I sat down with Brian Miller, owner of Manhattan Motorcars, where glamour, fashion, fine wine and some of the world’s most spectacular automobiles came together on September 9 for an extraordinary Fashion Gala and Wine Tasting hosted by UN Ambassador Gloria Cressler.
Surrounded by exotic automobiles and a breathtaking collection of Porsches, guests entered a world where luxury and style seemed perfectly at home. Upstairs, the dealership had been transformed into an elegant setting for fashion, creating an atmosphere that was sophisticated, exciting and unmistakably New York.
Miller has been hosting star-studded celebrity events with Cressler for years, and this particular evening brought together an impressive gathering of dignitaries, celebrities and business leaders. Among the notable guests were powerhouse business connoisseur Bill Walsh, football hero Bryant D. McKinley, dignitary Hervender Singh, Prince Mario-Max, Reverend Paul Sladkus and many other distinguished attendees.
Before the festivities began and the fashionable crowd filled the room, I had the opportunity to sit down with Brian Miller for a conversation about Manhattan Motorcars, his long association with Gloria Cressler, the extraordinary events they have created together and what makes this unique Manhattan destination such a natural backdrop for evenings filled with celebrities, fashion and philanthropy.
What is the name of your dealership ?
Manhattan Motor Cars.
How long have you owned it?
Manhattan Motor Cars was started in 1996. It was myself and seven other guys. That’s what we started from. One floor in a building downtown. We subsequently wound up taking the whole building. Five floors and a roof. 115,000 ft. In 2005 we added on this building which is another five floors and a roof 130,000 ft. It is dedicated to luxury and exotic cars, service and used cars and everything around that.
Do you have an exotic car?
I have a few Porsches.
What is the most exotic car you sell here?
Probably a Koenigsegg it’s built in Sweden. Very limited numbers. They are anywhere from $3 million up. Everyone that we have ever sold is worth more today than when we sold it. He was probably building maybe 20 cars a year and now he’s got a brand new factory. Three different car models going at one time, expanding the business. Lovely family. The wife runs the business. He is the technical genius. His son does all the marketing and videos.
I see you have a lot of Porsches here, do you race them?
No. I don’t race. I have been on the track at events. I live down the block in the city I race to get home.
What is your favorite thing about owning a dealership?
The different people I meet. Every day is new people. So if it’s a good day today tomorrow might be a bad day.
I’m going to assume that you sell cars to celebrities.
We have had quite a few over the years. I don’t really want to mention names. Top comedians, top boxers, top ball players, entertainers.
What are your hours and days of operations?
Monday to Friday 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Saturday we are open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Funniest story that ever happened to you owning Manhattan Motor Cars ?
I can tell you one that I thought was kind of funny that happened recently. I am not a Ferrari dealer, but I had a very aggressive used car manager. A new Ferrari model came out, and he ended up buying one from another dealer. It was from a dealer down south. The local dealer up here hadn’t received his first car yet. So, he was all pissed off that we had this car and we’re advertising this car and he hadn’t gotten his first car yet. He made a whole big stink to the company. They came out and did some research and found out it was bought from one of his other dealerships in another state by his son. We have a lot of interesting things happen, I wish I could remember. I talked about doing a sitcom at one point because this stuff you can’t make it up. We are just a regular car dealership. I’ve been in New York City now for 30 years. Born in Brooklyn. But I live in the city now for quite a long time. I started selling cars in 1983. I was a salesman up in Westchester at a small dealership. We got lucky. It takes a long time sometimes, but the brand finally grew up. I was very lucky to get to work with my dad for a lot of years. He had two partners and never really made money and one by one we got rid of them and worked hard and fought hard. A lot of times we were down to the wire, but we persevered. Being in the city there’s such a wide range of personalities and people. I think it’s the best part of our business. I’ve been doing this for 43 years. I’m very involved with the auto dealers. We represent 400 dealers down state. I’m on the board. I’m a past chairman. I am Vice chairman of the New York Auto Show. I’m actually going to Paris for the auto show in a few weeks. It is very complicated business with a lot of areas for pitfalls. We are always fighting the government because they want to overregulate us. For me I just wanted to leave a good legacy and name and business for my family. My nephew is here and my son runs the body shop. We have a good reputation, and I can run deals on a handshake. To me it’s not about the money I’m not going to change my lifestyle. Whatever I make stays in the business because the government takes half and then taxes you on three times that amount. I’ve been very lucky. I get to meet great people. I get to travel the world.