Northwood University and University of Toyota to Co-Market Management Development Program

Effort Signals First Opportunity for Non-Toyota Dealers to Receive Flagship Executive Management Program

TORRANCE, Calif., May 27 -- The University of Toyota School of Retail Professional Development and Midland, Michigan's Northwood University announced today the first joint project of the newly-formed University of Toyota/Northwood University alliance announced earlier this month. Starting in September, 2003, the alliance will offer Toyota Quality Executive Management to any dealership management-level participant, regardless of whether the participant is affiliated with a Toyota dealership.

Toyota Quality Executive Management, the flagship offering of the University of Toyota's School of Retail Professional Development, is a unique senior management development program that helps managers expand on their inherent strengths, develop an engaged workforce, and build highly effective teams. Over the course of one year, students discover and build upon their own leadership styles and learn to drive the processes of automotive retailing. Launched in November 1999, this comprehensive leadership course combines four four-day classes with on-site coaching to produce dramatic improvements in such bottom-line measures as customer satisfaction, employee retention, profitability and productivity.

Bryan Bergsteinsson, group vice president of the University of Toyota, welcomes this collaboration. "We're breaking new ground in the industry by offering our curriculum to people who may end up selling other makes of vehicles. And we're truly living the University of Toyota's mission, 'to provide targeted performance-based solutions that drive desired business outcomes.' When the University of Toyota succeeds in raising the standards in any automotive dealership, the industry benefits as a whole."

"Northwood University is delighted to be partnering in this program with Toyota," said Dr. David Fry, president of Northwood University. "The University of Toyota is one of the best recognized, world class management- development enterprises, and we admire its strength of vision in offering its training to the future leaders of the automotive industry."

About the University of Toyota School of Retail Professional Development

The University of Toyota School of Retail Professional Development provides education for nearly 1400 Toyota and Lexus dealers nationwide. Educational offerings include classes, performance groups, in-dealership consulting and comprehensive performance improvement solutions on topics that cover all aspects of automotive retail, including sales, service, parts, finance, management, and leadership. Located in Torrance, Calif., the University of Toyota is a division of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., the sales, marketing, distribution and marketing arm of Toyota in the USA. ( www.toyota.com )

About Northwood University

Northwood University is a private, accredited university specializing in entrepreneurial and managerial education offering two- and four-year degrees in a variety of enterprise fields. Northwood University has three major campuses located in Michigan, Florida and Texas, with additional outreach centers in Illinois, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New Mexico and Texas, as well as online and international study abroad programs. More than 6,000 students have graduated from Northwood University's automotive dealership management program since 1963. www.northwood.edu