti Personal Assistant feature. Infiniti is always looking for ways to make your life easier. Being the first luxury brand to offer this type of service nationally, new Infiniti owners can enjoy 24-hour access to an entire team of professional live personal assistants, all at the push of a button! Offered as a complimentary service to new Infiniti owners, callers will receive assistance with the answer to any question. From information requests such as directory assistance, transportation arrangements, weather forecasts, sports scores, movie times, general trivia questions and dining recommendations to performing tasks on the caller’s behalf, the Infiniti Personal Assistant is always there! The program allows owners to be connected to a live person when they are out driving all through the car’s Hands-free Bluetooth system. Even if you are not in the car, the Personal Assistant is there by using the same phone the service is connected to including e-mails and text messaging. At an additional cost, the feature provides a companion account so your significant other or children can utilize the service as well. Certified pre-owned cars are eligible for a four year plan and a one year package to non-certified preowned. Every new Infiniti vehicle comes with 4 years of unlimited access to Infiniti Personal Assistant. The new Infiniti Personal Assistant is a great addition to the Infiniti Total Ownership Experience. You can find more information at www.infinitipersonalassistant.com or in documentation provided by Austin Infiniti dealer.

Continental Collision: the preferred body shop for the Continental Automotive Group Dealerships; Austin Infiniti, Austin Subaru, First Texas Honda, and Mercedes-Benz of Austin. Well, after almost 8 years, and many drive by’s, Continental Collision now has a name tag. The sign is the first to promote the new Star CAG Logo (Official Logo for the Continental Automotive Group) and it’s backlit lights are activated during dark times of the night to help conserve energy.

By Beth Wade
Community Impact News
Friday, 22 October 2010

First Texas Honda site could have mixed-use development component

NORTHWEST AUSTIN — Next summer Northwest Austin will boast the largest Honda dealership in the nation when First Texas Honda moves into its new home at Steck Avenue and Shoal Creek Boulevard.

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The dealership, which currently sits on a 6.5–acre lot at 1301 W. Koenig Lane, will nearly double in size when it moves to the site of a former lumberyard, said Bryan Hardeman, president of Continental Automotive Group, which owns First Texas Honda. CAG also owns Mercedes-Benz of Austin, Austin Infinity, Austin Subaru, Continental Collision Center and Wholesale Parts Direct.

“Certainly from a fiscal perspective, it’s a positive development to have a useful and productive endeavor on that site rather than have it sit vacant … and possibly impact other properties around it,” City of Austin Planning and Development Review Assistant Director George Adams said.

First Texas Honda purchased the 18-acre site in Northwest Austin in 2007. Hardeman plans to use about 12 acres for the dealership, including a showroom large enough to display 40 cars and a service area.

“There are about 6 acres on the back [of the property] which we could develop into some kind of retail or office space,” Hardeman said. “We are not really sure exactly what. Right now is probably not the right time to be doing that, but there will come a time.”

The area surrounding the new lot is already developed with professional offices and businesses, including the Lowe’s, which opened in 2003. The retail or office portion could add to what is already there or possibly be used for additional space for the dealership if businesses is good, he said.

Construction on the showroom is under way, and construction for the service center is expected to begin in December, with an estimated completion date in summer 2011 for the approximately $7 million project.

Room to grow
For the past 24 years, the dealership has grown to fill the lot on West Koenig Lane. The location sees approximately 300 service customers a day, which has become increasingly difficult to accommodate in the lot’s current space, Hardeman said.

“The biggest problem we face at the site on Koenig Lane is not how big the showroom is. It’s not how many new cars you can display,” Hardeman said. “Where do you put 300 cars? It’s just impossible.”

The new lot could allow the business to service about 600 to 800 cars a day, he said.

The relocation could also bring additional jobs. First Texas Honda employs approximately 120 people, but Hardeman said the new location could top out at 160 to 170 employees within 18 to 24 months of opening, creating service technician and sales consultant jobs.

More traffic?
Hardeman said the company completed a traffic impact study in 2007 that showed while the lumber company was in operation there was an average of 1,400 trips per day in and out of the property.

“We think in our world, it will be substantially less than that, and that’s even with an increase in our service business and increased car sales,” he said. “If I could have 1,400 people coming in and out a day, I think that is more business than I could ever dream possible.”

Increased traffic was one concern Hardeman said neighbors had with the project.

“We have been having talks with [Hardeman] about how to encourage his customers to take off driving down US 183 and MoPac when test driving the cars,” Upper Shoal Creek resident Mary Arnett said. “He worked with us very well in the past when he built the Infinity dealership [on the east end of Steck Avenue].”

