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Toyota Announces New Dealer Appointments

4 May 1998

Toyota Strengthens Diversity at the Retail Level Through New Dealer Appointments

    TORRANCE, Calif., May 4 -- Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), U.S.A.,
Inc. today announced the appointment of five new ethnic minority and women
dealers, as well as the addition of dealer diversity representatives to its
Toyota and Lexus Division national dealer councils.
    "Enhancing diversity in our retail automotive operations makes good
business sense," said TMS Executive Vice President Yale Gieszl.  "The addition
of several new ethnic minority and women dealers and appointment of diversity
representatives as standing members of our national dealer councils clearly
are steps in the right direction.  While we've made significant progress in
this regard, we still have a lot more to do."
    Of the five new dealer appointments announced today, three dealers are
African-American, one is a woman and one is an Asian-American.  Karl Malone,
current owner of Karl Malone Toyota in Albuquerque, N.M., has been appointed
the dealer-operator of Karl Malone Toyota in Sandy, Utah.  Winston Pittman,
who currently owns Cardinal Dodge in Louisville, Ky., has been appointed the
new dealer at Harbortown Toyota in Savannah, Ga., by Southeast Toyota
Distributors, Inc. of Deerfield Beach, Fla.  Ms. Nancy Sellers, owner of a
number of new car dealerships in Durango and Cortez, Colo., is now the dealer
and general manager of New Country Toyota in Durango, Colo.  Ronnie Lott,
Keena Turner and Ron Fortt have been appointed the dealer-owners of a new
Toyota dealership to be opened in Tracy, Calif.  Fortt will be the general
manager of this new dealership to be named Tracy Toyota.  And Shau-Wai Lam,
who owns several new car dealerships on the east and west coasts, has been
appointed the new dealer-operator of Toyota Towne of Simi Valley in Simi
Valley, Calif.
    In addition to the appointment of new ethnic minority and women dealers,
TMS also announced that dealer diversity representatives have been added as
standing members of the Toyota and Lexus national dealer councils.  The
appointments of Sanford L. Woods of Toyota of Stuart in Stuart, Fla., and
Edward Fitzpatrick of Valley Lexus in Modesto, Calif., to the Toyota and Lexus
dealer councils, respectively, reflect TMS' long-term commitment to further
expand diversity in both retail sales channels.
    In June 1997, TMS announced the establishment of a new, company-wide
dealer diversity program, together with the appointment of four ethnic
minority dealers.  With today's announcement, TMS has added a total of nine
new ethnic minority and women dealers over the past eleven months.

SOURCE  Toyota Motor Corporation