Longo Honored with 2001 ``Toyota Certified Collision Center of the Year'' Award

    EL MONTE, Calif.--April 10, 2002--In a special employee appreciation luncheon scheduled for today, Longo Toyota will be recognized for its achievement and success in automotive body repair with Toyota Motor Sales USA, Inc.'s highest honor, the 2001 "Toyota Certified Collision Center of the Year" award. This marks the first year in the history of this award.
    Longo was selected for this inaugural honor from a pool of nearly 100 Toyota Certified Collision Centers nationwide. Born out of a need to recognize the value of the automotive body repair component and their important contribution to the overall success of a dealership's operation, the honor sheds a whole new light on the value of a dealer's efforts to ensure complete and total ownership satisfaction that does not end with sales, service and parts.
    Among the criteria used to judge the worthiness of the Collision Centers are excellence standards ranging from customer satisfaction, business ethics, employee training, shop productivity and efficiency, facility and equipment to safety and environmental considerations. Only Certified Collision Centers are eligible for this honor, which is awarded annually during the Toyota Certified Collision Center awards dinner held in conjunction with the International Auto Body Congress and Exposition (NACE).
    "Longo Toyota and the Longo team exemplify the quality of repair and the positive customer experience which is the foundation of what we are trying to achieve with the Certified Collision Center Program," said Roger Foss, National Dealer Development Manager for TMS's Customer Services Division. Foss' department administers the Certified Collision Center award.
    "I am extremely proud of the entire Longo collision repair team for their outstanding efforts and commitment that have contributed to Longo's success in achieving this honor," adds Alan Ewing. Ewing is Collision Repair Center Director for Longo.
    The award will be presented to Longo in the future home of the new Longo Collision Center, currently under construction. The 71,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility is scheduled to be completed in July 2002.
    Longo has been the number one Toyota dealer in the nation since 1967. Its 25-acre facility in El Monte is home of the world's largest selection of Toyota cars and trucks. Longo Toyota is the flagship dealership of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (PAG), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Penske Corporation.