Vehicle Review: The 2011 Jaguar XK-R

This weekend gave me the opportunity to drive one of the most wonderful cars of my life. In fact, as I write this I am experiencing a twinge of withdrawal from a car so amazing that giving up the key took a concerted effort. What car do you ask? Why, the 2011 Jaguar XK-R.

Getting into the Jaguar isn’t like other cars. Open the door and you will find an interior that screams luxury, with suede headliner, hand stitched leather seats that are both heated and cooled, as well as a dash that looks like it is out of a sci-fi movie.

That isn’t where it ends either. When you get in the car, the start engine button is glowing red, blinking in a way that resembles a heartbeat. Simply put your foot on the gas, and all of those luxury features are completely forgotten as all 510 horses of the supercharged V8 roar to life. I have to be honest, having driven Porsche 911s and Maserati GranTurismos, I still assert that there is no sound quite like the XKR. 

Thankfully, that sound represents enormous amounts of power. Enough power in fact to rocket the XKR to 60 mph in just 4 seconds. That’s less than the amount of time it takes to read this sentence. Even with all of those numbers on a page, it is still difficult to convey just how epically fast this car really is. 

Then there is the handling. The car is so crisp, so easy to drive, that it makes everyone who drives it feel like they can be the next Sir Sterling Moss, or Michael Schumacher. It takes the bends with authority, and didn’t feel like there was a moment when it didn’t have it all under control.

It’s also good that the car is outfitted with lots of creature comforts too, because the car is literally so ready for high speeds that normal traffic makes the car feel like it is barely moving. So in traffic, the iPod integration, Bowers& Wilkins stereo, and air conditioned seats made driving this car very pleasant.

So in conclusion the XKR is comfortable, handles well, and is unbelievably fast. That is just what you would come to expect from the most high performance version of the Jaguar sports coupe.

Art of the Car Concours

Blog Post: Art of the Car Concours           

We believe more than most that automobiles are works of art. Not just any works of art, but a daily expression of our personality that we venture out into the world with every day. In tune with that belief, we are proud to be working with The Kansas City Art Institute at the 5^th Annual Art of the Car Concours.

The Fifth Annual Art of the Car Concours® will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 26 on the KCAI campus. The show will feature more than 180 vintage, classic and special-interest vehicles, including cars, trucks, racing cars and vintage motorcycles belonging to collectors from eight states. Vehicles from Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, Iowa, North Carolina and Oklahoma will be on view.

Event day parking will be available on the streets surrounding campus as well as in the underground parking garage at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Garage parking is $5 and the entrance is located at 45th and Oak streets.

This event, a benefit for the KCAI scholarship fund, is growing in popularity and stature among vintage and classic collectors. The Concours is unique for its size and scale in having no formal judging and no classes of vehicles. The intention is to provide a wide range of very high-quality, original, vintage vehicles in an eclectic, informal setting, without the pressure of traditional Concours events.

More information including ticket purchasing can be viewed at www.artofthecarconcours.com .
We look forward to seeing you there!

Aristocrat Motors: Employee Social Media Training

Today it is hard to get around Social Media. It seems that every advertisement on TV or in Print has those little F’s and T’s written all over them. Since most companies seem to be moving into the social realm (including us) it becomes more important than ever to educate our employees on social media related issues.

That is why we at Aristocrat Motors have committed ourselves to making sure our employees are properly trained and educated on how to use social media in a safe and effective way.

By holding regular training sessions, we have highlighted how to setup a Facebook or Twitter account, managing your security settings to ensure employee privacy, and how to protect yourself from online identity fraud.

We hope that these training solutions ensure that our staff is as well informed and up to date as possible. We know that by having a well trained and educated staff, we can continue to provide the best experience possible to our customers.

We can be visited on the web at www.Facebook.com/AristocratMotors , www.Twitter.com/AristocratKC, or www.AristocratMotors.com.

Aristocrat Motors is Building a New Website

Aristocrat Motors is proud to announce that it is beginning a new website partnership with DealerFire, a custom dealership website design firm. We believe that our websites should provide the same superior experience online that we provide offline, so we have begun building a set of new, modern, and more efficient virtual storefronts that will be able to do more than ever before.

As we are in the design process, we encourage our customers to visit our current website (www.AristocratMotors.com) and tell us what they would like to see added, removed, or kept as the new sites begin developing. 

We will provide updates as the build goes on, but expect our new website to be live sometime in mid-July. As always, everything we do is focused on the customer experience.

Please contact us at 913.677.3300 or AristocratSocialMedia@SoaveAuto.com .

Aristocrat Motors Tent Event

Here at Aristocrat Motors, we love the cars we sell. In fact, we love them so much that a few of them have had a few miles put on them. Every summer, we try to feature some of those that have been demonstrated favorites.

This is your opportunity to see why we like these cars so much, and an opportunity to save even more.

Come see us during our Tent Sale, or give us a call at 913.677.3300 for more information.