Press Release: February 2015

Crown Jaguar Earns “Pride of Jaguar” Distinction for Eighth Consecutive Year

A number of Crown Automotive Group vehicle models were recently honored by Edmunds.com with Top Rated Car Awards, including the Crown Automotive 2014 Audi A4, Crown Automotive 2014 Mercedes-Benz C300, and more.

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA –-Crown Jaguar, Pinellas County’s leading Jaguar dealership, is proud to announce that it recently earned the “Pride of Jaguar” distinction from Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC.

The Jaguar dealerships across the U.S. to be honored with this award have exhibited superior business practices and garnered success in three categories: customer advocacy, sales and business excellence. Sixteen Jaguar retailers in the US are selected each year to earn the distinction.

This is the eighth consecutive year that Crown Jaguar has won this prestigious award.

“It’s an honor to be the recipient of the ‘Pride of Jaguar’ award for the eighth year in a row,” said Larry Casto, General Manager of Crown Jaguar. “We work hard to ensure that we deliver excellent service to our clients and put into place business practices that lead to success, and we are proud to see that that hard work has paid off.”

Crown Jaguar is the No. 3 Jaguar dealership in the country, and offers customers throughout the St. Petersburg area and surrounding communities with superior service and access to a vast inventory of new and pre-owned Jaguar vehicles. Learn more about the dealership at CrownJaguar.com.

ABOUT CROWN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP Crown Automotive Group has been in business for more than 40 years, and currently operates domestic and international automotive franchises in Florida, Ohio and Tennessee. The group is dedicated to customer and employee satisfaction, and is your source for new and pre-owned vehicles, parts and service, financing and more. No matter what you’re looking for, you can be confident that you are getting an incredible deal and outstanding service when you visit one of the many dealerships that make up Crown Automotive Group. Learn more about the group at http://www.crowncars.com.

Crown GMC Earns Coveted GMC Business Elite Dealer Designation

ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA - Crown GMC is proud to announce that the dealership recently earned the designation of GMC Business Elite Dealer, granting them the opportunity to market, sell and service GMC’s line of fleet and commercial vehicles to customers.

The GMC dealership, which already offers a wide array of GMC vehicles to drivers throughout the St. Petersburg community, will now showcase the GMC Professional Grade fleet of vehicles as well as GMC Commercial Trucks and vans.

“Becoming a GMC Business Elite Dealer is an incredible opportunity for our dealership,” said Craig Blacklidge, Crown GMC’s General Manager. “We work hard to deliver the utmost in service to our customers, and the same will be true as we market to fleet and commercial consumers, providing a higher level of attention in sales, service and repair.”

“We understand the service and repair needs of the commercial customer for fast and service to get their vehicles back on the road.”

The GMC Business Elite program is a prestigious one. There are only approximately 500 Chevrolet/GMC Business Elite Dealers nationwide, and Crown GMC is now proudly the only GMC Business Elite Dealer in the Pinellas County area.

For the first time in history, GM Fleet and Commercial vehicles outsold Ford in 2014, and that success is poised to continue into the new year. Craig Blacklidge and the Crown GMC staff are confident that this will lead to the success of the dealership’s fleet and commercial business as well.

Tampa Bay area drivers who are interested in learning more about the GMC Business Elite Dealer program, or the complete lineup of GMC vehicles, can visit Crown GMC today.

ABOUT CROWN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

Crown Automotive Group has been in business for more than 40 years, and currently operates domestic and international automotive franchises in Florida, Ohio and Tennessee. The group is dedicated to customer and employee satisfaction, and is your source for new and pre-owned vehicles, parts and service, financing and more. No matter what you’re looking for, you can be confident that you are getting an incredible deal and outstanding service when you visit one of the many dealerships that make up Crown Automotive Group. Learn more about the group at http://www.crowncars.com.

Crown Eurocars Earns “Best of the Best” Distinction from Mercedes-Benz

DUBLIN, OHIO –-Crown Eurocars, a part of Crown Automotive Group, is proud to announce that it was recently honored as part of the Mercedes-Benz “Best of the Best” Program for 2014!

The Mercedes-Benz “Best of the Best” Program recognizes the top 15 percent of Mercedes-Benz dealers for their superior performance in sales, service and parts, as well as excellence in operations and customer experience.

“It’s an honor to be included among the best Mercedes-Benz dealers in the country,” said Mark Wigler, President and General Manager of Crown Eurocars. “We work diligently to ensure that we offer the highest level of service to our customers, and to be recognized for that is truly rewarding.”

The 2014 “Best of the Best” Dealer Recognition Program honored a total of 53 dealerships based all over the country. The winners were announced on February 6, 2015.

Crown Eurocars offers members of the Dublin, Ohio, community, as well as the surrounding areas, with a complete inventory of new and pre-owned Mercedes-Benz vehicles, as well as parts, service and more. Learn more about Crown Eurocars and is commitment to providing exemplary service at http://www.crownmercedes.com.

ABOUT CROWN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

Evening of Excellence Honors the Best in Education and the Winners Are...

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – Dwayne Hawkins was inducted into the Hall of Honor. Hawkins has been a strong proponent of education and giving back to the community. The founder of the Crown Automotive Group, he instituted a culture of giving in his companies, as Crown Jaguar and the Crown Automotive Group annually sponsor and facilitate employee participation events in support of charitable causes. In 2012, over 500 Crown employees and customers joined to package over 103,000 meals for needy families in the Tampa Bay area in conjunction with the Feeding Children Everywhere organization. In 2013, Crown employees and customers facilitated the construction of Habitat for Humanity houses in St. Petersburg and Tallahassee, Florida.

Hawkins and Crown are also significant contributors to the Moffitt Cancer Foundation, Bayfront Hospital Foundation, Pediatric Cancer Foundation, the Mahaffey Theater, the Bill Edwards Foundation, and the Pinellas Education Foundation. His involvement includes serving as a Board Member with the Moffitt Cancer Foundation for nine years and he is currently an Emeritus Director of the Pinellas Education Foundation. Under his leadership, Crown is a 10-year sponsor at the Pinellas Education Foundation’s Finance Park in Largo, Florida. Finance Park provides an acclaimed and extremely valuable hands-on personal finance learning environment for every eighth-grade student in the Pinellas County public school system, as well as many private school students.

Title sponsors for the celebration are Ditek and Humana. The Tampa Bay Rays Foundation are the sponsors for the Outstanding Educator Fan Favorite Award. Additional details and profile pages of each finalist may be found at www.pinellaseducation.org.

Photos of the event can be found by visiting the Pinellas Education Foundation’s website. www.pinellaseducation.org.

ABOUT CROWN AUTOMOTIVE GROUP