Nielsen Challenge Event #2

Two weeks ago we began the You Can't Beat Our Nielsen Challenge, a month-long series of challenges between myself and 3 of Sporting Kansas City's best. During the challenge, Aristocrat Motors has pledged to donate $1 for every Facebook fan added to the Aristocrat Motors Facebook page.

For those who followed along or watched the YouTube Video, I pretty easily took out CJ Sapong in an intense round of go-karting, where I ended up on top. CJ spun out on the first lap and never caught me.

Tomorrow won't be so easy. I have agreed to take on veteran striker Teal Bunbury in a 5 goal penalty kick shootout at Sporting KC's practice facility. We will each take 5 shots on a practice goalie and all I can do at this point is hope for the best.

Wine, Wings, and Wheels

What goes with private planes and exclusive parties? Why, amazing performance automobile of course. In conjunction with Cessna, we were proud to display some of our best performance automobiles at Wine, Wings, and Wheels, a party at Johnson County Executive Airport.

On display for view was the entire new lineup of Cessna aircraft, as well as several classic automobiles. We brought the new Porsche 911, Maserati GranTurismo, and the Jaguar XJL. However, no hangar party would be complete without the car with wings of its own: The Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Gullwing.

Guests toured the planes, spoke with aircraft representatives and had the opportunity check out some spectacular cars. We look forward to participating next year!

Aristocrat Motors is a Merriam, KS Automotive dealership specializing in Mercedes-Benz, smart, Porsche, Maserati, Land Rover, and Jaguar vehicles. Visit us online at www.AristocratMotors.com , on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/AristocratMotors , or on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/AristocratKC . 

2012 Art of the Car Concours

Last Sunday we once again had the privilege to sponsor The Art of the Car Concours at The Kansas City Art Institute. Over 200 classics showed up to what has come to be known the greatest classic car show in Kansas City.

Despite temperatures approaching 100 degrees, hundreds of people came out to see these amazing vehicles, which included several Palm Beach Concours D'Elegance winners.

All proceeds to the event benefitted The Kansas City Art Institute and we were happy to provide support.

Aristocrat Motors is a Merriam, KS based automotive dealership specializing in Mercedes-Benz, smart, Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Maserati vehicles. Visit us online at www.AristocratMotors.com , on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/AristocratMotors , or on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/AristocratKC .

Land Rover Merriam Off Road Trip

Last week we had the opportunity to take over 40 of our Land Rover owners on a trip to Kansas Rocks Off-Road Park in Ft. Scott, KS. We met at Aristocrat Motors on Saturday at 7:30 am for a hot breakfast provided by Alloy Wheel & Tire Repair, then set off on a beautiful caravan of new and old Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles.

Once we arrived at the park it was time for a quick safety meeting and overview, and then it was off to the trails. We took groups of 5-6 vehicles through the different trails negotiating mud ruts, high inclines, rock crawls, and some very steep descents.

We also spectated at Carnage Canyon, an especially technical rock crawling area reserved for the most modified off-road vehicles. A couple of our Land Rover Defender and Discovery owners, who have heavily modified their vehicles for the task, took on the crawl successfully. See more of them at www.YouTube.com/AristocratMotors .

The day was a blast, allowing us to truly experience the capability of Land Rover vehicles. Special thanks to the volunteers at Kansas Rocks Off Road Park , who did a great job guiding us through the course.


Land Rover Merriam is part of Aristocrat Motors, a Merriam, KS based luxury automobile dealership specializing in Land Rover, Jaguar, Porsche, Maserati, Mercedes-Benz, and smart vehicles. Visit us online at www.AristocratMotors.com , on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/AristocratMotors , or now Twitter at www.Twitter.com/AristocratKC .

You Can't Beat Our Nielsen!

We are proud to announce the You Can't Beat Our Nielsen Challenge, where our very own Social Media Representative Kris Nielsen takes on three of Sporting Kansas City's finest players in a series of challenges to raise money and awareness for cancer research.

For every Facebook Fan that Aristocrat Motors gains in the next three weeks, $1 will be put into a prize pool going to Sunflowers to Roses, a charity bike race that raises money to fight cancer.

Each week there will be a different challenge with the first two events each equaling one point and the final event worth 2 points.

Event one: Head to Head Racing on Gran Turismo

Kris takes on CJ Sapong in a round of Gran Turismo (Playstation 3) on the Aristocrat Motors showroom floor. They will be going head to head in identical cars around a track to be picked at random. The vehicles? Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG sports cars of course!

Event two: Goal Shootout

All-star MLS offensive player Teal Bunbury will shoot 3 penalty shots as Kris tries to block them. Kris will get 3 shots in return, with the overall score deciding the event.

Event three: Nielsen Cook-off

The second most famous Nielsen in Kansas City will take on Sporting KC's "White Puma" Jimmy Nielsen in a cook off. Dish and judges are TBA.

Make sure to join the Aristocrat Motors Facebook fan base to follow along with the action, and to help us raise as much money as possible to fight cancer!

We will announce the event date and times each Monday morning throughout the event.

Aristocrat Motors is a Merriam, KS based automobile dealership specializing in Mercedes-Benz, smart, Land Rover, Jaguar, Porsche, and Maserati vehicles. Visit us online at www.AristocratMotors.com , on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/AristocratMotors , or on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/AristocratKC .

