Auto Moto Show

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IRVINE, Calif., July 30 /PRNewswire/ — Irv Gordon — who was the first person to drive two million miles in the same car and has taken more road trips than anybody — has some advice for families preparing a summer vacation on the road: ditch the fancy resorts and theme parks and take a drive to a small town.
Gordon, a retired science teacher from Long Island, New York, clocked his historic two millionth mile in his shiny red 1966 volvo P1800 in 2002 while driving down Times Square in New York City. He is only 300,000 miles from reaching the 3 million mile mark. Gordon gets his kicks driving his volvo on Route 66 and just about every other picturesque highway in the United States. He estimates he has stopped at more than 5,000 small towns in this car over the past 42 years for coffee and conversations with the locals.
“Folks are anxious to have a relaxing, inexpensive summer vacation under the warm sun,” Gordon said. “Make it easy on yourself this year and get off the gridlocked interstates. Take a state highway toward one of our thousands of peaceful small towns. Each small town is a gem, packed with bizarre attractions, important history and plenty of fun.”
Gordon suggests nine great towns (some with a Swedish twist) to drive to this summer:
– Newburyport, Mass. “This small town, birthplace of the U.S. Coast Guard, is just a few miles north of Boston and has a rich maritime history heritage. You can still find shipyards, as well as New England style saltbox homes and rather large federal and colonial style homes all over town. Be sure to visit Lowell’s Boat Shop, the country’s oldest boat building business still in operation.”
– Shelburne, Vt. “This beautiful area is nestled between the mountains and Lake Champlain. It’s home to the Shelburne Museum, the Vermont Teddy Bear Company, Shelburne Farms and the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream factory.”
– Lindsborg, Kan. (a.k.a. Little Sweden) “Lindsborg is a real taste of Sweden hidden 150 miles west of Kansas City. The town is beautiful, neat as a pin and the townsfolk are just as friendly as can be. Swedish pancakes and other specialties are served in almost every restaurant in town. Swedish Midsommer celebrations with Swedish folk dancing take place in June each year. Don’t forget to stop by the bison ranch nearby and check out the wildlife.”
– Mitchell, S.D. “Home of the Corn Palace. It’s a building like you have never seen before. Approximately 275,000 ears of corn, as well as other grains, stalks and grasses cover the building’s exterior, forming elaborate murals designed by local artists. The murals are changed periodically, but always depict local history. If you want to get the feel of a real, old western town this is a terrific place to start.”
– Wamego, Kan. “This small town’s claim to fame is the Oz Museum. The attraction contains more than 2,000 Oz artifacts dating back to 1900. If you loved the story of Dorothy and Toto, you will love spending time here. Wamego is another friendly, Midwest town with welcoming residents.”
– New Sweden, Stockholm and Westmanland, Maine “These three tiny towns, first settled by 51 immigrants from Sweden, boast a rich Swedish heritage and easily allow you to ‘get away from it all.’ If you live in the Northeast and feel a drive to Lindsborg, Kan. (Little Sweden) is a bit far, this will give you a bit of Swedish hospitality closer to home.”
– Groveland, Calif. “This former gold-mining town of the 1840s is home to the oldest continually operating saloon in California and sits 30 miles from the entrance to Yosemite National Park. Amidst beautiful woods and lakes, the town is at the top of Priest Grade, a road once used to haul gold down the mountain and one of the steepest inclined roads in the U.S. Just the ride up the mountain is worth the trip.”
– Vermilion, Ohio “Here you’ll find New England charm on the shores of Lake Erie and the Vermilion River. Lighthouse and sailboat enthusiasts will be right at home. Stores, shops and the Inland Seas Maritime Museum remind you of decades past. During the summer months, you can hear concerts and sample hand dipped ice cream cones in the town square. Don’t forget to visit Thomas Edison’s birthplace in Milan, just a few miles away.”
– East Sweden, Texas “This is another Swedish heritage spot, now considered a ghost town. If you like getting a bit off the beaten path and seeing things as they used to be, this would be a great choice. It’s easy to reach on U.S. Route 190 in the beautiful Texas Hill Country. The town remains show what happened when the railroad by-passed the settlement almost 100 years ago.”
Gordon purchased his P1800 in June 1966 from a neighborhood volvo dealership for $4,150. His 125-mile daily commute to and from work, his passion for driving and his meticulous care for his car enabled him to clock the miles. In 1998, The Guinness Book of World Records honored Gordon’s car as the vehicle with the “highest certified mileage driven by the original owner in non-commercial service.” Gordon breaks his own world record every time he drives his celebrated car. With nearly 2.7 million miles on his car now, Gordon is aiming to achieve a near impossible milestone — driving three million miles in the same car.
Volvo

