SAN ANTONIO, July 5, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — San Antonio recently celebrated the groundbreaking of Hill Country Honda — the John Eagle Dealership’s first dealership in the San Antonio market.

A host of well-wishers welcomed Rene’ Isip, Dealer Principal and the John Eagle Family to the San Antonio community and expressed excitement about the positive economic impact the dealership will bring to the city.

Rene’ Isip, communicated his desire to be a part of San Antonio by announcing that the dealership will employ over 150 people at the all-new $25 million facility. Set to open in late 2017 and with over 16 acres and 70,000 square feet of showroom space his team will bring new Honda products and customer service to Bexar county like never before.

John Eagle said, “I am thrilled that we are expanding our Texas roots into San Antonio. As is our tradition, we will be of service to the community through Honda, the dealerships employees and the contributions that we will collectively make to the greater good.”

“We have plans to make Hill Country Honda one of the top dealerships in Texas. Actually one of the top in the nation,” Mr. Isip said with a smile.

As a key to customer convenience, the facility will have wi-fi throughout and will include the latest and greatest digital integrations. Hill Country Honda will keep employees and customers up to speed via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram among other social mediums.

The facility will also be home to a digital billboard that will highlight the latest inventory specials as well as the dealerships connections in the community. Time and space on the board will be dedicated to highlight community-minded employees and citizens.

Given his innovative track record, Isip will utilize the entire array of marketing tools available to keep his team connected in the San Antonio community.

As he noted, “We believe in remaining on the cutting edge of innovation to insure a wonderful customer experience. Whether that involves Virtual Reality visits or delivering test drive experiences, our plan is to be operationally transparent so that we can give customers the best experiences possible.”

Customer convenience was built into the architectural designs that allow for service vehicles to be viewed while they are being worked on in one of over 50 service bays. Additionally, today’s on-the-go consumer can move quickly through one of nine express lane bays designed to help expedite quick service experiences like oil changes or tire rotations.

To stay connected, Hill Country Honda will provide prospective customers with the ability to view the dealership’s progress as it is being built. Publicly available updates to the facility’s progress can be found via the organizations current website www.HillCountryHonda.org.

Texas-based Good Fulton & Farrell developed the architectural designs and Rogers-O’Brien will serve as the general contractors on the facility located near Culebra and West 1604 in west San Antonio.

About Hill Country Honda
Hill Country Honda is located on West Loop 1604 in San Antonio, Texas near the intersection of Culebra and 1604. Hill Country Honda is conveniently located to support San Antonio, Johnson City, Hondo, Helotes, Leon Valley, Lackland AFB, Castroville and all areas in the surrounding vicinity. The dealership services and sells one of the largest selections of new and used Honda cars and trucks in Texas.

About Good, Fulton and Farrell
GFF serves as the overall corporate umbrella for four divisions: GFF Architects, comprising eight distinct studios specializing in different practice areas; GFF Interiors, offering full-service interior design capabilities across a full spectrum of building types; GFF Planning, providing land use planning, campus master planning, urban design and zoning processing assistance; and GFF Landscape, providing landscape architecture.

About Rogers – O’Brien
Since 1969, Rogers-O’Brien has firmly established itself as a leading general contractor in Texas by providing a wide range of preconstruction and construction management services. Our unique approach consistently delivers high quality buildings in a variety of market sectors, exceeding the most demanding expectations.

Contact:
True Blue Media Group
[email protected]

Photo – http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/530237/Hill_Country_Honda_Groundbreaking.jpg

SOURCE Hill Country Honda

IRVINE, California, July 5, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today announced the launch of a new, insights-driven Hispanic campaign, seeking to link common attributes shared between the Hispanic community and the brand’s core values. The campaign creative, which will launch on July 9, was developed specifically for the Hispanic consumer, aiming to tap into the existing positive affinity for Japanese-made products.

