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Herb Chambers Bentley of Boston Cruises with Claire Danes at Harvard & Hasty Pudding

admin — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:09:13 +0000

Claire Danes at Harvard for Hasty Pudding

Article Courtesy of : The Boston Herald

What a wonderful day.

It feels like just yesterday that I covered last year’s Woman of the Year event with Julianne Moore, but really it was a year ago.

But now I headed back across the river for the 2012 Hasty Pudding Theatricals event, with this year’s female honoree, Claire Danes.

You can read my article in today’s Inside Track about the event, but I could only get so much info into 6 inches of the paper.

So here’s all the other details I had to leave out…

Herb Chambers Bentley Boston - "Claire Danes - Hasty Pudding"

Getting Ready to Rumble: Upon arrival, I headed into the theater building and press room to case the joint. You know, check it out to see who else is in there, make sure I have access to free cookies, try to log onto a wireless network, the usual stuff. So I’m checking out all the other press people, and I see one of the chairs is marked for CBS Early Morning, which I thought was interesting. And then I see a man with the same green priority media tag as I have, and I realize…dundundun…it’s MO ROCCA. MO ROCCA is covering the event because he does segments on CBS Early Morning. Are you flippin’ kidding me? The man is a celebrity himself, and he’s covering the event! I mean, if you’re press, but you’re a celebrity in your own right, that’s BALLER. The man was a Daily Show correspondent, for pete’s sake. I DIE!

Pre-parade festivities: Claire and her husband, the adorable Hugh Dancy, (you’d know him as Ted, Elizabeth Olsen’s brother in law in Martha Marcy May Marlene!) landed in Cambridge and had a scrumptious lunch at UpStairs on the Square. The staff described her as “a doll,” and said in her honor that they cooked up a vegetarian meal.

Here’s the menu of what they had:

“Butter Lettuce

Ruby Red Grapefruit & Avocado

Half of a Cider-Glazed Acorn Squash

Warn Warro, Tuscan Kale & Quince

Vanilla White Chocolate Cake

Passionfruit Caramel & Creme Legere”

AHHHH. Nothing like some “Butter Lettuce” to get me in the mood.

Herb Chambers Bentley Boston - "Claire Danes - Hasty Pudding"

I love a parade: While Claire is paraded around the streets of Cambridge in a blue Bentley (courtesy of Herb Chambers of course…that security for the blue Bentley was 90 times tighter than it was for Claire herself!) a brass band played “When the Saints Go Marchin’ In,” and everyone’s feeling all festive. She mugs for the crowd and climbs the steps to the theater. Then everyone heads inside.

Herb Chambers Bentley Boston - "Claire Danes - Hasty Pudding"

Pudding Pot Presentation: A lot of LOLZ were made at the fact that Claire dropped out of Yale after 2 years. The Hasty Pudding dudes LOVED ranking on the Yalies:

“Claire made waves after leaving Yale after 2 years….2 years is a normal amount of time to spend at a community college.”

So in her acceptance speech, they handed her the pudding pot, and she said “This is as empty as a Yale degree! You know you are outside the boundaries of Hollywood when a woman receives an award from which she can eat.” She then proceeded to drop it on the ground. oops! “I do like to eat. I do like to eat me some pudding. I do like the taste of it. This is awesome. This is really awesome.”

Then everyone moves upstairs for the press conference, where we each get to ask her one question. I had been chatting with Janet Wu Tang Clan from Channel 7, but she needed to get out of there in time for the 6pm news, so she asked if she could ask her question ahead of me. Of course, I’m like, sure, Janet Wu Tang Clan, no problem. But then she asks the exact same question I was going to say. DOH! Here question was about the Superbowl.

On the Superbowl: “I’m going!” Claire said. “I keep being like, that’s kind of wasted on me. I’m there for the nachos and the alcohol. I don’t know anything about football. I have no excuse. I have gotten a number of tutorials from people who do know about it. I’ll go for halftime. I’m going to the game, I think. And I will enjoy the dancing and the cheerleaders and those little talk phones.” (note: I think she means…MEGAPHONES.)

On whether she feels incomplete for dropping out of college halfway through: ” I do…I had a great experience at Yale. When I was there, I was fully committed and loved it and I’m forever indebted to that experience. I had spent my entire adolescence on a film set, and I was very drained by that. I was craving a different adventure. That really satisfied my urge. I got the fundamentals of college. I drank too much watered down beer. I made my best friends. I felt fulfilled personally. I didn’t need 2 more years, I think…I was very shaped by that time and that institution.”