IRVINE, Calif., July 29 /PRNewswire/ — Linda Brennan, Boston Red Sox Foundation and volvo Cars of North America raffle winner, now owns the ultimate 2007 World Series Championship collectible: The Boston Red Sox Special Edition volvo C30.
Volvo and the Red Sox Foundation hosted the raffle to raise money for children and families in need across New England. Brennan took home the C30 during Saturday’s Red Sox versus Yankees game at Fenway Park.
“The Red Sox and Red Sox Foundation are deeply grateful to volvo for being a great teammate and making the Red Sox Second World Series Ring Raffle a great success,” said Meg Vaillancourt, Red Sox Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations and Executive Director of the Red Sox Foundation, “The Special Edition C30 is a champion’s car and our fans and raffle participants loved having the chance to imagine themselves behind the wheel. We thank volvo for generously supporting the Red Sox Foundation’s programs serving children and families in need.”
Only 107 of the Special Edition C30s were produced with each car built to commemorate a Red Sox victory during the 2007 season. A numbered dash plaque in the Volvos indicates which of the 107 victories each car represents. Signifying the championship-clinching game, Red Sox Special Edition volvo C30 number 107 was donated by volvo to The Red Sox Foundation for the World Series charity raffle.
The raffle sold nearly 140,000 tickets to fans and raised nearly $1.4 million. All raffle proceeds will go to Red Sox Foundation programs. In addition to the C30 winner, nine fans won a genuine Boston Red Sox 2007 World Series Championship ring.
About the Red Sox Special Edition volvo C30
Finished in vibrant Passion Red, Red Sox Special Edition C30s proudly bears the team’s logo on the front fenders while a larger transparent logo is affixed inside the rear glass hatch. The team logo is also featured on the floor mats. In addition, the C30s are authenticated by Major League Baseball through the Major League Baseball Authentication Program.
A Certificate of Authenticity couples the numbered dash plaque of each individual car to the corresponding 2007 season individual game victory, opponent and final score.
Similar to the volvo C30 R-Design, each Red Sox Special Edition C30 is fitted with a matte-silver finish for the outside mirror housings and front grille surround. Front fog lights, power-assisted and heated front seats, a blue watch-dial instrument cluster, leather-wrapped steering wheel with aluminum inlays, sport pedals, sport shifter, vehicle security alarm, soft load cover, cruise control and the Dynaudio Sound System with Sirius Satellite Radio are also included.
As the smallest and most expressive car in Volvo’s model range, the C30 offers a dynamic driving experience. The turbocharged T5 5-cylinder engine produces 227-horsepower and 236 lb.-ft. of torque. A five-speed Geartronic transmission is optional on the Boston Red Sox Special Edition C30.
Available exclusively at select volvo Retailers in New England, the Boston Red Sox Special Edition C30 equipped with five-speed automatic transmission with Geartronic is priced at $29,465*.
About volvo Cars of North America
VCNA provides marketing, sales, service, technology and training to volvo automobile retailers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. For more information on the entire volvo product lineup please refer to the volvo Cars of North America, LLC, public relations website at: .
About the Red Sox Foundation
The Red Sox Foundation is the official team charity of the Boston Red Sox. Their primary focus is in serving the health, education, recreation and social service needs of children and families in need across New England. Their goal is to harness the passion fans have for the Red Sox and transform it into a vehicle for positive change in the community.
*Price does not include destination charges of $745.
Volvo Cars of North America

