Luxury Dealer Revs Up New Approach to Showrooms

The luxury wing of the Westfield Topanga shopping mall became more glamorous for a few hours for an exclusive preview of two new Audi models at the showroom owned by The Auto Gallery. The four-door A8 sedan and the R8 Spyder sports car were making their debuts in a U.S. dealership. This was the draw for the guests invited by owner Tony Schwartz. The Audi showroom and the Automobili Lamborghini fashion boutique next door also owned by Schwartz fit in well with that part of the mall with its collection of high end clothing stores. The Westfield Topanga Audi showroom is the only one in the world located at a shopping mall and is a model that Schwartz believed could become more widespread in the auto industry, particularly in urban markets where available land is at a premium and comes with a hefty price. What led Schwartz to the mall was not any attempt to be cutting edge. He is currently building a new Audi dealership on Ventura Boulevard in Woodland Hills and there was no space available for a showroom. The decision has turned out to have been the right one. Up to 12 million shoppers visit the mall every year, Schwartz said. The showroom is located right outside Neiman Marcus and nearby other tony clothing stores. Those people stopping in, however, didn’t come to the mall to buy a car and are more interested in just looking. So sales strategies have adapted to the looky-loos and present a challenge for the salespeople who always want to close a deal. “We have to be patient and treat every single person as though one day they will want to buy an Audi,” Schwartz said. Selling cars out of a mall has attracted the attention of other dealers and car manufacturers, Schwartz said. It is a viable alternative to a standalone dealership because it is less expensive and doesn’t require having to deal with a city bureaucracy to get permits. It took eight years to be allowed to build the new Audi dealership in Woodland Hills, Schwartz said. Not every car brand can do well being sold out of a mall, particularly the Big Three car makers, Schwart said. “It works for a luxury brand because it is boutiquey,” Schwartz said. “If you are a high volume franchise there is a lot of pressure to do well within that environment.” The Auto Gallery also has a location in Calabasas. In addition to Audi, the dealership sells the Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Maserati brands and will add a sixth in the next month. Body Shop Tips The cost of bodywork and painting on a vehicle should reflect the car’s age and how much longer it can be used, Wayne Hazle suggested in a press release put out this month. Hazle, owner of a Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting franchise in North Hills, said it was important to bring a vehicle back to a condition that maintains resale value. A collision repair on a vehicle one to three years old calls for state-of-the-art options, while the owner of a four- to 10-year-old vehicle can benefit from a shop that knows how to provide a superior looking job and still find ways to lower the estimate, Hazle said. “With an older car – or one the customer will keep for four or five more years and is looking for an excellent repair but may be paying it herself – Maaco will find ways to save her money without affecting the quality, so that only the expert commercial buyers of newer used cars could pick it up,” Hazle said. New Director A UCLA faculty member has been named as the new member of the General Motors Co. board of directors. Dr. Cynthia A. Telles is the director of UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute Spanish-Speaking Psychosocial Clinic and has had her work published in the area of mental health, particularly with respect to the assessment and treatment of Hispanic populations. Telles also serves on the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars. New Museum The Mullin Automotive Museum opened its doors in Oxnard on April 15, showing off its collection of art deco-era vehicles. The 100-car collection includes French manufacturers Delahaye, Delage, Talbot-Lago, Voisin and Bugatti. The collection was assembled by businessman Peter Mullin. The museum building previously housed a collection of cars and motorcycles owned by Otis Chandler, the former Los Angeles Times publisher who died in 2006. The museum is represented by JMPR located in Woodland Hills. The Mullin is the third high-profile car museum in the region, the other two being the Nethercutt Collection in Sylmar and the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. Staff Reporter Mark Madler can be reached at (818) 316-3126 or by e-mail at [email protected].