Carmax

Officials for CarMax -- the used-car "super store" -- filed site plans Wednesday for the operation that is expected to bring about 300 jobs to Howard County when it opens on the Freestate development near Savage early next year.The project will sit on 45.9 acres of the more than 100-acre Freestate property.With more than 32,000 square feet of building space, CarMax plans to maintain 800 or more cars at the Freestate site.CarMax, owned by Richmond, Va.-based Circuit City Stores, is known for its high-tech showrooms and no-haggle pricing.

Pam and Ray Vonderschmidt, of Nottingham, and Serafina and Paul Moravec, of Bel Air, announce the engagement of their children, Linda Vonderschmidt and Kirk Moravec. The bride-to-be is a 1999 graduate of the Institute of Notre Dame and a 2003 graduate of Villa Julie College, where she earned a bachelor of science in accounting. She is a CPA at Hertzbach & Company. The prospective groom is a 1999 graduate of C. Milton Wright High School and a 2003 graduate of Towson University, where he earned a bachelor of science in business administration.

A used car "superstore" is coming to Howard County.The state House passed by 112-20 a bill yesterday that clears the way for CarMax to locate in the county with the promise of 300 new jobs.The House vote repealed a section of the state's blue laws to allow car dealerships to open in Howard County on Sundays. The House rejected attempts by Baltimore County delegates to delay its implementation for a year.The measure clears the way for CarMax, a Richmond-based subsidiary of Circuit City, to open at the former Freestate harness track in North Laurel.

On summer mornings, Dorothy Hinnant drinks coffee on the front porch of her home in the Loreley Beach area of White Marsh. She savors the quiet neighborhood and, she says, the occasional glimpses of bald eagles soaring over nearby Bird River. But she worries that her peace will soon end. Across the street from her home, developers plan to pave over a 15-acre wooded area that has been abandoned since the Pulaski Drive-In Theater closed decades ago. CarMax, which operates a car lot at another location in White Marsh, intends to repair and auction cars to dealers on the site.

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.

CarMax, the auto retailing arm of Circuit City Stores Inc., brought its trend-setting no-hassle approach to selling used cars to Baltimore County yesterday with the opening of its newest outlet in White Marsh.The $15 million facility is the company's second in Maryland and its 25th in the nation.CarMax first moved into the Baltimore-Washington market when it opened its largest store -- a giant 93,000-square-foot showroom -- near Laurel 18 months ago.The White Marsh store is only about half that size, but it stocks about 400 late-model vehicles on 17 acres and employs slightly more than 200 employees.

GLEN ALLEN, Va. - When Circuit City Stores Inc. opened its first CarMax used-car superstore here in 1993, the company called it an experiment. Even its creators weren't sure it would last. Nobody, after all, had ever before tried selling used cars the way Circuit City sold consumer electronics and appliances. But CarMax Auto Superstores Inc. was out to revolutionize the way used cars were sold. It opened large showrooms, brightly painted in shades of blue, yellow and gray. The conference rooms were spacious with comfortable furniture and a play area for the kids.

Carmax, the used-car superstore subsidiary of Circuit City Stores Inc., wants to expand its involvement in the new car business, and two Maryland sites are on its list.Carmax would like to add new-car franchises at its Savage used-car center, which is slated to open at the end of next month, as well as at its White Marsh store, which won't be completed until sometime next year, a spokesman for the company said yesterday.It operates two new-car franchises in Georgia for Chrysler, Plymouth, Jeep Eagle automobiles.

Richard Sammis has been selling Nissans at his Town & Country dealership in Perry Hall since 1975, so handing over the keys to CarMax came with plenty of trepidation."

Further expanding its new-car retailing business, CarMax Auto Superstores Inc. said yesterday that it has agreed to acquire for an undisclosed sum the Toyota franchise rights owned by Laurel Automotive Group Inc.Richmond, Va.-based CarMax said it plans to operate the franchise at its current location on Fort Meade Road in Laurel. The acquisition is subject to approval by Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.CarMax, a Circuit City Stores Inc. subsidiary that pioneered the used-car superstore concept, is in discussions with Toyota to establish a framework agreement to cover this acquisition and any in the future, said Val Brown, a CarMax spokesman.