AUBURN, Wash., July 24 /PRNewswire/ — MD Johnson, Inc. announces that Keith Hagerty has completed the sale of his Chrysler dealership, Brewer Chrysler, to Tom Matson Sr., in Auburn Washington. Matson is the owner of Tom Matson Dodge Jeep and the adjoining Chrysler Motor Company Dealer. For more than a half century, Matson has been a dealer in the Auburn Washington market. Hagerty has also enjoyed a long family history in the automobile business in Auburn. Both Matson and Hagerty’s fathers were automobile dealers and in 2006, Matson acquired the adjoining Jeep dealership from the Robert’s family, another long tenured family in the Auburn automotive market. The new acquisition for Matson will be placed in Matson’s new, state of the art facility located in Auburn Washington on Auburn’s auto row. MD Johnson, Inc. represented Hagerty in the transaction and Mark Topping, VP of MD Johnson, Inc. was the transaction manager responsible for completing the transaction on behalf of MD Johnson, Inc. and Hagerty.
Hagerty’s family purchased the dealership from Chris Brewer, who started the dealership in 1952. Gene Hagerty, Keith’s father, worked for Chris Brewer in numerous capacities and bought Chris Brewer out in 1974. Keith Hagerty became involved in the business in 1971 and took over the business from his father and at the time of closing, Brewer was the oldest franchised Chrysler dealer in King and Pierce County in Washington State. Tom Matson Sr. is actually Tom Matson III and works with his son, Tom Matson IV and his grandson, Tom Matson V. Matson is an iconic automobile dealer in Washington State as well as an accomplished Helicopter pilot.
Mark Johnson, President of MD Johnson, Inc. stated that, “Tom’s acquisition of the Chrysler franchise completes a small piece of a long process undertaken by Chrysler a number of years ago. Chrysler has been actively pursuing getting dealers to consolidate into a single location. As with Matson and Hagerty, after years of being competitors in the same line of cars and in the same market, it is difficult to come to the conclusion that it no longer makes sense to compete in a domestic market that has shrunk.” Johnson further commented that, “Chrysler is involved in pursuing these alignments nationally and we have been fortunate enough to assist our dealer clients and Chrysler in making these often contentious sales happen.”
Topping stated that, “Andy Conn and Jason Baldwin of Chrysler’s West business center in Irvine were instrumental in helping put this transaction together and never wavered on their commitment to their dealers.” Topping, himself a former Chrysler dealer, further stated that, “MD Johnson, Inc. is involved in a number of these sale and acquisition projects with all of the domestic manufacturers and that each individual transaction presents a new set of challenges.” Johnson said, “Like some of the other alignment projects we have advised on, the real estate in this transaction is under contract and will be purchased by another party at a later date. It requires a great deal of patience and ingenuity to deal with multiple parties. As in Hagerty’s transaction, it takes a buyer for the dealership, a buyer for the real estate and a manufacturer relocating a franchise all to agree on the terms and conditions of the sale. In today’s economic climate, the outcome is not always assured.”
MD Johnson, Inc. is a mergers/acquisitions and financial advisory services firm specializing in Advisory Services to automobile dealers, dealership management companies and dealership lawyers and CPA’s. In addition to standard M and A services, the firm provides detailed Valuation, Consolidation, Succession, Strategic Planning and Transaction Management Services for its clients. The firm’s clients include public and private groups and individual owners located throughout the US. Previous press releases are archived at
Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link. Mark Johnson
MD Johnson, Inc.