Festa Italiana

Aristocrat Motors is proud to sponsor the 2012 Festa Italiana Car Show at Zona Rosa.

On Sunday, June 3^rd, 2012 please join us at UNICO Kansas City’s Festa Italiana for a celebration of Italian motorsports. With new and classic models from Maserati, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and Fiat, this event is sure to thrill.

We will be on hand with the all-new Maserati GranTurismo!

Admission is free and you can learn more at www.UnicoKC.org .

Land Rover Merriam Offroad Event

On June 16^th, 2012 we will be holding our annual Land Rover Merriam off-road event. We will be hosting up to 50 customers and their Land Rover vehicles as we once again make the trip to Kansas Rocks Off-road park for a fun-filled day of getting dirty!

 

The event begins at Aristocrat Motors at 7:30 am where we will meet for a hot breakfast, go over directions, and do a quick safety check on all of the vehicles. After that we will depart for Ft. Scott, KS where the park is open to us all morning.

After going through the park we will have a complimentary lunch and everyone will head home!

Please RSVP by 6/10/2012 to Kevin.Smell@aristocratmotors.com to join up! Remember: Land Rovers Only!

Jaguar Club North America Concours D'Elegance

This past Saturday we had the opportunity to stop by the Jaguar Club of America Concours D’Elegance, a Jaguar car show at Crown Center. Over 70 Jaguar vehicles were in attendance, with everything from classic Jaguar coupes to bespoke Jaguar sedans.

To contrast against the Jaguars of old, we took the 2012 Jaguar XFR sedan, a 510 horsepower modern marvel, which attracted quite a crowd of its own.

Each of the vintage Jags were in pristine condition, ready for a rigorous evaluation process to determine best in show. Each Jaguar was judged on quality of restoration, cleanliness, and dozens of other detail points.

The winning car was a stunning 1951 Jaguar XK120 Roadster owned by James and Helen Boley.

I had the opportunity to speak with Rick Van Tuyl, president of the Heart of America Jaguar Club, who recommends that anyone with a Jaguar join! It’s easy and more information can be found on their website at: http://www.jcna.com/clubs/main.php?club=sc16&Vref=sc16

Charity Spotlight: Uplift

It’s 2 o’clock on Saturday afternoon, and while most people are at the pool or spending time with family I am in a nondescript warehouse off Truman Rd. just east of downtown. We are cooking, sorting, and prepping a fleet of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans for their delivery routes.

The Uplift vans being prepared for delivery.

We are at Uplift HQ, the home base for Uplift, a local charity that delivers meals to local homeless people twice a week. Here at the warehouse, complete with kitchen and sorting facilities, hot meals, sanitary items, clothing, and supplies are prepared and loaded onto 3 trucks that run 3 separate routes through the KC area.

Uplift: Powered by Mercedes-Benz

There’s two hours to go until the trucks depart as volunteers begin trickling in. Local families and churches rotate through the cooking duty, with scheduled cooks twice a week. I’m on lemonade duty, charged with making 7-12 gallons for each of the three trucks. Others are loading supplies such as socks, toilet paper, and canned goods (to hold them over until the next delivery day).

At 5:00 the trucks depart and our Aristocrat Motors service manager Jim Schmidt is driving the East route. Jim has been with Uplift for years. It started with his wife, Jennifer, who began helping out the organization. Eventually Jim joined, and they have been going out in the truck together for years. They now sit on the board of directors for the organization. Originally Uplift used old bread trucks to deliver, but have since then traded them out with Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans, a more reliable and maneuverable alternative.

We arrive at the first stop, which is on the side of a highway by the edge of a large wood. Jim hops out of the driver’s seat and sets off into the trees, with me close behind. Amazingly there is a trail in this remote area of trees. After following along the trail we arrive at an enormous camp site. There are several pieced-together homes in the clearing, and Jim goes door to door, alerting them to our presence. He knows everyone there and I’m quickly introduced to all of the residents.

A makeshift home at a homeless camp.

We lead them out of the woods to the truck where all of them get a hot meal, some cold lemonade, and enough supplies to last them until the next time the truck comes by in a few days. I chat with a few of them while everyone else goes through the line, and each one displays an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

There are 14 more stops on the night’s route. Some of the stops are campsites like the first; others are under overpasses or behind warehouses. One is in a junkyard, another just off a highway. 

To give a little background on myself, I have a small one-bedroom apartment in the 909 Walnut Tower, the tallest residential building in Missouri and a part of the KC skyline. The east route stops are all within 5 miles of downtown with a direct view of my building.

The reason I mention this is while delivering meals it is easy to feel like being on a different planet. Situations that I couldn’t begin to relate to came into focus when a view of my building was constantly in sight, reminding me how well I have it.

After delivering to 15 stops and serving over 65 of Kansas City’s homeless we returned back to base. The trucks were cleaned, supplies refilled, and everything was reset in preparation of Tuesday’s run. After the last light was turned off I headed home with the profound feeling of satisfaction, both glad for what I have and happy to have helped someone in need. 

To get involved, visit www.Uplift.org for more information. You can donate, volunteer to sort, or sign up to deliver yourself!