The 2012 Range Rover Evoque

Range Rover. When you say the term, people understand that there is a certain air of quality about the name. They are known as being superb off-road vehicles, luxurious people-carriers, and as having an unmatched fit and finish.

That’s why we were skeptical at first when Land Rover said they were going to build a smaller, less expensive vehicle. Would it be as luxurious? Would it have the same off-road ability? Would it be as refined as the Range Rover Sport or Full-Size vehicles?

When the Range Rover Evoque showed up to our store a few weeks ago, the styling was the first thing to stand out. Usually when a manufacturer makes a concept car, they scrap 99% of the styling points and leave behind some diluted version of the original copy. Not with the Evoque which looks identical to the stunning LRX concept from several years ago.

Next is the interior, other than the new shifter-dial that harks to Land Rover’s partnership with Jaguar, the interior is so nice that it is completely indistinguishable from the Range Rover Sport, its bigger brother. Then you lean back and notice the panoramic roof, and your jaw drops. Other car companies have panoramic roofs, but they are usually broken in the middle by some support column, or are very narrow. This car has the roof equivalent of a glass bottomed boat.

The drive is phenomenal, with a low center of gravity, and a plenty-powerful 4-cylinder turbocharged engine that makes 240 horsepower, which is plenty to give this car a great pickup. The suspension system is crisp, and the Dynamic version I was in used an electro-magnetically controlled system that allows the suspension to adjust its firmness thousands of times every second as road surface changes. That’s the same type of suspension that’s used in the Ferrari 458 Italia supercar.

Off-road is exceptional, with the Evoque offering the same adjustable setup as on the sport, allowing you to adjust for mud ruts, sand, rock crawl, and snow, or just leave it in normal and the system will figure some of those situations out on their own.

For fun, we took the Evoque on our off-road course, which was designed and built years before anyone knew that Land Rover was going to build such a small vehicle. It handled the enormous dips and angles like a true Range Rover. That video can be witnessed here: http://youtu.be/6v84TeYc4sw .

I spent the majority of my time after driving the Evoque removing my foot from my mouth as I could not have been more wrong about this vehicle. It is in every way, a true Range Rover, displaying prowess off-road, on-road, and everywhere in between. It is equal parts luxury and capability.

Motor Trend must have thought so too, as it is now the 2012 Motor Trend SUV of the Year.

Schedule a test drive at: http://www.aristocratlandrover.com/schedule-testdrive. Hurry, as the wait list for certain models is starting to stretch into next spring!

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

SEMA 2011: Pictures

Two weeks ago, our accessories manager boarded a plane to Las Vegas. While most head to Vegas for relaxation and gambling, Cheryl went there for the 2011 SEMA show. SEMA (Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association) is an annual showcase that highlights aftermarket parts and accessories for cars and trucks. 

Each year the Las Vegas Convention Center, along with dozens of adjoining buildings and parking lots plays host to thousands of custom automobiles built by parts manufacturers, tuning companies, and individuals from around the world.

This year was no exception. “It was honestly a very hard show to visit in just two days,” Cheryl remarked. 

When we talked about accessory trends that were prevalent throughout the show, she mentioned that the matte colored paints, similar to the Designo custom exteriors from Mercedes-Benz were becoming very popular. Also, companies that had previously focused on rear seat DVD entertainment systems were now looking to iPads instead, as they are more functional and can be updated via WiFi.

Below are some photos that she took at the show. Enjoy!

Aristocrat Motors is a Merriam, KS based automotive dealership specializing in Mercedes-Benz, smart, Saab, Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Maserati Products. Visit us on the web at www.AristocratMotors.com, on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/AristocratMotors , and on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/Aristocratkc .

Golf Outing

 

While the weather has been acting pretty unpredictable lately, Sunday’s weather couldn’t have been better. Although the sports news was bleak, with both a Chiefs and Sporting KC loss, there was one group of athletes in KC who had a great time: the staff and customers of Aristocrat Land Rover.

On Sunday morning our Kansas City Land Rover owners were invited to meet at Land Rover Merriam for breakfast, check-in, and a quick photo. From there, we loaded up our golf clubs in the latest Land Rover products and drive to Swope Park Memorial Country Club.

For several hours, the group all participated in a scramble tournament. A good time was had by all, with customers and employees alike enjoying what was probably the last nice day for a while in KC. 

After the tourney was complete, we shared a lunch and returned back to the store, where we headed home. We would like to thank all of our customers for coming, and we hope that everyone had as much fun as we did.

We invite all of our Land Rover customers to join us in the spring, for our annual off-road event, where we will once again take our customers to the Kansas Rocks Off-Road Park for a full day of rock crawling, mudding, and outdoor fun.

We hope to see you there!

