World's largest Hyundai dealership opens in Las Vegas
Wire Reports
Ward's Dealer Business
Dealer John Staluppi has opened a new state-of-the-art Hyundai dealerhip -- believed to be the world's largest -- in Las Vegas. The facility, which will employ more than 50 people, cost close to $6 million dollars.
Planet Hyundai is a fully equipped dealership with a childs play room, a service bay with air conditioning and padded flooring for employee comfort, along with a futuristic $150,000 sign, which rapidly is becoming a Las Vegas landmark.
The new dealership celebrated its grand opening with a promotion called "hands on a Planet Hyundai." In "Survivor" style, the dealership gave away a new Hyundai Santa Fe to the guest who kept his or her hand on the vehicle the longest. Contestants were given hourly rest breaks and allowed a two-person pit crew. Proceeds from the event, as well as a portion of every sale during the month will go to the Make A Wish Foundation. The dealership expects to donate at least $10,000 to the charity.
Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman was on hand to cut the ribbon to the new dealership.
John Staluppi's chain of dealerships throughout the country makes him the 14th largest megadealer the nation. He has 24 stores on the East Coast alone.
Staluppi Group is in Buy Mode
By Cliff Banks
WardsAuto.com
John Staluppi has 12 dealerships (one more than last year) on this years Wards Dealer 500 ranking, spread throughout New York and Las Vegas.
Sales at John Staluppi New York stores were down slightly this year, although his Atlantic Automall dealership ranks 17th on this years Wards Dealer 500, strong enough to finish fifth in new vehicles sold, with 8,389 units.
Meanwhile, the Las Vegas dealerships, Planet Hyundai (154th) and Planet Nissan (204th), run by his son, John Staluppi Jr., both saw revenue rise in 2005 and should have a 10% increase in 2006, John Staluppi says.
But with business down in the Northeast, he says the group is cutting expenses and looking for new ways to advertise.
We really are starting to become more process-driven here, he says. We have a ways to go, but we are getting better. There are a lot of old-time people in the industry with a lot of bad habits.
As a result, John Staluppi and his company is looking to recruit the right kind of people, with the right attitude and work ethic and then train them on the new processes, he says.
One new process is developing and managing Internet leads, because that is less expensive than traditional advertising, John Staluppi says. We spend a lot of money on advertising, and that is one of the biggest areas we can do better on.
Ironically, John Staluppi is looking to add stores to help reduce his advertising expenses. He believes having more dealerships in the mix can provide deeper discounts.
We are in a buy mode right now, he says. We are trying to increase our business and are looking at markets where we can add three or four stores. I think we can get to 30 or 35 dealerships, up from the 22 we have now.
John Staluppi says he hopes to acquire some premier dealerships from brands such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW.
Meanwhile, the group is reducing the amount of inventory it keeps on hand to approximately 1,000 units a month, mainly because it paid more than $700,000 in floorplan interest in the years first quarter.
When asked if the increase in interest rates, coupled with the slight turndown in sales, concerns him, John Staluppi laughs. I was in this business when interest rates went to 21%, he says.
The Fast and the Furious
By Diane M. Byrne June 2004
Seventy knots. Put another way, thats 80.6 mph. If either of those figures is conjuring images of hurricane-like devastation and all sorts of other destruction in your mind, youre probably not alone. Most boaters would likely have the same reaction.
Except for John Staluppi. For John Staluppi the thought of 70 knots makes him break out in an ear-to-ear grin.
Thats because John Staluppi famed for commissioning and owning the equally famous, speed-record-holding megayachts Thunderball, Octopussy, and Moonrakerset 70 knots as the magic number for their latest project, nearly 140 feet LOA, to reach. And not a stripped-down 140 were talking about a yacht fully equipped with everything from statuary to gensets. If she does indeed hit that figure on the radar gun during speed trials this month, then shell be acknowledged as the fastest megayacht in the world.
