Baron BMW recognized nationally for outstanding level of performance

During the Greater Kansas City Auto Show the first week of March, BMW of North America announced that Baron BMW in Merriam had earned Center of Excellence honors.

Annually, BMW recognizes its top dealerships in the United States that have achieved an outstanding level of performance. These dealerships have shown their dedication and enthusiasm for the BMW brand, their customers and employees.

Only 9 percent or 32 of the 339 U.S. BMW dealers were chosen for this annual 2015 Center of Excellence award based on 2014 performance.　

Baron BMW, at 9010 Shawnee Mission Parkway, was ranked No. 11 overall, said Jackson Bohlender, BMW Genius at Baron.

Genius is a new position that BMW implemented a year ago to help customers familiarize themselves with all the new car technology.

“I was No. 2 in the nation out of 500 for people who are there for tech support, sort in the same role as Apple Genius,” said Bohlender, whose background is in tech retail and marketing.

“It is a great job. I have a lot of fun. I do a lot of post-sale tech support. If someone gets a new iPhone, rather than ask the salesman about how it works with their 2-year-old car, they ask me.”

The customer-friendly approach is one thing that helped Baron BMW make the Center of Excellence list.

“It is an award we are really proud of and one we sought,” Bohlender said. “It is based on a combination of sales goals and service requirements. Overall customer satisfaction is super important to us.”

There was no better proof of customer satisfaction at Baron BMW than the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid they were showing off at the auto show. It was one of two i8s Baron was given to sell and it sold both of the cars, which are priced at $136,500. For 2015, Baron will be given two more i8s to sell. It will be a while before another i8 lands in its showroom. The car is extremely popular and quite rare.

“They are only making 3,000 i8s in the states right now,” Bohlender said. “People call every day asking if they can buy one or drop by the dealership to see one.”

Their client was gracious enough to allow Baron to show his i8 at the annual car show.

“This gentleman saw the concept four years ago,” Bohlender said. “He has really been anticipating this for four years.”

One look at the i8 and it is easy to understand why.

Among all the sparkling new cars, trucks and SUVs on the top floor of Bartle Hall for the auto show, the i8 stood out for Lee’s Summit resident Dan Cook. He could not take his eyes off it.

“It just draws you to it,” said Cook, who owns a BMW 525 XL. “It is the most beautiful automobile I have seen in many, many years. It looks like it is going fast while it sits still.”

The doors that open forward and upward, and a turbocharged three-cylinder engine that teams with two electric motors for a combined 357 horsepower that allows it to go from 0 to 60 in 4 seconds, make this the hybrid luxury car of the future.

“This is a concept car that BMW brought to reality,” Bohlender said. “It is a performance hybrid car. It averages about 96 miles per gallon.”

Cook said that if he were a millionaire, he already would have an i8 in his garage.

“It is that beautiful to me,” he said. “I have never seen anything like it.”

Another car Baron BMW featured at the auto show was the i3, an electric car, which ranges from $42,000 to $57,000.

“The unique thing with these two cars is we focus on recycled materials, using materials that are environmentally friendly,” said Zach Ryder, client adviser at Baron BMW. “It is forward thinking. We are marrying that with space-age technology.

“The i3 was recognized globally as one of the most green cars in existence. Kelly Blue Book recognized it as the most efficient vehicle you can buy on the market.”

The i3 was created with the environment in mind.

“It is fully electric and can get 80 to 100 miles with the new miles extender, a 2-cylinder motorcycle engine in the back,” Bohlender said. “It will keep the battery charged. The car is not moving on gas power.

“Even the seats are made from recyclable water bottles, and the dash is made from eucalyptus plants. We (BMW) plant the eucalyptus for the sole purpose of the dash.”

Bohlender, Ryder and all the Baron BMW employees who were at the auto show were eager to explain these features and more to anyone who came to look at their cars.

“This is our second year back at the auto show,” Ryder said. “It allows us to showcase BMW innovations.

“From what we hear, there is a certain stigma with the BMW driver. At the auto show, you can come, look, feel and realize there is a lot more substance to it than simply a status symbol. BMW has positioned itself to truly have the ultimate driving machine.”

Bohlender said Baron BMW was working hard in 2015 to top what it did in 2014.

“We are very motivated to keep this as an annual award,” Bohlender said. “We plan to exceed the expectations of the public. We are very involved and invested in the community.”

This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 7:00 PM with the headline "Baron BMW recognized nationally for outstanding level of performance."