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Mike Sage Leaves Sage Automotive Group to Head Manhattan Projects

10 November 1999

Mike Sage Leaves Sage Automotive Group to Head Manhattan Projects, A Technology Development Firm Focused on Auto Retailing Solutions 
 With Venture Capital Funding, Sage Forms Company to Meet Growing Technology
                        Needs of Automotive Retailers

    TORRANCE, Calif., Nov. 10 -- Mike Sage today announced he has
stepped down as Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Sage Auto
Group, the Los Angeles-based group of number-one Nissan and Infinity
dealerships.  Sage will be heading Manhattan Projects, a recently formed
software development company focused on developing customer relationship
management (CRM) solutions for the automotive industry, as President and CEO.
    "We've entered an era where the success of any business directly
correlates to the relationship it establishes with its customer base," said
Michael Sage, President and CEO of Manhattan Projects.  "Manhattan Projects is
arming dealerships with tools that will change the way they relate to their
customers -- increasing satisfaction levels while giving them the data they
need to take their sales and service to a higher level."
    Manhattan Projects' CRM suite will ultimately fill the entire circle of
the car-buying process -- from service and repair to shopping and ownership.
In addition to capturing data to build customer relationships, Manhattan
Projects' CRM suite will empower dealers with tools that will substantially
increase productivity and, in return, increase profitability.  The Company's
first products will integrate into a dealership's service center, seamlessly
working with the dealership's dealer management system.
    "As a former dealer, I know only too well that new technologies won't be
adopted unless they work within the dealership's current set-up.  All
Manhattan Projects' products are designed for easy adaptability -- for both
users and the current systems," continues Sage.
    This isn't the first time Sage has melded his technological expertise with
his automotive background.  In 1993, Sage founded AutoNet, Inc., a company
that built and deployed one of the first databases of auto information on the
Internet and launched AutoScape, one of the original online car buying
programs.  AutoNet continues to implement web-based solutions for dealerships
and will act as a reseller for Manhattan Projects' CRM suite.
    "Manhattan Projects' research and development team will essentially
implement AutoNet's original vision of helping dealers achieve new levels of
efficiency through technology," said Sage.
    With funding from The Lentz Group, a high-tech venture capital firm, Sage
is establishing Manhattan Projects as a leading automotive technology
developer.

    About Manhattan Projects
    Torrance, CA-based Manhattan Projects (http://www.manhattanprojects.net) is a
software development company creating innovative technology solutions for the
automotive retail industry.  Its suite of customer relationship management
(CRM) tools promises to change the way auto retailers work with and manage
their customers.  Manhattan Projects' CRM suite (including RepairTalk CRM(TM)
2.0, ServiceMan CRM(TM) and SalesMan CRM(TM)) is currently in beta testing at
key North American dealerships.  Founded in 1999, Manhattan Projects evolved
out of AutoNet, Inc., an e-commerce solutions developer for the auto industry.
The Company is financed by The Lentz Group, a high-tech venture capital firm.