MINI Dealer Going Green
With everyone wanting to be green these days, it is pretty nice to see an auto dealer step up to do their part. Even better when it’s a MINI Dealer!
Bill Jacobs BMW/MINI is a little more than a week away from breaking ground on a brand new facility slated to open in the Fall of 2009 in Naperville, IL.
>As Bill Jacobs BMW/MINI began planning for their new dealership, they decided to start moving in the right direction—continuing to grow as an organization while developing a more eco-friendly retail facility. On September 12th, the company will break ground on a new state-of-the-art BMW/MINI dealership in Naperville, IL. Slated to open in Fall 2009, the facility will take advantage of water, recycling and ventilation technologies to make the dealership more environmentally stable.
State-of-the-art is about right. Everything from lighting to water use to using waste oil for heating is being done in an effort to have a very environmentally friendly facility.
This is a dealer that is doing it right. Get the full details of the new facility at the link below.
They seem to be picking up on the graphics from Mini’s web site and printed material. Buildings last longer than graphic themes. It won’t be very sustainable if the graphic look of Mini’s marketing efforts change their look, instantly dating the building. The other tech they are using sounds great though.
Sorry. All this “green” BS is a farce. The joke is on all who subscribe to this PC dogma.
The only thing I dislike about my Mini. At least I have my FJ to make a proper “footprint”.
Greg –
I’d have to agree about the whole “green” spiel; however, whether or not it’s “environmentally friendly,” the world runs on oil – we need alternative energy & fuel sources.
Nevertheless…
The Bill Jacobs MINI dealership “going green” is all a marketing ploy; they could care less about the environment so long as they have your dollar. It sounds like it’ll be a neat showroom, though. I live in IL, and Patrick MINI is finishing construction on a state-of-the-art showroom – sounds like their neighbor, Bill Jacobs, is trying to compete. 😉
Will they be capturing all the hot air being expelled from the sales and finance departments and use it to inflate tires or something useful?
Perhaps BJ will get an Al Gore award. Given the slim margins on BMW and MINI cars, recycling is going to contribute to expense savings of building such a facility. Where will the Air turbine propellor be located?
In the end the green design will probably save them money on water and power usage…lots of new buildings (and companies) are factoring in such things. I’m no fan of fads, but green thinking often carries lots of practical benefits and therefore make sense in the marketplace.
very impressive. my hat is off to them for being innovative. i’m sure this not going to have a huge impact on the environment directly, but if other dealerships and business are forced to follow suit, then yes, i think my kids will be better off and that is directly important to me. way to go BJ.
They are going to sell R53 there? 🙂
As a former customer, I’m so glad I live in WI so I’ll never have to go to Bill Jacobs again. The whole staff is your buddy before the sale, but once you sign on the dotted line, good luck getting any help from anyone, MINI sales or otherwise. I Actually watched a BMW sales person try to tell a customer that just bought a brand new $50k+ BMW that the car wasn’t starting because of BMW’s superior security system and he just needed to find the switch to turn it off. While at the same time he tired to push away the service tech who was trying to tell the customer that the battery was dead from sitting in the show room. 5 minutes later they jumped the car and it started. Unreal. Also all calls are returned “within 24-48 hours…” Wow, that’s some great service. I can’t wait until the Fox Valley gets a MINI dealership!
When I passed through Naperville a couple of years back I saw a lot of new development going on there.
They could rename the place – Green Acres.
<p>I THINKS ITS GREAT BILL JACOBS IS BUILDING A NEW FACILITY. I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT GREAT SERVICE AT THERE MINI SERVICE DEPT. NOW THAT THEY WILL HAVE QUITE A BIT OF EXTA ROOM IT WILL BE THAT MUCH BETTER! I STARTED OUT GETTING MY CAR SERVICED AT PATRICK, AND AFTER GOING TO BILL JACOBS I ACUALY DRIVE PAST PATRICK MINI TO GET TO BILL JACOBS WHEN I NEED SOMTHING. PROPS TO BILL JACOBS FOR DOING IT THE RIGHT WAY!</p>
<p>Glad I dont live near this dealership breathing the emissions from their stacks…</p>
<p>Used motor oil is hazzardous material containing all sorts of bad stuff, it should be illegal to burn it as is and atomize it.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.anr.state.vt.us/air/docs/wasteoilstudyrpt.pdf" rel="nofollow ugc">http://www.anr.state.vt.us/air/docs/wasteoilstudyrpt.pdf</a></p>