Herb Chambers Bentley Boston - "Claire Danes - Hasty Pudding"

Finally, it was my turn…luckily, I had my backup questions prepared:

On Season 2 of Homeland: “I don’t know anything. I really don’t. It may not be a direct time cut. Time will have elapsed. Some episodes will have been shot overseas. Maybe you see Carrie in Iraq again. I hope she’s in better shape than we last found her. I want her to wash her hair and put on some lipstick and come back swinging. She suffered some hard knocks.”

On which is harder- playing someone with Bipolar Disorder on Homeland, or someone who is Autistic, in Temple Grandin: “They were both rather challenging and fascinating. I think I’ve learned that bipolar condition is actually more challenging than autism, in that it is defined by its erraticism. With autism you can develop skills and coping mechanisms that will improve your quality of life that develop over time, and things get better. With bipolar, it’s harder to tame, because it is so scattered. It’s very exhausting to play somebody in a full blown manic episode. I am fascinated by psychology and acting. I’m so fortunate to have experiences like this.”

Herb Chambers Bentley Boston - "Claire Danes - Hasty Pudding"

On the experience as a whole: I’ve had a great day and it’s just been a blast and utterly trippy.

That parade will remain forever emblazoned on my mind as a wonderful thing.”

VIDEO VIA HARVARD MAGAZINE

Article Courtesy of : The Boston Herald

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Herb Chambers Plans Major Dealership Makeovers on Route 114 in Danvers

admin — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 21:02:37 +0000

Driving toward change
Two Route 114 dealerships to get makeovers

By Ethan Forman Staff writer

Article Courtesy of: Salem News

Architect's rendering shows what the new exterior of the Herb Chambers Chrysler/Jeep dealership will look like after renovations are completed at 107 Andover St. The project is one of two Herb Chambers is proposing for dealerships along Route 114, including a new Cadillac dealership at 90 Andover St. (not shown).

DANVERS — Amid an apparent uptick in the car business, the Herb Chambers Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram dealership on Route 114 could soon be getting a whole new look and a new showroom thanks to a proposed 4,000-square-foot addition.

And at Chambers’ Chevrolet and Cadillac dealerships down the road at 90 Andover St., there are plans for a new, standalone 8,500-square-foot Cadillac dealership.

“We are in the early stages” of this second project, said Wakefield attorney Ted Regnante, general counsel for Herb Chambers.

Last week, the Danvers Planning Board continued a public hearing on the Chrysler Jeep dealership project at 107 Andover St. until Jan. 10 as project proponents tweak engineering issues to meet technical requirements.

“We are completely modernizing the building,” Regnante said.

The addition would fill in a jog in the front corner of the dealership and give the facility a showroom, Senior Planner Kate Day said.

“We presently do not have a showroom on the inside of the building,” Regnante said. The addition would also expand the service area and improve stormwater drainage on the site. Both the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Conservation Commission have approved the plans, which will also include extensive landscaping along Route 114.

No plans have been filed for the new Herb Chambers Cadillac dealership building. Both Chambers’ Cadillac and Chevrolet dealerships share the same building.

“We are going to sit down with all the various boards that have jurisdiction to get their input,” Regnante said of this project.

The work at the two Herb Chambers locations may signal the car business could be in for better days, Regnante said.

Despite a lull at the start of the year, “Our sales are up substantially at both locations within the last quarter,” Regnante said.

Chambers operates about 50 dealerships in New England, and they, too, are selling more cars.

“We are seeing that throughout our whole organization,” Regnante said.

According to the website TrueCar.com, sales of new cars in the United States in 2011 could reach 12.8 million units, the highest level since 2008.

The website forecast that Chrysler would see a 33.8 percent increase in December 2011 sales, compared with sales during the same month one year ago.

Regnante praised Danvers officials, and Day in particular, for accommodating the project and taking a pro-development attitude.

“We found the town to be extremely helpful and accommodating to us,” Regnante said.

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, by email at eforman@salemnews.com or on Twitter @DanverSalemNews.

Article Courtesy of: Salem News

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Visit Herb Chambers Official Website: CLICK HERE!

Mayor Menino’s Annual Toy Drive

admin — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 19:56:22 +0000

Article Courtesy of: Boston.com

Herb Chambers helps the toy drive!

Herb Chambers & Mayor Thomas Menino - Annual Toy Drive Donation

Mayor Tom Menino has a laugh with Herb Chambers after the car czar dropped off a $50,000 check to support the mayor’s toy drive.

It’s been another good year for car king Herb Chambers, who today presented Hizzoner Tom Menino with a $50,000 check – and pick-up truck full of toys — for the mayor’s annual toy drive.

Menino remarked that Chambers, who grew up in Dorchester, has never forgotten where came from.