The new campaign is an extension of the Driving Matters general market campaign and is aimed at emphasizing Mazda’s core values that are relevant to Hispanics that love to drive and value quality and craftsmanship. Leveraging the existing perception that Japanese brands are trustworthy, dependable, skillful and above all, well-made, the campaign will ultimately establish Mazda as a Japanese brand. In order to first establish that connection, the series will kick off on July 9 with a week-long “disruption” phase that will be in Japanese-only. Following the disruption phase will be three phases, each focusing on relatable Mazda brand philosophies: Passion (KODO—Soul of Motion design), Harmony (Jinba Ittai driving dynamics) and Perseverance (Hiroshima Challenger Spirit).

“Through our research, we’ve discovered that there are more than 12 million Hispanic consumers in the United States who identify with Mazda brand philosophies, yet that same research shows that many are simply not familiar with the brand,” said Russell Wager, vice president of marketing for MNAO. “We’ve found that the Hispanic Mazda customer is a true car enthusiast; someone who appreciates styling and performance, but is also hyper-digital and social, and already leans toward Japanese car brands. Our goal is to make sure they understand Mazda not only by our cars, but what we stand for.”

The campaign, scheduled to begin in July 2017, will utilize partnerships with influential Hispanic media outlets, including Telemundo and Univision to amplify the message. Through the partnerships, each outlet will offer unique creative components tailored to their specific audience. The campaign and creative was developed in collaboration with Mazda’s fully integrated and dedicated WPP team agency, Garage Team Mazda in partnership with WPP’s multi-cultural marketing communications network, The Bravo Group.

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 600 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom.

Follow MNAO’s social media channels through Twitter and Instagram at @MazdaUSA and Facebook at Facebook.com/Mazda

Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/53154/mazda_north_american_operations_logo.jpg

SOURCE Mazda North American Operations

TORRANCE, California, July 3, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — American Honda Motor Co., Inc. today reported total June sales of 139,793 Honda and Acura vehicles, an increase of 0.8 percent over June 2016. Honda and Acura Division trucks also combined for a new June record, gaining 1.9 percent on sales of 70,067 units, while combined car sales totaled 69,726, down a very slight 0.3 percent. Honda Division was down 1.3 percent on sales of 125,755 units, with trucks down 1.6 percent on sales of 60,500 units due to inventory issues, and cars down just 1 percent on sales of 65,255. Acura Division sales gained 23.7 percent in June, on sales of 14,038 vehicles, with trucks jumping 30.9 percent on sales of 9,567, and cars rising 10.6 percent on sales of 4,471 units.

Honda
Honda Division maintained a robust sales pace in June, nearly matching a notably strong June of 2016. Civic and Accord remain at the top of car sales charts, with Accord rising 3.4 percent in June and Civic again posting a strong month of over 30,000 units, boosted by the high performance halo of Type R.  CR-V suffered slightly in June from low supply of higher trim availability, but HR-V set yet another record with its best June ever and Ridgeline gained in double digits, despite inventory issues with all-wheel drive models.

• Continuing to assert its lead in the subcompact SUV segment, HR-V jumped 35.1 percent in June, with 8,872 units sold.
• Accord pushed against the tide again in June, gaining 3.4 percent on sales of 29,791 vehicles, building momentum for the fall debut of the just-announced 2018 Accord.
• With 30,909 Civics sold in June, the #1 selling car in the U.S. combined with #2 Accord to exceed 60,000 units for the month, the top 1-2 passenger car duo in the industry.
• Civic Type R proved popular in its first month, with sales topping 550 units in 2 weeks.
• Odyssey got off to a strong start, with sales of 11,146 units making it #1 in segment.

“Against a sea of competitors clinging to market share via heavy incentives and fleet sales, Honda’s success is driven by retail customers attracted to a cadence of strong new products,” said Jeff Conrad, senior vice president and general manager of the Honda Division. “Although the market is catching its breath, we’re injecting new energy with models like the incredible new Civic Type R and we’re not done yet in 2017, with a new Accord on the way.”

