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AutoNation Closes Used Car SuperStores

15 December 1999

AutoNation to Close Used-Car Superstores
              

             

 FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Associated Press reported that,AutoNation, the
 country's biggest auto retailer, is closing its used-car superstores, a move that will eliminate about 1,800
 jobs nationwide.

AP reported that the company will shut down 23 of the superstores and plans to 
convert six others into new-car dealerships, CEO Michael Jackson said.

"Our focus now is on improving our operating margins and on creating a 
unique and branded customer experience in our new-vehicle franchises, which are
now AutoNation's sole business focus," he said.

They went on to report that eight of AutoNation's used-car outlets have already
been transformed into new-car dealerships, a fate initially planned for all of 
the superstores.

"At the end of the day, the risk-reward equation was simply not there,
" said Jackson, a veteran of luxury-car maker Mercedes-Benz who was named 
AutoNation's chief executive officer in September.

Jackson said AutoNation will honor its warranty and service obligations to 
its superstore customers.

Last month, AutoNation laid off 145 workers at the company headquarters. The 
layoffs followed upheaval in the corporate suite this year as AutoNation 
confronts its lagging stock price.

An earlier company release stated that AutoNation plans to move its $3.6 billion 
rental division back to Fort Lauderdale in January, spinning it off as a new
company, ANC Rental Corp., with the Alamo, National and CarTemps USA brands.