Herb Chambers & Mayor Thomas Menino - Annual Toy Drive Donation

Visit Herb Chambers Official Website: CLICK HERE!

Herb Chambers News: LoJack lady recovered a young man’s pride

admin — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 19:49:05 +0000

Herb Chambers Ford of Braintree Employee Eric Digirolamo

By Joe Fitzgerald | http://www.bostonherald.com

Photo by Christopher Evans

He was 33 and not looking forward to Thanksgiving dinner with his family.

“I didn’t want to go, not having a job, or any idea of what I wanted to do, and not even having a car,” Eric Digirolamo recalls. “I was living with my brother. At a time in my life when I should have been climbing some ladder of success, I couldn’t even find a bottom rung. I felt like such a loser.”

But that was nine years ago.

Today, he manages pre-owned sales for Herb Chambers Ford of Braintree and if he looks like a picture of success it’s because that’s exactly how he sees himself, thanks in large part to an unknown lady from LoJack.

At his request, this one’s for her.

“I began thinking about my grandfather,” Digirolamo went on, referring to the late Harry Carlson, a legendary member of the Bosox Club who made his living selling tires and cars. “To him, it wasn’t about what he sold; what mattered most to him were the relationships he had with his customers.

“I wondered if I could be like him. So I got up one morning, put on a suit and walked two miles to a dealership, asking to speak to the manager. We talked for 20 minutes and he agreed to give me a try.

“At first, the other guys all welcomed me with open arms: ‘Nice to meet you! How’s it going?’ The second day they were much cooler. By the fourth day I was pretty down; I hadn’t sold one car.

“That’s when she walked in. ‘She said, ‘Eric, I saw you when I was here the other day, and you don’t look as happy now as you did then. I can see it on your face. Let me guess; most of these guys aren’t talking to you now, right? I’ve been in this game a long time and have seen lots of people come and go, yet, after all this, you’re still here.’

“I said, ‘Wow, you really do know the business.’

“She smiled and said, ‘Here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to make a sale real soon and, I promise, it’s going to change everything.’

“Ten minutes after she left I sold a brand new truck. I was so pumped! She gave me hope when I needed it, and I’ve loved what I do ever since.”

So this will be a terrific Thanksgiving for Eric.

“But I am embarrassed to say I can’t remember her name, so I can only hope she’ll read this because I’d like her to know that one of the things I’m most thankful for is her.”

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1383186

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Wheels of Fortune, Boston Magazine

admin — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 03:58:29 +0000

Herb Chambers conquered an industry and made himself one of the biggest players in the country. Twice. Now he’s got more money than God and everything he ever wanted. So when’s he going to start enjoying it a little?

By John Wolfson
March 2011

Herb Chambers has talked his way into two separate business empires / Photographs by Chad Griffith

AT A GATHERING OF BMW DEALERS in South Carolina, Herb Chambers found himself at the same table as a competitor he’d heard was having financial troubles. Chambers has 47 car dealerships these days. Or maybe it’s 46. It’s difficult to keep track because he’s constantly adding to his automotive empire. In all things, Chambers moves quickly when he sees what he wants. He’s been known to close a deal on a new location in half an hour, and now, sitting across the table from his weakened rival, he sensed the chance to close another.

“I was thinking, I want to buy his store,” Chambers recalls. “I knew they were struggling.” So he offered the guy a ride home to Boston on his corporate jet. “I’m thinking, If I can get him on my plane, I can talk to him. Maybe by the time we land, he might do something.”

“What time is your flight?” he asked the car dealer.

“Oh, 6 o’clock tonight.”

“We have wheels up at 1:15,” Chambers replied. “Come back with me.” The man thought about Chambers’s offer for a while. “No,” he said at last. “I don’t think I better do that.”

Win or lose, Chambers has a fondness for bold action. His collection of dealerships is now the 13th largest in the country. Or it could be 12th. (“I feel like General Custer and he’s Sitting Bull,” says his friend and competitor Jim Carney, who owns the Bernardi Auto Group. “He’s got me surrounded.”)

Specific calculations of what Herb Chambers actually owns are problematic, because, when it comes to Herb Chambers, ownership is a fluid concept. Pretty much everything in his possession will eventually be sold, and anything he wants in his possession will eventually be purchased, only to be later sold…a kind of self-perpetuating cycle of buying and selling that, when you factor in his forever-extending empire of outside business interests, makes a precise accounting of his belongings at any particular moment essentially meaningless. (“I don’t know how many companies I have,” he says. “There are probably 65 or 75 different companies — I know that we do 65 or 75 tax returns.”) However you add it up, Chambers has a lot to keep track of. He sells approximately 45,000 automobiles a year — one out of every five in eastern Massachusetts — and services another 40,000. He employs 1,900 people, has $300 million or so worth of inventory sitting on his lots on any given day, and, according to this magazine, had a personal fortune in 2006 of nearly $2 billion. But that was five years ago, and with all his buying and selling since then, who really knows how much he’s worth today?

