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Customer Appreciation Event at Morrie’s BP Nissan Subaru
May 23rd
Last night at Morrie’s Brooklyn Park Nissan Subaru we held our Customer Appreciation Event. Guests enjoyed dinner on us from Tunnichi’s, and were entertained by our talented live piano player, our New Car Manager’s daughter. Customers entered to win door prizes and visited amongst other Morrie’s Buy Happy Customers that had shared the same experience as them. We were thrilled with the turnout and always love having all of our valued customers come back to the store so that we can take the time to thank them for their business and enjoy their company. We are already looking forward to our next event and hope to see you there!
Tonka Trucks Return to Their Birthplace – Museum to Open in Mound, MN
May 20th
Photo Credit: http://stefgarage.free.fr
If you grew up in Minnesota between 1950 and 1990 there is a strong chance you played with at least one Tonka Truck. Tonka built trucks that left a lasting impression on many kids both literally and figuratively.
From its start in 1947 Tonka built two toys, a metal crane and steam shovel. These two toys dug the foundation for many successful decades of production. The factory, located in Mound, spanned nearly one third of a mile and at its peak built over 13 million trucks a year. To put this number in perspective, just north of three million automobiles are expected to be built domestically this year. Needless to say, the Tonka Toys building in Mound was a west metro landmark.
Undoubtedly, the most successful Tonka Truck was the Mighty Dump. Constructed entirely of metal the Mighty Dump was virtually indestructible, and I can attest having beat on mine regularly in my sandbox as a kid. The Mighty line of Tonka Trucks saw heavy duty in the hands of children worldwide through the 1980s.
Faced with high labor costs and tax rates, Tonka moved production to Texas in 1982. In 1991 Hasbro purchased the company prompting the closing of the Minnesota office. Despite a limited Minnesota presence in decades things will soon change.
As a tribute to the millions of Tonka Trucks created locally, the Mound Westonka Historical Society will be opening the Tonka Toy Museum on June 15. The museum, located on the second floor of Mound City Hall, will showcase the many toys amassed over the years as well as donated private collections. If you’re looking to stroll down memory lane this summer be sure to check out the museum.
Miracles of Mitch Race Car Day at the Children’s Hospital
May 13th
If you’ve been actively reading our blog, you already know that Morrie’s Minnetonka Mazda and Twin Cities Luxury Auto have been working together to help build a Mazda2 B-Spec Racecar for one of our loyal clients, John McCarthy.
The Mazda2 racecar build is complete and TCLA Service Manager, Michael Ashby has been working closely with McCarthy and the Miracles of Mitch Foundation to raise money for children in need. Ashby and McCarthy became aware of the Miracles of Mitch Foundation when they participated in an event sponsored by our Mazda and TCLA stores. The event allowed us, as well as our customers to donate a bike to the Miracles of Mitch Foundation for each car that was sold in April. McCarthy and Ashby felt inspired to continue a partnership with the Miracles of Mitch Foundation. To them, the foundation carries a message that everyone needs to hear and they decided to embrace the idea of helping the foundation to raise funds.
The Cadillac ATS vs. BMW 3 Series
May 8th
The ATS is Cadillac’s first legitimate sports car to compete directly with the BMW 3 Series. It handles unlike any previous Cadillac due in part to its class leading weight, 50/50 weight distribution and multi-link suspension. When the driver is going around a sharp turn in the ATS, there is little to no roll effect at all. In fact, the ATS actually seems to handle curves better than it drives straight. The racing derived Brembo Brakes bring the ATS to a complete stop from 60 to 0 in a best in class 108 feet, besting the BMW by 5 feet.
The interior in the ATS is also a step above the BMW. With a hand cut and sewn interior, the driver is able to see every single stitch in the leather giving it a beautiful appearance. The ATS also comes in 7 different interior combinations and many standard features that BMW doesn’t even offer. Some of these include remote vehicle start, active noise cancellation, and illuminated outside door handles. The ATS also comes with Cadillac’s signature touch screen infotainment system, CUE, which is designed to look and feel like personal electronics already on the market. Different features on the infotainment system include 3-D navigation, weather updates, Pandora, and phone pairing through Bluetooth. CUE can be accessed through the touch screen, steering wheel controls, and through natural voice recognition. With the purchase of any cue equipped ATS the driver also gets a free iPad 2, loaded with applications for the CUE system that helps to give the driver a feel for the system off the road.
Charger Restoration – Update #7 – The Final Parts Hunt
May 6th
Spring has finally arrived, and much like we’ve been eagerly waiting to get outdoors, the Charger is anxiously waiting for its return to streets. That return, however, is going to be a bit delayed.
Up until recently visible progress on the Charger could be seen on a daily basis, but recently our team has been working diligently on the details you cannot see. We’ve reached the stage where the hunt for small and seldom noticed trim pieces slows down the restoration process. Despite a healthy aftermarket for vintage muscle car parts, we’ve run into a couple of “needle in the haystack” situations.
The good news is that we’ve been able to track down all the outstanding parts. The not so good news is that some of these parts aren’t scheduled to arrive until the middle of June. Needless to say we won’t hit our May completion target and it’s looking like late-June is a more reasonable completion target. Fortunately, like the aging of a fine wine, the extra time will give us time to get everything dialed in perfectly for when Matthew takes the wheel this summer.
Check out the update photos below and be sure to check back often for updates.
MN Cars & Coffee | May 2013
May 6th
The 2013 Season of MN C&C is underway and although the weather hasn’t been very cooperative, the turnout has been great. This past weekend was the 2nd event of the season and we brought out some of the hottest cars from our Cadillac lineup as well as a few luxury vehicles from Twin Cities Luxury Auto.