LOS ANGELES, July 23 /PRNewswire/ — Carlos Ghosn, president and CEO of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. and renault S.A., will kick off the Los Angeles Auto Show by delivering the Motor Press Guild (MPG) keynote address the morning of Nov. 19, 2008. The MPG breakfast and Ghosn’s address is open to all credentialed Press Days attendees. A Q&A session will be part of the presentation.
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Ghosn joined Nissan as its chief operating officer in June 1999, became president in June 2000 and was named chief executive officer in June 2001. In May 2005, Ghosn was named president and chief executive officer of renault S.A. in addition to his current responsibilities at Nissan. As head of the Renault-Nissan Alliance, Ghosn is responsible for two separate companies with combined annual global sales of 6.16 million vehicles and 9.1 percent global market share in calendar year 2007.
“Mr. Ghosn is among the most significant and influential executives in our industry,” said Matt Stone, MPG keynote address committee chairman and executive editor of Motor Trend. “We’re pleased that he will be here to open the Los Angeles Auto Show, and I know he’ll have plenty to say. Don’t be surprised if he makes a little news in the process.”
Prior to joining Nissan, Ghosn served as executive vice president of the renault Group, a position he had held since December 1996. In addition to supervising renault activities in the Mercosur, he was responsible for advanced research, car engineering and development, car manufacturing, powertrain operations and purchasing.
The 2008 Los Angeles Auto Show will be held in the fall for the third consecutive year. The dates are Nov. 19-20, 2008 for press and Nov. 21-30 for the public. Media registration opens early September. Last year, the newer fall timing prompted a record number of world and North American vehicle debuts with record media attendance and news coverage from around the globe.
This will be the 10th year that the MPG breakfast has opened the Los Angeles Auto Show Press Days. MPG is comprised of approximately 800 automotive journalists and public relations professionals nationwide, making it the largest automotive press association in the country.

Los Angeles Auto Show

MIAMI, July 22 /PRNewswire/ — LeaseTrader.com, the company that helps consumers with car lease transfers, announces its monthly Top 10 Index for June, with the BMW 3 Series reclaiming the top spot on the list of America’s most preferred leased vehicle.
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“The BMW 3 Series is one of those vehicles that is still attractive to a lot of people, even during a slow economy with high gas prices,” said Sergio Stiberman, CEO and founder of LeaseTrader.com. “It comes at an affordable monthly payment, BMW is extremely customer friendly, and people can get in and out of the lease on their terms providing for optimum flexibility.”
LeaseTrader.com publishes a monthly Index of America’s most preferred vehicles for lease transfer. The Index is based on user activity on the Web site, which includes thousands of today’s vehicles in almost every brand, make and model. LeaseTrader.com users enjoy taking over someone else’s leased vehicle because they avoid paying a dealer down payment and have shorter lease terms.
Following are the top-ten most popular transferred lease vehicles in America during June, according to user activity on LeaseTrader.com:
1. BMW 3 Series
2. Mini Cooper
3. mercedes C Class
4. Toyota Camry
5. Cadillac CTS
6. mercedes SL Class
7. Land Rover LR3
8. Lexus IS 250
9. BMW X Series
10. mercedes GL Class

About LeaseTrader.com

LeaseTrader.com is an innovative provider of auto lease transfers that easily and affordably matches people looking to transfer car leases. Available to users nationwide, the service helps to match individuals looking to get out of their car lease early, with people looking for short-term leases. Privately held and founded in 1998, LeaseTrader.com is headquartered in Miami. For more information visit , or call 800-770-0207.

LeaseTrader.com

CHERRY HILL, N.J., July 17 /PRNewswire/ — The subaru Forester has been named to Forbes.com ‘Ten Toughest Cars on the Road’ list. The all-new Forester continues to garner awards from leading publications and in the month of June posted a 41% increase in sales over the same month the previous year.
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To make the list, the Forester had to meet several measures, such as the most recent National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration and Insurance Institute of Highway Safety front and side crash-test ratings, Consumer Reports’ 2007 Overall Road Test Scores, Strategic Vision’s 2007 New Vehicle Experience and Vincentric’s estimated five-year repair costs.
Tim Mahoney, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, subaru of America Inc., said, “We are delighted that independent third parties are endorsing the Forester’s legendary durability. With the 2009 model providing customers with more room and amenities than ever before, coupled with its toughness, it is no surprise that demand is strong.”
The full list can be found at: .

About subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., the company markets and distributes subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of more than 600 dealers across the United States. subaru makes the best-selling All-Wheel Drive car sold in America based on R. L. Polk & Co. CYE 2007 All Wheel Drive retail registrations in the U.S. For additional information visit .
Contact:
Michael McHale
subaru of America, Inc.
856-488-3326

Heather Ward
subaru of America, Inc.
856-488-5093

Subaru of America, Inc.

– Net Revenue Up 29.6%; Net profit Up 19.3% –
SHANGHAI, China, July 15 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — T-Bay Holdings, Inc. (BULLETIN BOARD: TBYH) , today announced its financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008. Full details of the Company’s year-end financial results are available in the Company’s Form 10-K at .
Full Year 2008 Financial Highlights:
– Revenue for the year ended March 31, 2008 totaled $45,681,000, a 29.6% increase from revenue of $35,236,000 for the year ended March 31, 2007.
– Gross profit totaled $22,142,000 in fiscal 2008, an increase of 25.6% over gross profit of $17,630,000 in fiscal 2007. The gross profit margin for fiscal year of 2008 decreased to 48.5%, from 50.0% for fiscal year of 2007.
– Net income totaled $14,554,000 in fiscal 2008, increasing 19.3% from net income of $12,203,000 in fiscal 2007. The Company reported earnings per share of $0.48 for fiscal 2008, increased by $0.07 as compared with fiscal 2007.
– As of March 31, 2008, cash and equivalents totaled $23,355,000 and shareholders’ equity totaled $49,689,000.
Financial Performance:
Revenues in fiscal 2008 recorded growth of 29.6% to $45,681,000, versus revenues of $35,236,000 in fiscal 2007. The revenue from sales of components increased by 44.2% whereas revenue from design services increased by 17.9%.
The growth was principally attributed to more design kick-offs and diversified market stratagem. During the year, T-Bay has introduced 31 design solutions based on three chipset platforms which made its product lines covering different market segments.
T-Bay has also developed feature phones for specific targeted markets. The world’s first phone solution with ECG (Electrocardiogram) monitor was developed for healthcare institutions; the phone solution with push-to-talk was developed for hotel and convention center employees; the phone solution with PHS (Personal Handy-phone System) was targeted to customers in remote areas in China and the phones have been used for rescue in the Sichuan Earth Quake two months ago; Dual-SIM card solutions were targeted to frequent business travelers. The diversified market stratagem demonstrates T-Bay’s competitive strength among other design houses in China and will bring higher profit margin than common solutions.
Net income rose 19.2% in fiscal 2008 to $14,554,000 from $12,203,000 in fiscal 2007, driven primarily by the increase income form design services, and it was the highest record in five years’ operation history.
“In addition to feature phones and 3G phone developed, we were involved in components design in automobile wireless technology and railway wireless communication system” said Jie Shi, T-Bay’s chief executive officer, “we are now working with technology partners to develop TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System) sensors for local car manufacturers. It is the first step to enter in the automobile design industry. The application of wireless technology in automobile is another exciting market for us as wireless expert in China.”
Concerning the late filing, Mr. Jie Shi explained, “we apologize for the late filing of the Form 10-K because it’s the first time we file 10-K instead of 10KSB. We will enhance operation efficiency to prevent late filing from happening again.”
The company also disclosed in its 10K that it is in process of applying for AMEX listing.
COMPARATIVE RESULTS

For Fiscal Year Ended
3/31/08 3/31/07

Revenue $45,681,000 $35,236,000
Gross Profit 22,142,000 17,630,000
Gross profit margin (%) 48.5% 50.0%
Net Income 14,554,000 12,203,000
Comprehensive income 17,443,000 13,751,000
Earnings per share 0.48 0.41

About T-Bay Holdings Inc.