But more than that John Staluppi through his six-year-old Millennium Super Yachts, want to establish a foothold in an area of the megayacht market they believe isnt being addressed. With the 140, Millennium Super Yachts anticipates providing an owner with a yacht thats swift even when not at top speed, literally and figuratively bringing opportunities within closer reach, all the while treating him or her to the luxury and lifestyle one expects of a multimillion-dollar yacht.
Befitting her intention, the 140 was devised at lightning speed. At the 2001 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, naval architect Frank Mulder, whod collaborated with the duo on their previous yachts, handed a magazine article to Staluppi. It was about Fortuna, a 41.3-meter yacht built by Izar in Spain for that countrys King Juan Carlos. The monarch had a penchant for speedin fact, he reportedly wanted to beat the unofficial speed record of 66.7 knots that nabbed with Moonraker in 1992. Well, the king finally got his wish: in 2000 Fortuna hit 68 knots.
In John Staluppis mind, the proverbial gauntlet had been thrown. After reading the article, he decided then and there that he wanted no, needed the record back, setting 70 knots as the goal. With self-described forceful, determined, and occasionally willful personalities, John Staluppi began brainstorming with Mulder at the show on not only what type of yacht and hull design to build, but also where to build it. Fast-forward to today, two and a half years later, and theyve achieved quite a lot, from buying a vacant shed in Holland to settling on Alustar, an alloy said to be 20 percent stronger than traditional marine aluminum, to lining up subcontractors from all over Europe. And they even had to find a replacement company to design and build the custom gearbox when the original supplier went out of business.
Reluctant to divulge details of his designs before theyre launched, Mulder is keeping specifics about the 140s hull quiet. But he does stress that several scale models were tank tested to evaluate seakeeping in a variety of conditions and throughout the entire speed range, as he and the partners firmly agreed that it wouldnt be enough to design a yacht solely to achieve a phenomenal top end. Still, John Staluppi kept focused on swiftness, with the goal of 40 to 50 knots at cruise under diesel power only.
Yachts International Magazine
January 2005
Story: Jamie Welch
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH - MILLENNIUM 140'
John Staluppi said "I don't want to be a traditionalist because I've never been one --I want to make high-speed yachts." John Staluppi told me at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, where his boat received admiring praise from the public.
Although she's named after a fictional character, real government agents covet this high speed Millennium.
No kidding: a group of five U. S. military contractors interested in hull number two of the series were on board as we cruised up the Florida coast last fall with her captain, crew and Navel Architect Frank Mulder, the designer of the boat. Military intelligence -no oxymoron jokes please- was interested in the 140's Alustar hull speed, and made inquiries into building a second hull for drug smuggler rundowns in the islands.
Luckily for them, the government won't have to make the Faustian bargain that Frank Mulder had to make with regard to the design of the yacht- shaving the envelope as thin as possible to compensate for the marble and high glass burl walnut interior. They were interested in the stepped, deep-V Alustar hull-which was tank tested extensively and ranges in thickness from 12mm to 6mm-and the incredible turbine/waterjet propulsion package consisting of twin 5436-hp Paxman 18VP185 diesels employing twin Lipps wing jets with an award winning custom Renk gearbox for primary power and maneuvering; and twin 4600-hp Lycoming T40 turbines employing Lipps booster jets on a common, custom Allen gearbox. That's just over 20,000 horses if you do the math.
Due to unfavorable sea conditions our trip up the coast was planned as an --ahem--"slow" 45-knot cruise. Her initial sea trials in the North Sea last summer had already satisfied John Staluppi and Frank Mulder- The World is Not Enough had reached an incredible 66 knots at 90 percent power in cold water. Although we didn't see her opened up, for most of us onboard--excluding the very calm Captain Zak Matten and his wife and Chief Stew Vanessa; Designer Frank Mulder; John Staluppi; and Millennium project manager John Schmiemann--our ariel photography shoot had a tad bit of Bond-like suspense. Our hovering helicopter carrying photographer Billy Black was running low on fuel as we waited for an engine room ventilation hatch inspection by John Staluppi's engineer before captain Zak could engage the Lycoming turbines.