Land Rover Merriam is part of Aristocrat Motors, a Merriam, KS based auto dealership that sells and services Mercedes-Benz, smart, Porsche, Saab, Maserati, Land Rover, and Jaguar products. Visit us online at www.AristocratMotors.com , on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/AristocratMotors ,or on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AristocratKC .

Aristocrat Motors Contest

It’s getting cold outside, and the Chiefs season is underway. Here at Aristocrat Motors, we think that is cause to celebrate! To celebrate, we are giving away two tickets and parking for the December 24^th Chiefs vs. Raiders game at Arrowhead Stadium.

Through December 15^th, we will be taking contest entries through our Facebook page, and on December 16^th we will pick one lucky winner. This prize package includes:

-          Two tickets to the Chiefs vs. Raiders game at Arrowhead

-          Parking Money

To enter, visit our Facebook page at www.Facebook.com/AristocratMotors , Like our page if you haven’t already, click the “Chiefs Ticket Contest” tab on the left side, and submit your entry! Limit one entry per person, and some restrictions apply. For full contest rules visit Contest Rules . Remember, the winner must be 21 or older.

Good luck to everyone, and we know one of you will enjoy a great Chiefs game, on us!

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

Congratulations Sporting Kansas City on One Amazing Season

Congratulations Sporting KC!

From all of us here at Aristocrat Motors, we would like to congratulate our partners at Sporting KC on a fantastic 2011 season.

Since the completion of Livestrong Sporting Park, we have had the opportunity to work with this great team as they moved into the nicest professional soccer venue in the country. While some people have seen our ads around the park, most do not know the extent of our involvement with the club.

1      Ads: We run ads along the video boards surrounding the field on home games.

2      Vehicle Placement: Livestrong Sporting Park allows us to park vehicles on the main concourse every home game.

        Sporting KC Vehicle Support: We operate a shared Mercedes-Benz Sprinter commercial van, which we use for parts delivery, charity events, and community outreach. Sporting uses this van several times per year to take staff and equipment into the community for clinics, outreach, etc.

4.     Signature Suite: Our dealership is fortunate to have a suite on the radically different Signature level, allowing for suite holders to network with each other in a common food area. We use this space for employees, customers, and business partners.

5     Charity Support: Recently, Sporting KC aided us in promoting our Sleepyhead Bed Drives, mentioning us to their thousands of fans, and helping us realize our goal of raising over 250 beds for kids in the Kansas City community.

What a year it has been for this winning combination. We wish Sporting KC the best of luck for many years to come.

We Believe That We Will Win! 

Aristocrat Motors is a Merriam, KS based auto dealership specializing in Mercedes-Benz, smart, Porsche, Saab, Maserati, Land Rover, and Jaguar products. Find us on the web at www.AristocratMotors.com , on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/AristocratMotors , or on Twitter at www.Twitter.com/AristocratKC .

25,000 Thanks

30 Days, 265 Beds, and $25,000.00. We at Aristocrat Motors cannot express enough thanks for our customers, partners, and employees for helping us in our effort to support Sleepyhead Beds these past few months.

Several months ago, we met Monica Starr, the founder of Sleepyhead Beds, an organization that seeks to provide the 1 in 42 children in Kansas City that don’t have a place to sleep a bed of their own. When we sat down with her we set a goal to raise 125 beds at each of the Mercedes-Benz dealers in Kansas City to celebrate the 125^th anniversary of Mercedes-Benz.

We called on all hands to make these bed drives a success, raising 265 beds between the stores with help from our customers, employees, and advertising partners. Because of these efforts, there are 265 kids in Kansas City that are sleeping soundly tonight.

Shortly after our bed drives, Mercedes-Benz USA launched the Community Stars contest, a social media event that asked charities to submit short videos in an attempt to win one of five $25,000 grants. What must have been hundred of charities sent in entries, and fifteen were picked.

Lucky enough for us, Sleepyhead Beds was picked to be in those final 15, whose videos would be shown on the Mercedes-Benz Facebook page for 2 weeks, with users allowed to vote for their favorites. At the end of the voting, the top 5 most popular videos would each win $25,000.

We called on everyone: customers, employees, complete strangers, to vote for Sleepyhead Beds. On October 26^th voting was closed, and we were put in the dark until yesterday.

Yesterday at 4:45pm Mercedes-Benz announced that Sleepyhead Beds was chosen as one of the winning entries.

The road to where we are now has been a long one, with many hours spent planning, promoting, and delivering beds. None of it could be possible without such amazing support. Thank you for stepping up and showing us that while our corporate slogan might be “The Best or Nothing”, we really are nothing without the best customers.

Aristocrat Motors is a Merriam, KS based automotive dealership selling and servicing Mercedes-Benz, smart, Saab, Porsche, Land Rover, Jaguar, and Maserati products. We are available on the web at www.aristocratmotors.com , on Facebook at: www.Facebook.com/AristocratMotors, and on twitter at www.twitter.com/AristocratKC .