Luxury car dealer prepares to open in North Austin

The economy may be in rocky shape, but four Austin men say it's still a pretty good time to open a car dealership that sells used Ferraris, Lamborghinis and other luxury vehicles.

Mike Martin, a co-owner of eMotion Motor Sports, and his partners walked around their new showroom Thursday as contractors installed an alarm system and employees finished detailing some of the cars that will be for sale beginning Saturday at an invitation-only opening. The dealership is on North MoPac Boulevard (Loop 1)

near Parmer Lane.

"It's a good time. These are works of art," Martin said as he stood near a champagne-colored 2003 Ferrari 575M (asking price: $99,900) and a white 2008 Aston Martin V8 Vantage convertible ($109,900). "People are still going to be buying these cars."

Martin said he thinks some wealthy people would prefer to avoid the volatile stock market and instead spend a few hundred thousand dollars on a head-turner such as the 2008 Lamborghini Murcielago — a charcoal-colored beauty with gullwing doors and a 640-horsepower V-12 that gets eight miles to the gallon — that will be displayed at the dealership. The price: $300,000.

"There're a lot of people who are car lovers. There are a lot of people with money," said Martin, who also is a co-owner of Capitol Motorsports on Research Boulevard. "We're still in a recession, yes, but people are still going to buy these cars."

Customers of eMotion will come from all over the country, Martin said. A photography studio is being set up so that the eMotion sales staff can post detailed photos of their cars.

Martin's group isn't alone in thinking there might still be a market for expensive cars in Austin. In April, John Eagle European, a Dallas-based luxury car dealership, opened a new Aston Martin dealership on Research Boulevard west of MoPac.

But some industry analysts have said that recessions are challenging times for anyone interested in opening a luxury car dealership.

Rebecca Lindland, an analyst and director of the automotive group for IHS Global Insight, said earlier this year that the high-end vehicle industry has been experiencing contractions.

She said that even people who can buy $300,000 cars might hold off because of "survivors' guilt" in a recession that has forced many people to cut back.

Martin and his team, which includes John Mattox , Joe Bitner and Dale McPherson, plan to stock between 20 to 25 used European and American sports cars and European luxury cars. Most of the cars will have low mileage and many will still be under factory warranties, Martin said. The cars range in price from $32,000 to about $300,000.

Mattox, who has 22 years of experience in the car business and personally selects the vehicles from across the United States, said he is already getting about 200 calls a day from sellers and potential buyers.

"By the time I get home at 6," he said, "I turn my phone off."

teaton@statesman.com; 445-3631

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