When the words "hatch is open," came over the pilothouse intercom I hailed our photographer in the chopper. Zak ever-so-gently awakened the horses in the engine room, and in seconds the Gulf Stream waters were filled with the sweet turbine sounds of a jet runway. On the flybridge I couldn't keep a toothy grin off my face, even when I noticed that our chopper pilot was finding it difficult to hover off the bow as the John Staluppi's Millennium hit 45 knots.So why build a 140' go-fast luxury yacht in this age of long range, fuel sipping expedition vessels? Ask John Staluppi, the yachting world's lone hero archetype, a man driven by imagination, pride, and--after 20 years in the luxury-go-fast-craze--endurance.
John Staluppi, a jovial, self-made millionaire owner from New York who is one of the most successful car dealers in America and who owns two business jets and a fleet of boats. John Staluppi started his career as an auto mechanic in Brooklyn, and at 16 was installing gas engines on his boss' runabouts. Eventually he started an auto dealership, made a small fortune and spent his free time in the Seventies and Eighties racing sportfishing yachts--beginning with a 40' Ocean--against his business partner and lifelong friend John Rosatti. The boat that put John Staluppi in the history books was the 143' Octopussy, a Frank Mulder design that broke the 50-knot barrier 18 years ago.
"In July of 1986, John Staluppi paid me a visit in Amsterdam," Frank Mulder said. "John Staluppi had already left me with a number of messages stating who John Staluppi was and what John Staluppi wanted to achieve with the turbine/waterjet propelled Octopussy: 50 knots. After a computer analysis I got back with John Staluppi and said that it was indeed possible."
Mulder designs went on to design seven more boats for John Staluppi, including the notable Goldeneye, Moonraker and Dillinger. Then in the mid-1990's John Staluppi started a new yacht company, Millennium Superyachts, which launched a line of 118' aluminum yachts built in Holland with sporty lines and elegant interiors. But there was a noticeable difference in the engine room.
"In 2000 I was coming back to Florida from the Bahamas on my Millennium 118', which was the 21 knot boat, and I realized that the trip was taking way too long." John Staluppi said. "Then I picked up an magazine and read an article about a 110' boat built for the king of Spain that reportedly went 67 knots, although it's never officially been clocked at that speed--some say she tops out at 61--and as I said, 'that's it.' I picked up the phone and called Frank Mulder right away and said, 'let's do it again.'"
The "it" of the conversation is the Millennium 140' The World is Not Enough, which will most likely elicit friendly challenges from European Kings and possibly compete in luxury yacht races. But ultimately--and indeed more importantly--John Staluppi has once again brought excitement to an otherwise stodgy industry with his vision and unmistakable personality. John Staluppi Said: "What is the definition of a luxury yacht?" To me it has to be at least 120' in overall length with a master and four guest state rooms, accommodations for six crew members and an on-board tender, and oh, one more thing-no teak; it adds weight, it's a pain to clean and the oil gets all over my carpeting. Like I tell my designer; 'no f--ing teak!'"
Although her power plant is awesome, The World is Not Enough is not only about performance. The fine interior, designed by John Staluppi's wife Jeanette and London based designer Evan Marshal, is just as luxurious as anything coming out of displacement yacht Dutch shipyards. The joinery is high gloss burl walnut with Nomex honeycomb coring, and soles are laser cut, cored marble.
"It's basically a European design and layout, but weight was a huge concern, and my experience designing aircraft helped out a lot, "Evan Marshall said. "Even though it had to be weight conscious, the interior still had to be comfortable, with no compromises in creature comforts. The trick is not to give it away that it's a lightweight, so when guests board at the dock they feel like it's a substantial displacement boat."