Acura
Acura had a notably strong month of June driven by renewed focus on product that reflects the brand’s Precision Crafted Performance direction. Notably, the recently revitalized TLX and new MDX Sport Hybrid earned considerable positive attention, helping boost the division 23.7 percent for the month.  TLX led Acura car sales with a 10.6 percent increase in June, while RDX led Acura trucks to a 30.9 percent gain.

• The new TLX A-Spec is a sought-after model at Acura dealers, helping overall TLX sales gain 12.9 percent on sales of 3,175 units for the month.
• RDX set a new all-time June record with a 48.3 percent leap on sales of 5,327 units.
• MDX had a strong June, posting 4,210 sales for an increase of 14 percent.
• ILX sales rose 6.9 percent on sales of 1,191 units, its best month of 2017.
• Adding emphasis to Acura’s performance path, one of Michael Shank Racing’s NSX GT3 cars won at Watkins Glen on Sunday, its second consecutive victory in the IMSA series.

“In a challenging luxury automotive marketplace, reshaping our products around the performance direction of the Acura brand is clearly resonating with luxury car and truck buyers,” said Jon Ikeda, vice president & general manager of the Acura division. “The A-Spec variant has put TLX back on the luxury performance sedan map, while the sporty virtues of MDX and RDX continue to speak for themselves in strong sales.”

Photo – http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/530104/2018_Acura_TLX_072.jpg
Logo – http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/95602/honda_logo.jpg

SOURCE American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

WATKINS GLEN, New York, July 2, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — The Michael Shank Racing Acura duo of Andy Lally and Katherine Legge scored its second consecutive GTD class victory of the 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season Sunday at Watkins Glen International Raceway, starting from the pole and leading much of the six-hour endurance contest to take the checkers in their Acura NSX GT3.

Today’s victory on the sweeping, 2.4-mile Watkins Glen circuit – one of the fastest tracks on the IMSA schedule – follows last month’s equally emphatic victory for Acura, Lally and Legge at the Detroit Grand Prix street circuit, the tightest track on the circuit and one of only two sprint races on the schedule. Both victories serve to highlight the impressive scope of development work on the NSX GT3, which is in its first year of world-class sports car competition.

Starting from the pole, Lally built a four-second lead over the course of his opening, 50-minute stint. Although a series of caution flags in the third hour jumbled the order and several competitors adopted alternative pit strategies, the Lally/Legge Acura never dropped below fifth place, and a triple stint from Legge moved her #93 NSX GT3 to second place behind teammate Ozz Negri in the #86 Acura.

With two hours to go, Negri and Legge continued to run 1-2, then handed off to their respective co-drivers, Segal and Lally, to close out the race.  However, with just 36 minutes remaining, Olivier Pla’s prototype car made side-to-side contact with Segal’s Acura.  Although both cars continued, Segal reported suspension issues almost immediately, and was forced to park his Acura with damaged left-front suspension on the next lap.

Segal’s issues led to a final full-course caution.  When the green flag waved for the final time with 25 minutes to go, held off a gaggle of GTD cars to the finish, taking the checkers ahead of a Ferrari, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and a pair of Lexus entries.

The Acura NSX GT3s compete in the GTD class of the WeatherTech series, campaigning against premium automotive brands including Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche.

Developed from the production Acura NSX, the NSX GT3 utilizes the production NSX’s ultra-rigid and lightweight multi-material body with aluminum-intensive space frame, which is produced at the Performance Manufacturing Center in Ohio, exclusive worldwide manufacturing facility for the NSX. The 3.5-liter racing engine uses the same design specifications as the production Acura NSX, including the block, heads, valve train, crankshaft, pistons and dry-sump lubrication system. A six-speed, sequential-shift racing gearbox delivers power to the rear wheels.

