Autonation

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Republic Industries Inc.'s Auto- Nation USA used-car superstore unit must pay $50 million to rival CarMax Group for using similar brand names to confuse car buyers, a CarMax lawyer said yesterday.A federal court jury in Fort Lauderdale deliberated more than seven hours yesterday before awarding the punitive damages to CarMax, a unit of Circuit City Group, for its unfair competition claims against AutoNation, said Richard Knoth, a lawyer for CarMax.CarMax had sought $477 million from AutoNation, accusing it of trademark infringement and unfair competition in copying the name for CarMax's "AutoMation" computerized inventory-browsing system.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - As General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co.'s sales continue to fall, one might think the nation's biggest owner of GM and Ford dealerships would be anxiously plunking "For Sale" signs outside its Pontiac and Lincoln stores. But that's not the case at AutoNation Inc., the nation's largest chain of auto dealerships. "I'm very optimistic" about the Detroit automakers, Mike Jackson, Auto- Nation's chairman and chief executive officer, said yesterday in an interview at his Fort Lauderdale headquarters.

THE COUNTRY'S largest auto retailer, AutoNation, announced last week that it is closing or converting its 37 used-car superstores, acknowledging that the multibrand megastores equipped with playrooms and computerized displays were not profitable. The company, the brainchild of Blockbuster founder H. Wayne Huizenga and based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will switch its focus to its 406 smaller new-car franchises and its car-rental services.What problems did AutoNation face? Can the used-car superstore concept work?

Sysco Corp., the largest North American distributor of food to restaurants, hospitals and schools, said yesterday that fiscal third-quarter profit rose 11 percent, bolstered by cutting costs and by revenue from acquisitions. Net income climbed to $168.4 million, or 26 cents a share, from $151.4 million, or 23 cents, in the quarter a year earlier. Sales in the three months that ended March 29 climbed 14 percent to $6.4 billion. Sysco bought four companies in the past year, including food distributor Asian Foods Inc. and Colorado Boxed Beef Co., a meat-cutting business, adding 7.3 percent to sales in the quarter.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- AutoNation Inc., the world's largest auto retailer, is buying 16 dealerships in five states for about $200 million, increasing its presence in what it sees as high-growth markets.AutoNation is buying seven dealerships from the York Automotive Group in Southern California. It also is acquiring Shamrock Ford in Dublin, Calif.; Phil Smith Toyota in South Florida; Courtesy Ford in Littleton, Colo.; and Steakley Chevrolet and Subaru in Dallas.In the Seattle area, AutoNation is buying the Maria Smith Automotive Group, which has four dealerships.

DETROIT -- AutoNation Inc., the world's largest automotive retailer, introduced a new online buying service yesterday to capture part of a market forecast to explode from 15,000 vehicle sales this year to 500,000 in 2003.AutoNationDirect.com is now available in the Tampa, Fla., area. Customers can reserve a vehicle for a test drive, withdraw money from their bank for a deposit and complete loan applications online. A nearby dealer would then deliver the vehicle to the customer's home.AutoNation expects to generate $750 million in online sales this year, then double that in each of the next two years, said Steven Berrard, AutoNation's co-chief executive officer with Wayne Huizenga.

Anne Arundel County is back in the running for a used-car superstore and an auto restoration center to be built by AutoNation USA, the second-hand auto seller launched by Florida billionaire H. Wayne Huizenga, a county official said yesterday.William Badger, director of the county economic development office, said AutoNation has expressed a new desire to build the two facilities in Anne Arundel, provided it receives the necessary permits."They are telling us they want to come, they just need an air quality permit," Badger said.

Maryland is in line for two more used-car superstores, but the state will likely lose out as the site for a huge auto-reconditioning center, employing up to 400 workers, that was proposed for Anne Arundel County.Jack Sayer, president of Car Corp. of America Inc., said yesterday that the newly formed Gaithersburg company plans to open a 300- to 500-vehicle used-car lot in Rockville in July. It also plans to build a second dealership closer to Baltimore.The state, however, may lose a large auto-reconditioning center planned by AutoNation USA.AutoNation, the Florida-based used-auto superstore chain launched by billionaire entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga, also planned to open a 1,000- to 1,200-vehicle sales lot on a 17-acre site in the Cromwell Business Park off Dorsey Road.

JOHN G. GARY would need to go to Ritchie Highway's "auto mile" for a new transmission had he shifted gears in his car as abruptly as he reversed his political stance toward the lifting of the Sunday ban on auto sales in Anne Arundel County.The county executive originally favored surveying local auto dealers to see if they want to end the "blue law" that bars them from doing business on Sunday.It was a cowardly stance, an attempt to take a position without taking a position, since the outcome of such a poll was pre-ordained: Anne Arundel's dealers strenuously fought the lifting of the blue law in neighboring Howard County last year, fearing the impact; they certainly were not going to invite the competition into their own backyard.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - As General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co.'s sales continue to fall, one might think the nation's biggest owner of GM and Ford dealerships would be anxiously plunking "For Sale" signs outside its Pontiac and Lincoln stores. But that's not the case at AutoNation Inc., the nation's largest chain of auto dealerships. "I'm very optimistic" about the Detroit automakers, Mike Jackson, Auto- Nation's chairman and chief executive officer, said yesterday in an interview at his Fort Lauderdale headquarters.