A building on U.S. 40 in Ellicott City that has been unoccupied since it was built in 2000 as a supermarket site eventually could be torn down to make way for a CarMax auto dealership, the used-car retailer confirmed this week. The national chain signed a lease for the 55,000-square-foot, one-story building, less than a half-mile east of the U.S. 29 and U.S. 40 intersection, said Trina H. Lee, a CarMax spokeswoman. The site's 6.5-acre location would fit a satellite store with 300 to 400 vehicles and employ about 75 to 100 workers, Lee said.

A weekly briefing on the economic calendar Monday Earnings reports: Conseco, OfficeMax, Wynn Resorts Tuesday Retail sales for February; business inventories for January Earnings reports: Albertson's, Goodyear Tire, Interpublic Group of Companies Wednesday Industrial production for February Earnings reports: Bear Stearns, Kmart, Lehman Brothers, Lennar, Bed Bath & Beyond Thursday Leading economic indicators for February Earnings reports: Apollo...

Even before formal plans have been introduced, Owings Mills residents are fighting a proposal to build a CarMax used car dealership in their community. The Richmond, Va.-based company recently contacted Baltimore County planning and economic development officials with its plan to build on 10 acres on the northeast corner of the intersection of Owings Mills Boulevard and Reisterstown Road. But community groups and residents oppose the plan, saying it conflicts with the county's goal of limiting commercial development along Owings Mills Boulevard.

GLEN ALLEN, Va. - When Circuit City Stores Inc. opened its first CarMax used-car superstore here in 1993, the company called it an experiment. Even its creators weren't sure it would last. Nobody, after all, had ever before tried selling used cars the way Circuit City sold consumer electronics and appliances. But CarMax Auto Superstores Inc. was out to revolutionize the way used cars were sold. It opened large showrooms, brightly painted in shades of blue, yellow and gray. The conference rooms were spacious with comfortable furniture and a play area for the kids.

Richard Sammis has been selling Nissans at his Town & Country dealership in Perry Hall since 1975, so handing over the keys to CarMax came with plenty of trepidation."

ROCKVILLE -- CarMax, the auto retailing arm of Circuit City Stores Inc., celebrated the grand opening yesterday of its newest used-car outlet in Maryland. The smaller than usual CarMax lot is designed to increase the company's chances of doing something it has never accomplished -- posting a profit.CarMax President W. Austin Ligon called the new outlet, on heavily traveled Frederick Road, "a satellite store," and said it cuts millions of dollars off the cost of tapping into a new market.The store here is about a third the size of the CarMax in Savage, but shoppers aren't likely to notice any changes.

RICHMOND, Va. -- Circuit City Group said yesterday that fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 16 percent largely because of losses from its investment in digital-disc players and its majority stake in the CarMax Group used-car business.Net income in the quarter ended Feb. 28 fell to $57.4 million, or 58 cents a diluted share, from $68.5 million, or 70 cents, a year ago. The earnings were in line with expectations, said Ursula Moran of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.The company's earnings fell because of Digital Video Express, or Divx, and a 77 percent interest in CarMax, which had a loss.

RICHMOND, Va. -- With a high-tech showroom so customer-friendly it includes a playroom stocked with video games and a big-screen TV, CarMax -- the revolutionary used car "superstore" -- is pioneering a new approach to automobile sales.No colored flags lining the car lot. No leaky cars. No men in plaid jackets haggling with customers over price or pressuring them to buy.When customers walk into a CarMax store -- such as the 46-acre Howard County outlet planned for the former Freestate racetrack near Savage -- they're greeted by a salesperson who signs them onto a computer they can use to find the car they want.

North Laurel and Savage residents will finally have a neighborhood supermarket to call their own.The 53,088-square-foot Weis supermarket, slated to open early next month at U.S. 1 and Gorman Road in Laurel, has residents elated."