So yes, there are a lot of important details for Herb Chambers to keep straight. And the one that’s been vexing him lately has to do with the 40,000 apples he gives away every year at his service shops. As a diabetic, he prefers to promote healthful snacking, but the gesture has created an unexpected headache. “What’s driving me crazy,” he says, his voice rising, “is I like the red apples — and at the dealership, you have to polish them — but some of them are still putting out green!” What’s this? The billionaire with 46 or 47 car dealerships is upset because his people put out the wrong color apples? Yes, and so much so that he finally called together some of his top execs to get to the bottom of the situation. “I’m going over this with people in management. So I guess we’re going to go with 80 percent red and 20 percent green. I guess some people like green.”

Visit Herb Chambers Official Website:CLICK HERE!

SAAB 2011 Dealer of the Year!

admin — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 12:05:03 +0000

Herb Chambers SAAB of Boston Wins the 2011 Dealer Rater Award

Herb Chambers SAAB of Boston is honored to be recognized by DealerRater.com as the “2011 SAAB Dealer of the Year”. We are proud to be selected as a winner for this prestigious award. Our team’s dedication and professionalism allowed Herb Chambers SAAB of Boston, to be one of the best dealerships nationwide that guarantees the highest standards of customer service and performance.

According to DealerRater.com the 2011 award winners demonstrated consistently high PowerScore ratings for customer satisfaction, placing them in the top of their class. The PowerScore is determined using a Bayesian algorithm that factors the dealership’s average DealerRater user rating and the total number of reviews written about the dealership during the 2010 calendar year. The dealership must also have at least twenty-five (25) new reviews written on DealerRater’s web site during the previous calendar year and an average rating greater than 4.0, with 5.0 as the highest possible score.

“We are delighted to distinguish all of our award recipients for their outstanding customer service ratings,” said Chip Grueter, president of DealerRater.

The following are a few notable customer reviews taken from the DealerRater.com website that confirms our outstanding customer service:

“I searched for my 2010 Saab 9.3 Sedan fo 3 months. I visited Herb Chambers Saab because I heard they treat their customers with respect and dignity. I was not surprised at all at the level of service I received from Jonathan. He stay in touch with me during my decision making process insuring that I had all the information I needed to make an educated decision.I will be back and I am hoping their service department is just as responsive”.

“My husband and I have been servicing our older saab 9.5 at this dealership for a few years with outstanding service. Now we where looking to replace the 9l5 with a new year. We found an 2008 Saab 9.5 Sedan that we thought was a steal at the price they were asking. Both Jonathan and Alex we nothing short of upfront and assistive during this entire process. I will continue to go here and recommend this dealership to anyone who owns a saab that needs servicing or if in the market looking to make a purchase”.

“Friendly atmosphere from service and sales staff to management. Reasonable pricing. I’ve purchased 3 cars from them. If you like Saab, new or used, definitely check them out. They can also help in locating a vehicle at other locations if they don’t have exactly what you’re looking for”.

Our goal at Herb Chambers SAAB of Boston is simple. Provide you with the most enjoyable, engaging and rewarding automotive buying experiences ever. It all happens by design, outstanding values and commitment to the ‘Total Ownership Experience’. When you arrive you will be welcomed by a professional, friendly, knowledgeable sales and service team who have your best interest in mind, we firmly believe this will lead us to be considered the top Boston Saab dealership.

Contact:

Herb Chambers SAAB of Boston
1172 Commonwealth Ave
Boston,MA 02134
Phone:888-917-8911
http://www.herbchambers.com/ou/boston-saab

Visit Herb Chambers Official Website:CLICK HERE!

Herb Chambers Live Chat – Boston Overdrive

admin — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 11:19:40 +0000

Herb Chambers, a self-made billionaire who grew up in Dorchester and built an empire of 47 car dealers, joined Boston.com on Wednesday, Feb. 16. He was asked about new cars, the buying experience, his impressive car collection, his relationship with Jay Leno, and anything else.

Below is the Transcript of the Herb Chambers Chat on Boston.com’s Boston Overdrive:

Wednesday February 16, 2011 10:59 GlobeCars

11:04

Wednesday February 16, 2011 11:04 Boston_Auto

12:03

Herb Chambers:

HI this is Herb… welcome to the chat

Wednesday February 16, 2011 12:03 Herb Chambers

12:03

Wednesday February 16, 2011 12:03 Herb Chambers