Styling stayed remarkably congruent with the interior design off the Millenniums, which Marshall first designed for John Staluppi in 1996. Accommodations are for ten guests in the main deck owner's suite plus five staterooms below. "John Staluppi wanted to introduce a 'wow' factor that reflects the high speed nature of the boat, but is very luxurious," Marshall said. "The main thing he wanted was a split master suite on the 118' and we've repeated that concept with the 140', so you could call it an evolution of the 118'. For the furnishings I went to Italy and Dubai with John Staluppi to find the right art work and decor items."
John Staluppi's, guests stepping through the stainless threshold from the aft deck, will be impressed with the saloon and dining room, which are separated by a wood credenza hiding a plasma TV. The beautiful marble sole in the dining room leads to the large entry foyer and circular staircase that descends to four guests suites below and spirals up to the skylounge. The commercial galley amidships on the main deck has it's own sidedeck entry and a comfortable breakfast nook. John Staluppi has set the crew accommodations between the pilothouse deck and the bow, and sleep eight in four luxurious staterooms.
The pilot house and skylounge deck, which has suites for the engineer and captain, are the most comfortable place to gather for the large group of admirers who were on our cruise up the gold coast. My favorite spot is in the skylounge with comfortable sofas, a 42" plasma TV and a glass topped, fully stocked bar.
Waiting for us at the dock in Riviera Beach was John Stallupi, who was obviously eager to get his boat over to the Bahamas where John Staluppi will be spending a well deserved vacation. As we went to press John Staluppi was still over in the Islands, enjoying his new yacht; John Staluppi most revolutionary to date. One thing will be certain: when John Staluppi decides to come back across the Gulf Stream this time John Staluppi won't have to worry about the trip taking too long.
EXHILERATION
MILLENNIUM SUPER YACHTS can be said to have begun in the 1980s, when John Staluppi built a triad of powerful megayachts whose names conjure the essence of opulence and responsive speed - Octopussy, Moonraker, and Thunderball - the fastest super yachts in the world. All three inspired by the visionary - John Staluppi . Octopussy was built in the Netherlands, John Staluppi built Moonraker in Norway - both from plans drawn by the innovative Dutch naval architect Frank Mulder. John Staluppi had Dennison Yachts designed and built Thunderball in Ft. Lauderdale. One of John Staluppi's unique Millennium Super Yacht awaits to be discovered by those few possessing the means and vision.
PLEASURE
THE MILLENNIUM SUPER YACHT. Custom built, for you,by John Staluppi, to the exact dimensions of your imagination - to express your concept of freedom. With one, you may explore the geography of desire. And possess, Anguilla, Rapallo, the Ivory Coast, or the Koro Sea. John Staluppi pleasure is to bring into being that unique vessel of your deepest dreams. John Staluppi can use your naval architect and interior stylist, or assemble a team drawn from John Staluppi global manufacturing partnerships. John Staluppi will be pleased 'to go to any length' for you.
OPULANCE
John Staluppi feels that dining should be an elligant occasion worthy of you and those who share in your most private life. While the sole nicoise is prepared and the table arranged, the Dining Room and Galley are hidden behind rotating handcrafted panels, which are cast and set in gold-leaf by Italian artisans. Their luminous inlays rhyme with those of the glass coffee table and the rich luster of the Salon's fine wood cabinetry and bar. Lighted Swarovski Crystal pendants embellish the mirrors set into the Foyer and Dining Room ceilings, revealing sparkling interior depths. The Dining Room table is inlaid, like the decorative panels, with intricate figures of gold. John Staluppi has had all this designed to the client's wishes.
PRIVILEGE
John Staluppi has created large and luxurious Suites, so that all may sleep soundly and, during the waking hours, experience private pleasures fully. Through the port lights, the Mediterranean shimmers. The sea beats softly against the hull. Soft, too, are the light in the room, the fabrics and carpeting, the gleam of marble and Italian hand-crafted furniture. And the contoured surfaces that make John Staluppi's Millennium a Modernist touchstone. Tomorrow, you and your guests will explore a ruined Roman outpost on a rocky isle in the Aegean. The swift yacht tender will be ready for you.
