Six-Millionth Southeast Toyota Customer Drives Away with Free Car in Winston-Salem

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla.--Aug. 10, 2006--When Jane Wolfe Collins purchased her new 2006 Toyota Corolla from Modern Toyota in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, she was prepared to pay a fair price for a high-quality new vehicle. The retired teacher's assistant got more than she bargained for when representatives from Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC and Modern Toyota presented her with the surprise of a lifetime; a check for the full amount of her new car!

The lifetime Dobson, N.C. resident's good fortune was in honor of Southeast Toyota's sale of its six-millionth vehicle. The company is the world's largest franchised distributor of Toyota and Scion vehicles, distributing to 167 independently-owned dealerships spanning Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina and Alabama.

"I was already excited about buying my new Toyota, and getting it for free is just beyond my wildest dreams," said a stunned Collins. "It is impossible to thank everyone enough. I'm just completely shocked."

Collins, 68, retired eight years ago after a 21-year career as a teacher's assistant for Copeland Elementary School in Surry County, N.C. She now works part-time as a substitute teacher. Collins' initial purchase came about by pure chance after a long day on the road with her son. They decided to stop at Modern Toyota on the way home and look for an economical replacement of her vehicle.

"I appreciated the way I was treated at the dealership and was already very happy with the entire process," Collins continued. "When they asked me back in and said I was the six-millionth customer, I couldn't believe it."

"We had been looking forward to this milestone since we celebrated our five-millionth sale in 2003, and we were amazed at how quickly we reached it," said Ed Sheehy, Southeast Toyota's group vice president of Marketing and Market Representation. "This achievement is a tribute to the fantastic dealer organization we work with, and their commitment to exceptional customer service."

"Toyota offers the premier product on the road today with the highest quality accessories, parts, and service support," said Omnia Fowler, general manager, Modern Toyota. "Our customers understand that they are getting the finest quality cars and trucks available at the best price and that means incredible value."

Southeast Toyota's sales have grown exponentially over the years. After being founded in 1968, the Southeast Toyota dealer organization sold 11,732 vehicles with just 11 associates and 42 dealerships in its first year. With the company's success firmly rooted in quality products and services, sales continued to rise and by 1982, 14 years later, one million vehicles were sold. Increased retail and fleet sales pushed Southeast Toyota further ahead and only eight years later, in 1990, sold its two-millionth vehicle. Toyota dealers in the Southeast sell approximately 20 percent - or one of every five Toyotas - in the country.

Sheehy says Southeast Toyota's future looks brighter than ever backed by Toyota's hybrid technology, an entire new product line, quality services and dedicated associates.

About Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC

Ranked No. 1 in the National Automobile Dealers Association's dealer attitude study, Southeast Toyota Distributors, LLC (SET) (http://www.buyatoyota.com) is the largest franchised distributor of Toyotas in the world. The company distributes vehicles, parts and accessories to 167 Toyota dealerships in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. SET dealers sell approximately 20 percent of all Toyotas sold in the country. Its vehicle processing facilities are located in Jacksonville, Fla. and Commerce, Ga. Headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Fla., SET is a subsidiary of JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (http://www.jmfamily.com), a $9.4 billion diversified automotive corporation ranked by Forbes magazine as the 17th-largest privately held company in the United States. The company is also ranked on the FORTUNE(R) 100 Best Companies to Work For list and has been for eight consecutive years. It has been on the InformationWeek 500 listing of the nation's leading information technology innovators for the past four years.