Big Three Credit Joint Venture Named RouteOne

DaimlerChrysler Services (DCS), Ford Motor Credit Company (FMCC) and General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC) Announce the Name and Board of Directors of New Joint Venture

SOUTHFIELD, Mich., June 13 -- The joint venture company formed by the captive finance arms of DaimlerChrysler Services, Ford Motor Credit Company and General Motors Acceptance Corporation earlier this year, has appointed a Board of Directors and selected a name for the company.

John Gibson, executive vice president of GMAC North American Operations, is the new chairman of RouteOne, the name chosen for the new company.

Gibson has served General Motors Corporation for 40 years. Joining Gibson on RouteOne's Executive Committee are Thomas McAlear, vice president, Chrysler Financial, and Greg Smith, president and chief operating officer of Ford Motor Credit Company. Mike Jurecki serves as chief executive officer of RouteOne.

"RouteOne is all about streamlining the finance approval process to make financing easier, faster and more accessible for our dealer customers and the financial institutions involved," said Gibson. "We're confident that the system we're developing will surpass even our own expectations."

RouteOne will provide a common data expressway for the instant exchange of credit application information. Currently dealers may have to work with multiple systems and processes in order to route a customer credit application to different finance sources. The current process is time and labor intensive, as well as "customer unfriendly," compared the RouteOne approach.

The RouteOne name, Jurecki said, "reflects our commitment to be the first choice for auto dealers, captive finance companies and other financial institutions interested in maximizing their business potential." The name was developed in concert with frog design, a California-based firm that specializes in naming and branding.