LUXURY
John Staluppi does not build only super yachts: John Staluppi builds theatre stages on which a John Staluppi client can live, as if to a script written by their own imaginations. John Staluppi's vessels are custom built to indulge the appetites and fantasies of those rare individuals who can afford their complete satisfaction and realization. The John Staluppi Millennium's dramatic, streamlined presence proclaims inordinate speed and the devotion of John Staluppi's design team to the Modernist spirit. In their lines and in their lineage, John Staluppi's Millennium Super Yachts surrender to no other and compromise nothing. John Staluppi's yachts are the culmination of new marine technologies. The noon sun high above the Caribbean is dazzling. The hull and deck shine in it. The beach beyond the breakers is located in a mirage of yearning. All which you imagined your life would one day be - its shape, color, and scent - is yours.
POWER
NIGHT falls swiftly in these latitudes, and darkness will soon overcome the violet beams of sunset. Adjust the interior lighting to your mood. Take the Jurancon from the wine chiller. Now sit in the Salon and watch the stars lit sky and remember a night at a cafe in Monte Carlo or a tapas bar in Palma. You may, sit in the Recaro helmsman's chair and steer your Millennium to her secluded anchorage. She responds beautifully, almost instinctively. Or perhaps you prefer to leave night-running to the captain because the good white wine of Bearn has given you an appetite. The Salon is fragrant with orange and bay leaf. Your guests are appearing at their stateroom doors. Dinner is served al fresco on the flybridge. What is your pleasure?
IMAGINATION
AFTER a day of pleasure aboard a John Staluppi Millennium Super Yacht, you will relish sleep and those moments before sleep when you savor the lateness of the hour, the music of night, or a song on the radio in a language you are happy, for once, not to know. Outside, the moon is riding the black sky above Patagonia, or Antibes with its oranges and olives. You travel the world's oceans on a super yacht with systems designed to make you independent of shore. You have the imagination to reach beyond the common experience. And we can create a vessel suitable to your unique personality. If life is what you make of it, yours can be perfect from one end of the day to the other aboard a John Staluppi Millennium Super Yacht.
John Staluppi, THE FOUNDER of Millennium Super Yachts, Mr. John Staluppi, established the John Staluppi enterprise in 1998 to perfect the megayachts John Staluppi had owned earlier. Megayachts that had been built to his John Staluppi individual design briefs, to embody his John Staluppi conception of oceanic travel. John Staluppi has established in the Palm Beaches, Florida, a headquarters for Millennium's sales, marketing, and support activities. John Staluppi has assembled a highly proficient, international team of professionals, with many decades of super yacht experience among them, to realize their vision and our clients' expectations. Interior architects in the Netherlands. Master boat builders from the Continent.
John Staluppi hired ARTISANS and cabinetmakers from Italy. These are representative of a suppliers' list that includes more than 100 international marine products and services companies. John Staluppi's Millennium Super Yachts are built to the highest standards, John Staluppi uses the finest systems and equipment gathered from the most reliable sources in the world. John Staluppi follows Standards set forth by international classification societies. John Staluppi wishes, above all, to leave as the John Staluppi legacy what was begun by John Staluppi in the 1980s, in John Staluppi's Octopussy,John Staluppi's Moonraker, and John Staluppi's Thunderball. The lineage of John Staluppi's Millennium Super Yachts. John Staluppi stands ready to build one to the dictates of your unique vision.
