Mazda Revolutionizes Car Buying With New Birmingham-Area Dealership

Automaker Opens Ground-Up Facility Encompassing New Retail Philosophy at Med Center Mazda

PELHAM, Ala., May 22 -- Mazda North American Operations (MNAO) showcased its commitment to enhancing the car-buying experience for customers with the grand opening today of Med Center Mazda, one of the largest Mazda dealers in the country.

Med Center Mazda adopted the company's new retail philosophy that is focused on delivering unique buying experiences for car shoppers through technology, environment and the Mazda Test Drive. Med Center is only the second dealership in the country to open such a facility. In January, Mazda's first facility featuring the new retail philosophy opened in Bountiful, Utah.

"The blueprint for our new retail experience blends modern-day advances such as wireless technology and computer kiosks with sleek architecture and customer-centric design elements to create a car-buying experience like no other," said Jim O'Sullivan, president and CEO of MNAO. "This concept injects our Zoom-Zoom philosophy into our dealer network, and customers will find that purchasing Mazda products mirrors the excitement of driving Mazda products."

No example better illustrates Mazda's new concept than the Mazda Test Drive. The experience has been created to highlight the company's mantra, "Mazda ... Always the Soul of a Sports Car." This is done through a custom test-drive route featuring carefully and uniquely selected routes, traffic patterns and road conditions specific to each dealership location.

Another key to Mazda's retail philosophy is found in the use of technology. Today, the vast majority of auto shoppers rely on the Internet to gather objective and reliable vehicle information. Consequently, this process brings an interactive component into the dealership, closing the gap between online information and the Mazda dealership and creating a "site-to-store" experience.

"We're thrilled to be just the second Mazda facility in the country to be designed from the outset to deliver Mazda's vision of the future buying experience," said Jeffrey Allen, vice president and general manager of Med Center Mazda. "We all know that Mazda automobiles put the fun into driving, and we hope our new dealership and its people put the same enjoyment into vehicle purchasing."

Mazda North American Operations is responsible for the sales and marketing, customer parts and service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., MNAO has more than 700 dealerships nationwide.