T-BAY conducts its mobile phone design business through its 95% owned subsidiary, Shanghai SunPlus Communication Technology Co., Ltd. (”SunPlus”). Established in October 2002, SunPlus is a Sino-foreign joint venture providing total solution and full-range design services to leading mobile handset brand owners in China. The broad spectrum of services that SunPlus provides include overall product design, mechanical design, module architecture design, software design, prototype production, product testing, manufacturing and after-sale technical support. The Company currently has a staff of 130, comprised mostly of engineers and software programmers.
SunPlus develops its mobile phone modules based mainly on the chipset platform provided by VIA, MTK, SKYWORKS, ANYKA, INFINEON. Historically, our customers included multinational brand names such as Motorola, NEC, Siemens, China Telecom, Panasonic and Alcatel. Our major customers in China in fiscal year ended March 31, 2008 were Shenzhen Naide Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Henkai Co. Ltd., Shenzhen Xuanhua Electronic Technology Co. Ltd., Beijing Hocom Co., Ltd. and Shenzhen Noato Technology Co., Ltd.
T-Bay Holdings Inc.

WASHINGTON, July 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The following is being issued by Alliance of automobile Manufacturers:
“An effective climate change policy must be built on an economy-wide approach that involves all stakeholders and emphasizes the wisdom of a national, not state by state, strategy to address climate change.” -Dave McCurdy, President and CEO, Alliance of automobile Manufacturers
– The Alliance and its member companies acknowledge that we have a responsibility to increase fuel economy and limit greenhouse gas emissions from new automobiles. We are committed to being part of the solution to climate change.
– EPA’s analysis is complex and requires close study before the Alliance can assess how this proposal would affect the industry. However, we share concerns that the Clean Air Act, which underwent its last major amendment 18 years ago, does not include all of the tools and criteria needed to address the global issue of climate change, including requirements to balance the economic effects and impacts on U.S. manufacturing jobs along with the environmental considerations. The Alliance notes that the leading climate change proposals in Congress propose using a different framework for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
– Automakers are addressing climate change with CO2 efficient autos that use less fuel and produce less CO2. And higher gas prices are making consumers part of the equation by driving consumers to more fuel efficient autos. While the rise in gas prices and the shift from light trucks to small cars increases the urgency for additional fuel saving technologies, it does not decrease the up-front cost or time needed to develop them.
– As directed by the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA), NHTSA is currently in the process of setting fuel economy standards that will result in a minimum 40 percent increase in fuel economy and a minimum 30 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020. That’s more than any other industry in the U.S.
– According to the Environmental Protection Agency, autos account for 20 percent of all manmade carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. To help reduce carbon dioxide emissions from autos, manufacturers are currently offering more than 70 models of alternative fuel autos that are powered by hybrid electric, clean diesel ethanol and more. Additionally, more than 100 models are available that achieve highway fuel economy ratings of more than 30 mpg.
Alliance of automobile Manufacturers