Video recaps from this weekend’s Acura WeatherTech SportsCar Championship victory at Watkins Glen are being posted on the “Honda Racing/HPD” YouTube channel.  Produced by the Carolinas Production Group, the video packages can be found in the 2017 HPD Trackside Video Playlist at: https://www.youtube.com/HondaRacingHPDTV.

After consecutive victories for Acura at Detroit and Watkins Glen, the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship now moves to another classic road course. Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, located outside of Toronto, will be the site of the July 9 Mobil 1 Sportscar Grand Prix.

Andy Lally (Driver, Michael Shank Racing #93 Acura NSX GT3) GTD race winner at Watkins Glen: “Being my home state, and my home track, this – other than putting a Rolex on your wrist [for winning the Rolex 24] is the most important race in the world to me – and I can’t believe we won it. ‘Kat’ [Katherine Legge] ran a triple stint in the middle and did really well, and our teammates Jeff [Segal] and Ozz [Negri] were flying today, it’s just such a shame they had their problem so close to the finish.”

Katherine Legge (Driver, Michael Shank Racing #93 Acura NSX GT3) GTD race winner at Watkins Glen: “My stint started out pretty eventful.  I got some pickup on my tires after moving off line to let some prototypes pass, and the vibration and noise was pretty incredible until I was able to clean up the tires.  But we got the #93 car back up to just behind [teammate] Ozz [Negri] and handed it off to Andy [Lally] in good shape.  Then, Andy just dominated that final stint.  This has been an amazing day, and I think it proves Acura is here at the front [of the field] and here to stay.”

Steve Eriksen (Vice President & COO, Honda Performance Development) on today’s second consecutive IMSA race win for the Acura NSX GT3: “It was another great race weekend for Acura.  Our first GTD pole on Saturday, followed by back-to-back race wins for the #93 NSX GT3 driven by Andy Lally and Katherine Legge.  The team looked poised for a 1-2 finish, until a post-contact mechanical failure ended what was a spectacular run for Ozz Negri and Jeff Segal in the #86 Acura.  The relentless work of Michael Shank Racing and all of our HPD associates is beginning to reap dividends, and proves that the NSX GT3 is a competitive platform on all types of circuits – everything from the tight and rough Detroit street course to the smooth and very fast track here at Watkins Glen.”

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/530092/Acura_Motorsports_Lally_Legge_Win.jpg 
Logo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/458749/acura_logo.jpg  

SOURCE Acura Motorsports

IRVINE, California, July 3, 2017 /PRNewswire-HISPANIC PR WIRE/ — Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) today reported June U.S. sales of 22,342 vehicles, representing a decrease of 14.7 percent versus June of last year. Year-to-date sales through June are down 2.6 percent versus last year, with 141,624 vehicles sold.

Key June sales notes:

• The Mazda CX-5 continues its record-breaking sales trend, posting its best-ever June with 9,550 vehicles sold. This number represents an increase of 3.5 percent over June of last year, marking its third recording-breaking month in a row.
• Heading into the summer months, the Mazda MX-5 continues to post strong sales numbers. The roadster posted a year-over-year increase of 17.7 percent, with 1,046 vehicles sold in the month of June.
• Total sales of Mazda’s CX crossover SUV line, including the CX-3, CX-5 and CX-9, were down slightly with 12,462 vehicles sold, representing a decrease of 1.4 percent year-over-year. When making purchase decisions regarding crossover SUVs, a majority of Mazda customers continue to choose the AWD option, with 61.1 percent of CX-line vehicles sold in June being equipped with predictive i-ACTIV All-Wheel Drive.

Mazda Motor de Mexico (MMdM) reported May sales of 4,441 vehicles, up 11.8 percent versus June of last year.

Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through nearly 600 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. For more information on Mazda vehicles, including photography and B-roll, please visit the online Mazda media center at InsideMazda.MazdaUSA.com/Newsroom.

SOURCE Mazda North American Operations