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Hedge & Company Adds Autolink.com to its Growing List of Clients

8 September 1999

Hedge & Company Adds Autolink.com to its Growing List of Clients

    SOUTHFIELD, Mich., Sept. 6 -- Autolink.com, a new online
automotive dealer performance and management website, has selected
Hedge & Company, Inc. to handle its corporate and marketing communications.
Autolink.com is being developed by a consortium made up of Ernst & Young LLP,
The Steve Nickelsen Company and Data National Corporation.
    "We are very pleased that the consortium backing Autolink.com has chosen
Hedge & Company to lead its public relations and marketing communications
efforts," said Michael S. Hedge, president.  "We are consulting with many
clients on web-based solutions to serve the needs of the automotive industry's
connected economy."
    Hedge & Company will be providing strategic counsel to the consortium in
the areas of corporate image, show and conference participation, Website
development, media relations, sales literature, and advertising.
    Autolink.com will offer comprehensive training, direct marketing, service
diagnostics, information and the power of combined purchasing, plus an array
of additional programs to help dealers succeed as the industry changes in
dramatic fashion.
    Hedge & Company is coordinating the launch of the site later this year.
Nearly a dozen companies and resources are expected to join the consortium as
content and technical partners before next month's launch.
    Ernst & Young, LLP is the largest automotive consulting practice in the
world.  Its OEM clients include DaimlerChrysler, Ford, GM, Honda, Renault,
Fiat and Nissan.  E&Y also serves Tier-1 clients including Eaton,
Federal-Mogul, TRW, ZF Industries, Magnetti Marelli and Visteon.  E&Y helps
these clients increase shareholder value by accelerating growth and improving
quality and operations.
    The Steve Nickelsen Company is the most recent enterprise of the
well-known industry futurist, Steve Nickelsen.  Steve Nickelsen is a
recognized expert in dealer training and management.
    Data National Corp. is a leading customer relationship management company.
It provides CRM services to 1,600 automotive aftermarket locations, including
Penske Auto Centers, Pep Boys, Mobil, Sunoco, Big O Tire, Great American Tire,
Interstate Tire, and retail auto dealerships.
    For more information on Southfield, Michigan-based Hedge & Company visit
the company's website at http://www.autopr.com .