SAN FRANCISCO, July 9 /PRNewswire/ — DriverSide, the first full service Web site dedicated to saving consumers time and money by making the ownership or lease of an automobile hassle-free, announced today its newest board members Jeff Bell and Mark Silverman. In addition, the company announces its first round of funding led by Catamount Ventures. Catamount’s innovative portfolio includes: Cafe Press, Second Life (Linden Labs,) Flock, Grid Net, Seventh Generation and Verdiem. Launched in early June 2008, DriverSide brings together in a single Web site every available car and truck-related resource, and makes it convenient, easy and free.
Bell spent 17 years in the automotive industry before joining Microsoft in 2006. He is largely credited for helping to turn around the Dodge, Jeep and Chrysler brands during his tenure at DaimlerChrysler. Bell led the launch of the Dodge “Grab Life by the Horns” and Hemi campaigns, the Chrysler 300, and the Jeep 4-door Wrangler. During his tenure, jeep.com was named the #1 website by J.D. Powers, and Bell’s team was named 2005 Interactive Marketer of the Year by Advertising Age for work in video games and webisodes. Before Chrysler he spent a decade at Ford Motor Company.
“DriverSide fulfills a key need in the automotive industry by providing objective information to consumers about products and services,” said Jeff Bell. “This Web 2.0 initiative significantly benefits new and used car dealers, OEMs, and all independent automotive product and service companies by creating better informed and more confident consumers.”
Silverman has spent the past 15 years immersed in advising, founding, building and financing early stage companies. Prior to joining Catamount as Managing Director in 2006, Silverman served as president and CEO of Bocada. Prior to Catamount Ventures, held senior executive roles in both enterprise software and consumer Internet companies, and was a partner at Venture Law Group in Menlo Park, California. In addition to DriverSide, Silverman currently serves on the boards of Bocada, Ecohaus, Keibi, Gridnet, Nest Naturals and Verdiem.
“It was an easy decision to support a team of successful consumer Internet entrepreneurs that are reaching an underserved market of car and truck owners,” said Mark Silverman, managing director at Catamount Ventures. “Not since drugstore.com, have we seen such a significant opportunity to leverage the Web to simultaneously benefit both the consumer and the companies serving them.”
“We are delighted to welcome both Jeff and Mark to the Board,” said Trevor Traina, Founder and Chairman of the Board. Mark’s strong background in consumer Internet and Jeff’s skills in online automotive will be of immeasurable help to us in our mission to save money and simplify vehicle ownership for the 196 million drivers in the U.S. today.”
The DriverSide board now includes Bell, Silverman, Traina and DriverSide CEO Jad Dunning.
About DriverSide
Founded in fall 2007 by Internet Entrepreneurs Trevor Traina, Adam Jackson, and Jad Dunning, DriverSide is the first Web site specifically designed for automobile owners. Funded by Catamount Ventures, DriverSide allows consumers to save money on servicing and maintenance costs as well as buy and sell automobiles. With an in-house editorial staff, DriverSide offers useful advice on how to own and operate a vehicle as well as reviews on new and used automobiles. DriverSide’s social networking capabilities allow consumers to participate in forums, meet other owners of a particular vehicle, share knowledge, and post reviews on mechanics and dealers.
Whether for buying, selling, servicing, maintaining or accessorizing, DriverSide has brought together all the information and resources needed to make automobile ownership an easy and personalized experience.
DriverSide

ARLINGTON, Va., July 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Association of International automobile Manufacturers, Inc. (AIAM) has announced the appointment of Petra Smeltzer to the newly-created position of manager, state relations. Smeltzer brings more than 16 years experience spearheading strategic programs and gaining practical results for key government and trade organizations in the nation’s capital.
“State legislative and regulatory activities affecting our industry continue to multiply at a very rapid pace,” said Michael J. Stanton, president and CEO of AIAM. “Petra’s experience in state and federal political, legislative and regulatory processes, especially in the areas of energy and the environment, were just the ingredients we were looking for to staff this important new position on our team.”
Prior to joining AIAM, Smeltzer was manager, energy and environment, at the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and manager of environmental affairs at the Electric Power Supply Association. In addition to spending eight years in key positions at the American Petroleum Institute, Smeltzer has also served as federal liaison for the Washington, D.C. office of the governor of Ohio.
“With AIAM representing the leading companies in the U.S. auto industry, I’m proud to be joining an organization with such highly-regarded members,” said Smeltzer. “And with so many major facilities located around the country continuing to create good jobs for American workers, it will be a pleasure representing AIAM at the state level.”
About AIAM - The Association of International automobile Manufacturers, Inc. (AIAM) is a trade association representing 14 international motor vehicle manufacturers who account for 40 percent of all passenger cars and light trucks sold annually in the United States. AIAM provides members with information, analysis and advocacy on a wide variety of legislative and regulatory issues impacting the auto sector. AIAM is dedicated to the promotion of free trade and to policies that enhance motor vehicle safety and the protection of the environment. Member companies include Aston Martin, Ferrari/Maserati, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota. For more information, visit our web site at .
CONTACT: Kim Custer at 703-247-2110, ; or Jennifer Baskerville,
Association of International automobile Manufacturers