Other concerns included increased lighting and crime, both of which were raised when CAG built Austin Infinity.

“We want to be a good neighbor,” he said. “We want them to be our customers rather than be mad at us and go somewhere else.”

A greener place
The project will seek a green-rating from the city once it’s completed, Hardeman said.

The former lumberyard yielded many reusable and recyclable products once construction began. While renovating the building to be used as the showroom construction crews took the brick walls and, along with concrete once used for lumber bins, ground up the material to be used as ground fill to stabilize the soil for the new 78,000-square-foot service center.

“We put that [crushed material] back in the hole we had dug out. It did two things: It saved us having to buy more material and bring it in, [and] No. 2 it saved us from having to take this material out and dump it somewhere.”

All of the steel and lumber found on the site that wasn’t fit for reuse in the project was recycled and a 27,000-square-foot building was left standing on the site for future use.

The project will also include solar panels that could potentially lower the company’s energy consumption, Hardeman said.

Effective 10/21/2010

Working for the Continental Automotive Group just got a little sweeter and driving a new Honda, Infiniti, Mercedes-Benz or Subaru just got a little more attractive.

A special thanks to Austin Infiniti’s General Manager, Allen Clauss, for helping to put this program together. Without Allen’s support and without the Hardemans’ generosity, this program would not have been possible. Let’s fill those employee parking lots with some more new cars!

Now all full-time employees eligible for benefits are invited to take advantage of CAG’s Employee Purchase Program. It’s really simple, the details are below.

Eligibility:
1. Must be full-time employee in good standing with CAG
2. Limited to 2 vehicles at a time per qualifying employee number
3. Spouses and immediate household family members of eligible employees qualify under #2
4. Must have sign-off of General Manager at selling dealership

Benefits:
1. $100 payout each month in the form of a check to employee
2. Up to 39 $100 payments for a new leased vehicle, lease must be done at CAG dealership
3. Up to 24 $100 payments for a new finance purchase, financing must be done at CAG dealership

Benefits/Eligibility Terminate:
1. When employee is no longer full-time employed by CAG
2. If vehicle lease/purchase is turned in, traded or sold
3. If $100 monthly payout term is reached

Logistics:
1. Available vehicles and sale prices determined by New Car Manager (GSM) at individual dealership
2. Check payout to employee is done each month by selling dealership
3. Employee is responsible for taxes on $100, automatically withheld from next paycheck

For questions please contact your department manager.

Press Release: The Continental Automotive Group Announces Macho Marketing

Benefits of our In-house Advertising/Marketing Department:

*Ownership involvement, insight, and approval for all dollars invested.

*Eliminating agency fees to external companies. We will be purchasing placement as a group, not as individual locations. This will ensure we are afforded some economies of scale. Macho Marketing will not incur any extra expenses for your dealership. Instead, the commissions you previously paid out to an agency will be reinvested into the group in the form of company events, contests, spiffs, etc.

*Personal relationships with people who work for the same company as you, with the owners interest in mind. We can also be easily be reached SIX days a week by phone at 512-381-6693, ext. 5293, or you are welcome to stop by our office at the Austin Infiniti location.

*We can do last minute changes to fit your marketing needs and will meet with each store at least once a month, starting with a dedicated day in the first full week of the month. We will attempt to ensure that each store is moving forward as a group with the Hardeman family involved in all necessary decisions.

All advertisements including but not limited to contracts, creative content, production, etc. for:
*Billboards (Bulletins, Posters, Vehicle Wraps, etc.)
*Direct Mail (Sales, Service, Surveys, etc.)
*Events (Blood Drives, Grand Openings, Model Introductions, Service Clinics, etc.)
*Internet (Email Campaigns, Blog Posts, Social Networking, Review Sites, Website, etc.)
*Print (Brochures, Flyers, Magazines, Newspapers, Programs, etc.)
*Radio (Events, Remotes, Spots, Talent, etc.)
*Television (Creative, Production, Sponsorships, etc.)

Designing any needed print for all locations, all departments, including but not limited to:
*Brochures
*Business cards
*Checks
*Envelopes
*Forms
*License Plate Frames
*Name Tags
*Point of Sale Materials
*Signage
*Surveys
*Uniforms

If any printed material looks different than before it is due the fact that we are trying to better brand our company as a united front to the most minute detail. This may include the addition of our corporate logo, font, or slogan. Locally Owned and Operated – We’re All About Austin!

As with any change of this magnitude, there will be a few bumps along the way. You are our co-workers and most of all clients and we want to serve you! We are more than happy to research any idea, event or sponsorship you may be interested in. We are open to new ideas, old ideas, and most importantly – your ideas.

Macho Marketing – Working for YOU!