Head of failed LV dot-com firm to show off exotic cars

Malcolm Hall

Thursday, March 14, 2002 | 11:07 a.m.

A new 20,000-square-foot showroom for exotic cars such as Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lamborghini has been announced for a May opening at the Showcase Mall next to the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas Strip, the brainchild of the man behind bankrupt Global Communications Inc. of Las Vegas.

Matt Matson, president and general manager of the new venture, Dream Machines Inc., said this business has nothing to do with Global, which filed reorganization proceedings in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition nearly two years ago.

"Global got caught up in the early stages of the dot-com failures," he said. "There's no relationship between the two companies. Now I just work for a different company."

Global had promised a high-speed telecommunications network for Internet access and video telephones through a wireless network. Matson had intended on building a nationwide company initially with 700 workers, plus a new 300,000-square-foot building in Henderson. The company also planned to produce infomercials for various products.

In its petition filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Las Vegas in August 2000, shortly after losing a bid for more than $1.5 million in tax breaks from the state, Matson listed $220,000 in debts -- mostly for a lease on 55,000 square feet of space the company didn't need -- and assets of $5 million.

At the time, Matson said the company was not in danger of going under but that he was moving the operation to the Silicon Valley in California where he could find the skilled workers he needed. He did not say what became of that plan.

"It was unfortunate," he said of Global. "I lost a lot of money and some of the investors took a hit, but that was small potatoes compared to what happened in the dot-com marketplace as a whole."

Matson said Dream Machines -- billed as a "grand salon for elegant automobiles" -- will cover two floors at the Showcase Mall and feature such automobiles as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Aston Martin, Bentley, Cobra, Shelby America and more. He said part of the store would be devoted to classic American cars from the 1950s and 60s, complete with a malt shop and that remodeling is under way.

"The cars won't be for sale," he said. "There will be a fee to enter the showroom floor and the automobile manufacturers pay us a fee to showcase their cars for the public's pleasure and participation."

Matson said Dream Machines would be a manufacturer's representative, providing a showroom where people pay a fee to view and sit in some 50 cars for pictures. He said the store also would sell manufacturer's logo clothing and other gift items.

Dream Machines said more than 100 new jobs would be created by the venture.

Matson said the store also would feature an automobile of the month exhibited on a rotating glass stage for which the manufacturer would pay a $50,000 fee.

"This will be the finest showroom in the world to introduce new cars," he said. "There will be $10 million worth of expensive automobiles here at anyone time."

Matson said exotic car manufacturers are excited about the deal because potential attendance in one month is more than the combined total attendance of all car shows in the United States over an entire year, with about 1.2 million pedestrians a month on the Las Vegas Strip sidewalk in front of the store.

"So the manufacturers can group 12 years of auto show attendance into one year from here," he said. "We can then make arrangements with the manufacturer if someone wants to buy a car."

Dream Machines literature says merchandise will include car replicas, remote controlled vehicles, children's clothing, racing team crew coveralls, adult leather goods featuring Shelby and Corvette and a $300,000 diamond encrusted gearshift knob.

Matson said entertainers and look-alikes for celebrities such as Liberace, Cher, Michael Douglas, Sean Connery and Marilyn Monroe will be regular features and an Elvis look-alike will play hourly in the upper level.

Shelby American of Las Vegas is expected to have a permanent display in Dream Machines. The company set up shop near the Las Vegas Speedway in 1995 and began producing the classic Cobra designed by Carroll Shelby in 1996, said Gary Patterson, director of marketing for the company. He said while many imitations exist, his company makes only the genuine article and the new Shelby Series 1, which was introduced in 1999.

Dream Machine spokeswoman Cindy Williams said the store would host a May 23 black tie reception benefiting the University Medical Center's children's medical network and featuring actor Dennis Quaid and his band. She said Chubby Checker and Sha Na Na also are expected to appear, along with composer Marvin Hamlisch.

Williams said the store would open to the public on May 24.