As always, our free hot coffee was a huge hit and helped to keep spectators warm during the rainy cold weather that we experienced this past Saturday. Along with coffee, we are giving away free Morrie’s sunglasses so make sure to stop by our booth throughout the summer and grab a pair!
We look forward to the rest of the MN C&C season and warm weather, which is sure to bring out more eye catching vehicles from various different owners throughout the metro.
Check out some of our photos below from last weekends event.
Morrie’s attends the Children’s Star Gala
May 2nd
On April 27th 2013 the Children’s Star Gala, 22nd annual Thank God for Kids event was help at the Depot in downtown Minneapolis. Thanks to generous sponsors, donors, attendees and volunteers a total of $2.2 million was raised for the development of The Mother Baby Center at the Children’s Clinic in Abbott Northwestern Hospital.
The Mother Baby Center opened earlier this year and was designed to care for all deliveries and bring patients the best mother and baby care possible. Abbott Northwestern delivers more babies than any other hospital in Minnesota, making this the perfect place for this birthing center. The center is equipped with state of the art technology and highly trained staff. One of the goals of the Mother Baby Center is to keep the mother and her child together as much as possible, even post-birth. They have created a space that caters to all different types of birthing situations making it one of the most versatile birthing centers today.
We were happy to be able to provide a 2013 Crystal Red Cadillac SRX and $1,000 worth of gas that helped raise over $13,000 for this event. We were so thankful to be able to support such a wonderful cause. Check out some of our photos from the event below.
Nissan Launches Electric Taxi Fleet in NYC
Apr 26th
The city of New York has been taking strides to ensure their city is energy efficient and environmentally friendly. In order to do this, they have teamed up with Nissan.
This Monday, NYC Mayor, Michael Bloomberg announced that six new all-electric Nissan Leaf taxis have been added to the streets. Bloomberg says his plans “will help the city answer important questions about incorporating electric taxis into the fleet, so that we can achieve the goal of a one-third electric taxi fleet by 2020.”
The city has already installed a number of different fast charging stations throughout Manhattan so that taxi drivers can quickly recharge to almost full capacity during their shift in 30 minutes or less.
Bloomberg plans to accomplish the city’s goal of having a one-third electric taxi fleet by also implementing the “Taxi of Tomorrow” program with the Nissan NV200 vehicle. Before launching the NV200 Bloomberg first wants to pilot the use of all-electric vehicles with the Nissan Leaf. As a result, we may not see the NV200 on NYC streets for a few more years until we can see how these electric vehicles can be integrated throughout the big city.
We had the opportunity to see the NV200 Nissan Taxi of Tomorrow at this year’s New York International Auto Show and got a few up close interior shots for you.
The NV200 is fully wheelchair accessible with a fold flat ramp in the rear as well as a restraint system to keep the wheelchair in place while the taxi is moving. To accomplish this, Nissan teamed up with BraunAbility, a company that makes wheelchair accessible vans.
If you are in the market for an all-electric vehicle, head over to Morrie’s Brooklyn Park Nissan and test drive a Nissan Leaf today!
2014 Cadillac ELR
Apr 26th
The all-new 2014 Cadillac ELR luxury coupe was unveiled in production form at the 2013 North American International Auto Show. We were excited to see it also make an appearance at this year’s New York International Auto Show last month. The ELR combines style, luxury and energy efficient technologies to bring you one truly magnificent automobile. The styling of this up and coming plug-in hybrid is very similar to the Cadillac Converj concept that we saw at the 2009 North American Auto Show in Detroit.
Under the hood the vehicle is equipped with an electric motor and a small 4-cylinder turbocharged engine that serves as the backup generator for the system. The electric motor has a range of 35 miles then the engine kicks in for a maximum combined range of about 300 miles. The ELR takes about 12 hours to recharge on a standard 120-volt outlet and about 4 ½ hours using a 240-volt outlet. The turn signal indicators located on the side view mirrors also act as charge indicators when the vehicle is plugged in so you know when charging is complete.
The vehicle was built with aerodynamics in mind, which allow the vehicle to glide along the road with minimal resistance. The bottom of the front grille is equipped with active shutters that open and close depending on speed. The underbody panels and hidden door handles also help to cut down on turbulence.
The interior is stylishly designed with chrome, leather, wood, and microfiber suede accents. Most of which, come standard on the base model. The model that was displayed at the New York International Auto Show featured 2 seats in the front and 2 seats in the rear.
The vehicle also comes with Cadillac’s signature touch sensitive CUE infotainment system. 20” wheels and sweeping body lines make the outside of the ELR look sleek, stylish, and one to remember. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet on this exciting new Cadillac model, but we will be sure to update you as soon as more information becomes available. Expect to see this vehicle on showfloors later in the year.
Drive one 4UR School This Saturday!
Apr 22nd
This Saturday, April 27th from 9am-3pm Morrie’s Buffalo Ford will be at Delano Elementary School with a great lineup of Ford cars and trucks for you to test drive!
Take one of our new Ford vehicles for a spin and Ford Motor Company will donate $20 for every test drive up to $6,000 to Delano Elementary School! We will be bringing a range of different vehicles from our lineup including an F-150, Mustang, Fusion, Focus, Taurus, Escape, Fiesta, Edge, C-MAX and more! Get there early because the first 300 drivers will receive a free pair of Ford sunglasses!
Here at Morrie’s we look for opportunities to give back to the community and this weekend, you can help. We look forward to a great turnout to help raise money for this local school!
Delano Elementary School is located at 678 Tiger Drive, Delano, MN 55328. If you have any questions please call us at 763-682-1622.
