NBA guard Randy Foye has teamed up with Ray Catena Auto Group for his foundation’s annual holiday toy drive. From December 3rd – December 20th, donations will be accepted at all Ray Catena dealerships in New Jersey and New York. Proceeds benefit children throughout the city of Newark, NJ, where Foye was born and raised.

Requested are age-appropriate, unwrapped presents for boys and girls in grades K-8. Since 2008, the Randy Foye Foundation (RFF) has provided holiday presents to Newark youth and hopes to continue building on the previous years’ success.

Foye is no stranger to giving back to the Newark community where he was born and raised. Earlier this month, RFF provided 157 winter coats to city kids and complete Thanksgiving meals to 60 families. During the NBA offseason, Foye shared his life story with students at several schools, encouraging them that “education is the key to anything you want to do in life.” In addition to his Assist 4 Life mentoring program in city elementary schools, Foye has provided athletic uniforms and equipment to many youth sports programs throughout the city. RFF also partners with the Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center to host a 5k at Branch Brook Park in the spring.

“For me, it’s all about helping kids,” said Foye. “I walked the same difficult path that they are facing now. I want to encourage kids to achieve their full potential and let them know that someone believes in them and wants to see them succeed. Around the holidays, it’s especially important for me to give back and help put a smile on someone else’s face.”

The Randy Foye Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization formed in 2007 that raises funds and develops programs aimed at improving the lives of kids in Newark. For more information, visit www.randyfoye.org.

Additionally we are offering 10% OFF with any service invoice of $200.00 or more & with donation of a toy!

Click here to print this coupon.

Twitter:

Ray Catena @Ray_Catena,
Randy Foye @randyfoye,
RFF @RFoyeFoundation
Event Hashtag: #RFFToyDrive

Facebook Links:

http://www.facebook.com/RayCatena

http://www.facebook.com/randyfoyegivingback

To view the full Press Release, click here.

To view the flyer, click here.

Mercedes-Benz has had a great year thus far and it looks like the momentum will continue!  Mercedes-Benz believes that it will become the nation’s best-selling luxury brand, beating out German rival BMW.

The Mercedes-Benz Sprinter is the German luxury brand’s secret weapon because it is becoming the preferred vehicle for plumbers and other businesses.  The Sprinter is an extremely practical vehicle that can serve many purposes.

As of last month Mercedes-Benz has sold 138,759 vehicles for the year, while BMW has sold 135,114.  Over the weekend, Mercedes-Benz USA CEO Ernst Lieb predicted to reporters during the Quail motorsports gathering that the German luxury brand will finish first and have a double-digit sales increase.  Last month Mercedes sales were up 9.8% over last year, so Lieb’s prediction is going to be on target or very close to it.

Source: USA Today

You can depend on Ray Catena Motor Car to provide you with useful information you need to buy a new or used Mercedes-Benz, and deliver exceptional service throughout the life of your vehicle.

Today, eMercedesBenz has reported that Mercedes-Benz USA had June sales of 18,997 vehicles, an increase of 25.4%.  On a year-to-date basis, the company sold 106,967 new vehicles, an increase of 25.7% over last year.

“Impressive gains were made in both the Mercedes-Benz passenger car and light-truck categories. The strongest performer for the month was the popular C-Class – the gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand for younger as well as first-time Mercedes-Benz buyers – with sales of 5,563. The 9th generation E-Class also continued to exhibit strong momentum with sales of 4,865 (up 74.9%) and the versatile M-Class SUV ranked third with sales of 2,124.

The company’s flagship sedan, the S-Class, boosted sales to 1,549 – a 106.5% increase. Also showing strong gains were the sporty SLK (up 153.8 %) and the commanding G-Class (up 124.3%). The company also sold 50 of its newly launched supercar, the SLS AMG, bringing its year-to-date sales to 218.”

For the full article click here.

If you have yet to hear the good news, Ray Catena Mercedes-Benz of Union is excited to announce our new offering of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter!  We’re not just a world leader in premium passenger cars, Mercedes-Benz is also the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles, setting standards since the first van was created in 1896!  The following excerpts come from an informative article we found over at WardsAuto.com:

During a media preview for the Sprinter, Claus Tritt, vice president-operations for Daimler Vans USA LLC, said that the heart of the truck is the motor and the 2010 model has a lot more heart than its predecessor. The Sprinter motor has 3.0L turbodiesel V-6 which boasts 188 hp and peak torque of 325 lb.-ft (441 Nm) – increases of 34 hp and 40 lb.-ft. (54 Nm), respectively.

