JAGUARS NEW AND OLD DRIVE NEW CALIFORNIA DEALER

Chairman and CEO of indiGO Auto Group Todd Blue celebrated his recent purchase of Rancho Mirage, California‑based Desert European Motorcars with its key Jaguar Rancho Mirage store, by buying an immaculate 1954 Jaguar XK120 for the showroom. He just took it to a local Jaguar club Concours d’Elegance, and came away with one of the top awards.

Here Todd talks about his treasured classic Jaguar, together with his exciting plans for expanding his new Jaguar dealership.

Tell us about your Concours win for your XK120.
Initially, we wanted to take part in our local Inland Empire Jaguar Club’s 10th annual Concours d’Elegance up in Idyllwild, Calif., to introduce ourselves to club members as the new owners of Jaguar Rancho Mirage. As you can imagine, it was quite a surprise to win our class and we were all very excited.

What’s so special about this XK?
The Jaguar that I entered was a XK120 SE Roadster with the uprated 180‑horse straight‑six engine. It was built in June 1954 and first sold by Hornburg Jaguar in Los Angeles. It underwent a painstaking five year restoration, which was completed in 2005. It then went on to win multiple Jaguar Club of North America titles including being awarded a near‑perfect 99.68‑point score.

Why did you choose to purchase this particular 59‑year‑old Jaguar?
When I founded indiGO in 2006, our main business was selling post war European sports cars. As we built the group by acquiring franchises – first with Porsche and Lamborghini in Houston ‑ we always tried to have a heritage model from each brand to display in the showroom alongside the new models. We bought the XK120 SE literally a week after buying Desert European in celebration of becoming a Jaguar retailer.

You took a new Jaguar F‑TYPE to display alongside the XK120. What’s your take on Jaguar’s first new sports car in over 50 years?
I am inspired by the new F‑TYPE and it makes me fired up to be a Jaguar dealer! Driving the V8S model with the supercharged 495‑hp engine is as fun as any car on the road today. The performance, the handling, the sound ‑ it truly is an attainable supercar. I think it will really help drive our business and bring new buyers on to the showroom floor, even buyers who probably never considered a Jaguar before.

When you took over the Porsche franchise in Houston, you took it from an under‑performer to 15th in the country. How will you build your new Jaguar business?
I think our number one priority is to really focus on getting buyers behind the wheel. I’m the first to admit that before buying Desert European my familiarity with the Jaguar line‑up had faded in recent years (from a consumer’s point of view). After driving each of the models, I am truly impressed. Each model is unique, authentic, technically‑advanced, and all exude British craftsmanship. We first must get on the consumers shopping radar screen and then get them behind the wheel. If we spend the time and money I’m confident people will have their eyes opened to these fabulous products. Converting Lexus, Acura and Infiniti owners will be one of our focuses. Jaguars have a soul and a heritage which needs to be celebrated. Jaguar has heritage and state of the art technology when many of our competitors do not. This needs to be an emphasis.

You already have a great Jaguar facility within the Desert European campus in Rancho Mirage. Any plans to change it?
We have huge plans for the future. We’re working on building a brand new Jaguar showroom that will be tied in with our Land Rover facility. We hope to have it finished within the next 18‑20 months.

What is it that you do differently?
First and foremost, everyone who works within our group is truly passionate about cars and hugely knowledgeable about the cars we sell. They’re also passionate about exceeding a customer’s expectations. The culture that runs throughout our company is one of ‘Yes’. Our aim is never to say ‘No’.

Why buy Jaguar Rancho Mirage now?
I feel there’s tremendous potential for growth in the entire Coachella Valley; from Palm Springs to Rancho Mirage, Indian Wells, Palm Desert, La Quinta and Indio. The whole valley is expanding eastward, and expanding fast. There is a great breadth of diversity, age and income. Jaguar lines‑up perfectly, especially going forward.