THE COUNTRY'S largest auto retailer, AutoNation, announced last week that it is closing or converting its 37 used-car superstores, acknowledging that the multibrand megastores equipped with playrooms and computerized displays were not profitable. The company, the brainchild of Blockbuster founder H. Wayne Huizenga and based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., will switch its focus to its 406 smaller new-car franchises and its car-rental services.What problems did AutoNation face? Can the used-car superstore concept work?

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- AutoNation Inc., the largest U.S. car retailer, said yesterday that it may sell or spin off its auto rental unit as Chairman H. Wayne Huizenga struggles to boost its lagging shares.President and Chief Operating Officer John H. Costello resigned after seven months in the job to pursue online ventures. The stock has fallen 28 percent in 52 weeks, and the plan to shed the unit that includes National Car Rental and Alamo Rent-A-Car advanced the shares just 31.25 cents, to $15.25, in trading yesterday.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- AutoNation Inc., the world's largest auto retailer, is buying 16 dealerships in five states for about $200 million, increasing its presence in what it sees as high-growth markets.AutoNation is buying seven dealerships from the York Automotive Group in Southern California. It also is acquiring Shamrock Ford in Dublin, Calif.; Phil Smith Toyota in South Florida; Courtesy Ford in Littleton, Colo.; and Steakley Chevrolet and Subaru in Dallas.In the Seattle area, AutoNation is buying the Maria Smith Automotive Group, which has four dealerships.

DETROIT -- AutoNation Inc., the world's largest automotive retailer, introduced a new online buying service yesterday to capture part of a market forecast to explode from 15,000 vehicle sales this year to 500,000 in 2003.AutoNationDirect.com is now available in the Tampa, Fla., area. Customers can reserve a vehicle for a test drive, withdraw money from their bank for a deposit and complete loan applications online. A nearby dealer would then deliver the vehicle to the customer's home.AutoNation expects to generate $750 million in online sales this year, then double that in each of the next two years, said Steven Berrard, AutoNation's co-chief executive officer with Wayne Huizenga.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Republic Industries Inc.'s Auto- Nation USA used-car superstore unit must pay $50 million to rival CarMax Group for using similar brand names to confuse car buyers, a CarMax lawyer said yesterday.A federal court jury in Fort Lauderdale deliberated more than seven hours yesterday before awarding the punitive damages to CarMax, a unit of Circuit City Group, for its unfair competition claims against AutoNation, said Richard Knoth, a lawyer for CarMax.CarMax had sought $477 million from AutoNation, accusing it of trademark infringement and unfair competition in copying the name for CarMax's "AutoMation" computerized inventory-browsing system.

Republic Industries Inc., the Florida-based automotive retail giant headed by H. Wayne Huizenga, said yesterday that it has backed off plans to construct a $7 million used-car reconditioning center in Anne Arundel County."

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- AutoNation Inc., the largest U.S. car retailer, said yesterday that it may sell or spin off its auto rental unit as Chairman H. Wayne Huizenga struggles to boost its lagging shares.President and Chief Operating Officer John H. Costello resigned after seven months in the job to pursue online ventures. The stock has fallen 28 percent in 52 weeks, and the plan to shed the unit that includes National Car Rental and Alamo Rent-A-Car advanced the shares just 31.25 cents, to $15.25, in trading yesterday.

AutoNation USA, the used-auto superstore chain launched by billionaire entrepreneur H. Wayne Huizenga, wants to open a car lot near Glen Burnie and a vehicle restoration center near Pasadena, employing up to 560 workers, if blue laws are repealed to allow dealers to stay open Sundays in Anne Arundel County.The two facilities would be one of the largest new employers in the county in more than a decade, Rosemary Duggins, marketing director of the Anne Arundel County Economic Development Office, said yesterday.

SOMEDAY, the current argument against selling cars on Sunday will look as quaint as those once cited to keep supermarkets, drugstores and other retailers from opening seven days a week. Just as the Maryland General Assembly repealed the Victorian "blue laws" that governed Sunday retailing a decade ago, the ban on Sunday car sales will also fall. It is only a matter of time.Last year, auto dealers in Anne Arundel County hoped their opposition to Sunday sales would chase off AutoNation USA, billionaire H. Wayne Huizenga's used-car chain.

An effort to lift the ban on Sunday car sales in most Maryland counties died Thursday when the House Economic Matters Committee voted, 16-3, against it.It was the second time in as many years the attempt has failed. A bill to lift the ban in Anne Arundel County also died in committee last year.Del. Phillip D. Bissett, the Edgewater Republican who sponsored the bill this year, presented little endorsement for it at a hearing Wednesday, saying it needed no explanation. He could not be reached.