DAVENPORT, Iowa — Lexus provided John Deere Classic with roughly 180 Lexus vehicles to help transport pro golfers throughout the tournament. Now, the company is detailing the vehicles before returning them to different Lexus lots.
"We do any of the transportation requirements that the pro asks for. Whether it be to pick him up from his hotel or taking them to a hotel or pick up his family," JDC Transportation Chairman Bill Whitcomb said. "We start out by giving cars out as courtesy cars at the airport. Probably 80% of the golf pros come in commercial or through Elliott aviation, so we give them right there at the airport so they don't have to drive anywhere."
Securing that many vehicles during a supply shortage wasn't an easy task.
"It was actually a commitment from Lexus corporate to help get those vehicles because we started getting them in May and June. And right now nationally, the day supply of Lexus is about five days. So basically every day a car is on a lot, five days later (it will) be gone," General Manager of Smart Lexus of the Quad Cities Todd Hopkins said.
Out of the 180 cars, Smart Lexus of the Quad Cities was able to keep 25. Sixteen of those cars have already been sold.
"We had a lot of people that during the tournament. 'I'll take that one,' 'I'll take this one,' so with the low supply of vehicles right now, it is getting kind of a challenge getting the cars. But yeah, we're fortunate."