“The ’10 Sprinter’s improved performance is expected to be a key selling feature as the van, for the first time in North America, is available as a Mercedes. Since its debut here in 2001, a launch that signaled stark change for the commercial-van segment, the Sprinter was sold under the Dodge banner and the Freightliner brand, which still is owned by Daimler.”

As of today, over one million Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans have been sold worldwide: an impressive testament to our expertise.  If you would like to read the full WardsAuto.com article click here.

Mercedes-Benz has officially gone green with its commercial vehicles, and introduced the Mercedes-Benz BlueEfficiency Sprinter Vans! According to Autoblog Green, the vans come with two different engine options, a 2.2-liter four cylinder common rail diesel engine that is available in 95, 129 and 163 hp variants and a 156 hp natural gas fueled four cylinder engine.  You can read more about the engine specifics on Autoblog Green.

Mercedes-Benz of Union is proud to be selling these incredible commercial vehicles, as well as offering service options for those who already own one.  Our friends over at Ray Catena Mercedes of Edison will also be offering service for the Sprinter Vans.

Head over to our site to set up a visit with one of our sales experts and test drive one of these amazing Mercedes-Benz BlueEfficiency Sprinter Vans today!

Ray Catena Motor Car is proud to be participating in fundraising for The American Heart Association. All month long, we will be offering you, our valued customers, the opportunity to save on your next service visit when you write a check for this worthy cause. Take a look at how you can help them and help yourself:

Donate and Save:
$10 – $19  (get 7% Off your entire bill)*
$20 – $29 (get 10% Off your entire bill)*
$30 or more (get 15% Off your entire bill)*

The American Heart Association is committed to fighting heart disease and stroke and raising awareness of these diseases. As part of their mission, they focus on specific causes designed to help people achieve a heart-healthy lifestyle. Each of their cause initiatives reaches out to the public with resources and information to help them take positive action.

On behalf of everyone at Ray Catena, we thank you for your participation.

*Offer expires February 28, 2010. Excludes all sublet repairs and cannot be combined with any other offers.

Stop into smart Center of Edison today and purchase your smart fortwo for as low as $198 a month with 1.9% APR. Other great offers are also available. Plus, take a test drive during smart Value Days and receive a $25 Target GiftCard! Test drive must be taken before December 31st and you must be 18 years old.

President Obama has approved a scaled back version of the Auto Assistance Ownership amendment in the final economic stimulus package. This amendment provides tax breaks for new vehicle buyers by giving them a federal-income-tax deduction on local sales and excise taxes, but not on the interest on loans, as was originally proposed.  It enables taxpayers to buy now and get cash back later on their 2009 tax returns. It is applicable to any new vehicle purchased after Feb 17th 2009 (the date the stimulus bill was signed into law). Here are all the eligibility criteria, based on recent IRS press releases:

The deduction is limited to the state and local sales and excise taxes paid on up to $49,500 of the purchase price of a qualified new foreign or domestic cars, SUV’s, light trucks, motor homes or motorcycles that weigh no more than 8,500 pounds. You can still buy a qualifying vehicle for more than $49,500 (e.g a $70,000 Mercedes), but you will only get a tax deduction up to the specified limit.

The deduction is only available to families making less than $260,000 (or $135,000 for single filers). It is phased out for taxpayers whose modified adjusted gross income is between $125,000 and $135,000 for individual filers and between $250,000 and $260,000 for joint filers.

The new vehicle must be purchased on or after Feb. 17, 2009, and before Jan. 1, 2010, to qualify for the deduction. Purchases before Feb. 17, 2009, are not eligible for this special deduction.
The deduction is available regardless of whether a taxpayer itemizes deductions on their return (Schedule A). The deduction cannot be taken on 2008 tax returns (even if they are amended or filed late). Also, unlike other tax credits in the economic stimulus package this tax break is not an offset to your federal taxes (i.e. a tax credit), it is a deduction against your taxable income.

Take advantage of this tax break today. Stop in to Ray Catena of Union – Mercedes-Benz for more information or contact us if you are unsure or have any questions regarding this article, please give us a call and we will be more than happy to assist you.