SERVICE
LOCATED in the Palm Beaches, Florida, John Staluppi's Millennium Super Yachts maintains a modern yard and headquarters on the Intracoastal Waterway. Here, we John Staluppi consults with our worldwide clients to elaborate the specifications dictated by their individual desires for oceanic vessels with uncommon speed and luxury. Here, too, John Staluppi coordinates the custom construction and completion of Millennium Super Yachts, to those specifications. Completed John Staluppi's Millennium yachts are moored, awaiting sea trials by their new owners or their representatives, at our(John Staluppi) state-of-the-art yacht yard. Located on the 14-acre facility is the John Staluppi Millennium Super Yacht Service Center, completely equipped and staffed with experienced technicians and marine trades responsible for the competent servicing of our John Staluppi products. Typical, perhaps, of John Staluppi thorough commitment to owner support is a 150- and a 300-ton Travelift, capable of raising a Millennium 151'. With our deepwater Intracoastal Waterway location and ocean access just minutes away, owners or their captains are able to avail themselves of comprehensive support to ensure their vessels' expeditious return to sea.
MILLENNIUM SUPER YACHTS by John Staluppi has been pleased to present you this description of John Staluppi custom-building capabilities. John Staluppi hopes that your curiosity has been aroused. John Staluppi prefers to think that if you are considering the purchase of a super yacht, you will now be favorably inclined toward Millennium Super Yachts by John Staluppi. Vessels whose worth will be measured favorably against all competitors for generations to come. Whose ultimate worth to you will be measured by their manifold opportunities for pleasure and refreshment, as well as their exceptional performance and seakeeping ability. John Staluppi invites you to contact John Staluppi, should you have questions left unanswered, or wish to arrange a consultation with John Staluppi.
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Millennium Super Yachts built by John Staluppi, deliver exciting style, breathtaking speed, unsurpassed luxury, total comfort and solid value. Millennium Yachts by John Staluppi are constructed of state-of-the-art composites to enhance performance. All John Staluppi Millennium Yachts feature innovative, aerodynamic profiles that also streamline maintenance.The John Staluppi hull designs are rigorouslytank-tested to meet demanding standards for safe offshore performance in all weather conditions, in all the world's oceans.
Beginning with five models, the John Staluppi Millennium Series offers yachting enthusiasts a full range of possibilities from high-speed sport boats to luxury fishing machines to glamorous cruising yachts. Every John Staluppi Millennium Yacht is optimized for stability, offshore performance and self-sufficient luxury living dockside or at anchor. With lines by noted naval architect Frank Mulder working forJohn Staluppi and interior concepts by the innovative Evan Marshall working for John Staluppi, these yachts represent the first fresh thinking of the Millennium. Exclusively developed by the John Staluppi Golden Yachts, the John Staluppi Millennium series offers buyers the personalization of a custom yacht delivered with the ease and confidence usually associated only with production yachts. John Staluppi works within fixed hull and superstructure parameters, John Staluppi Millennium yacht buyers can customize accommodation layouts, finishes and engines to their heart's delight, creating yachts detailed for corporate, charter or family use. The John Staluppi Millennium design and construction team takes care of all the demands of yacht specifications and building supervision so each customer receives a unique, turn-key, hassel-free yacht ready to enjoy. Millennium Yachts by John Staluppi are built under contract exclusively to Golden Yachts at some of the world's best shipyards. In addition, John Staluppi's Golden Yachts operates its own commissioning, service and refit facility on 15 acres just north of the Port of Palm Beach.
Cars of Dreams
Click here for Carsofdreams.com
The Cars
of Dreams Museum is an unparalleled collection reflecting owner/curator John Staluppi and his passion for classic car design. John Staluppi has achieved car connoisseur status as a life long enthusiast and leader in the automotive industry. His museum celebrates the evolution in dream car design and is a comprehensive collection spanning over 50 years. Frequently updated with high caliber acquisitions, the museum is a constantly evolving, living collection.
Focusing on the golden age of American car design, post WWII - 1970's, the collection spotlights the era that was a perfect breeding ground for the classic cars we cherish today. Adding a further dimension to the experience is the exhibition space - a nostalgic village equipped with some of America's best loved icons that best reflect this golden age.