Seven Manheim auctions were recently honored by Ford Motor Company as top auctions for 2002.

Clanton’s Auto Auction in Darlington, S.C., walked away with the highest honor for Ford Financial sales – the Golden Gavel Award – for the second year in a row.

According to Manheim, each year, Ford presents the Golden Gavel Award, as well as six Ford Factory and Ford Financial regional awards, to recognize auctions for excellent product quality, facility environment and administration services. Manheim auctions says it also won four out of six Ford Financial regional awards and two out of six Ford Factory regional awards.

“We place a tremendous amount of importance on these awards and are very proud of the auctions that are honored,” said Linda Silverstein, Ford Motor Co. director, remarketing strategy. “We enjoy a very successful working relationship with Manheim from the corporate level to each individual auction. They understand our goals and execute our plan, which makes them a large part of our overall success in the marketplace.”

Silverstein noted that Clanton’s Auto Auction’s second consecutive Golden Gavel Award is a prime example of Manheim’s commitment to achieve excellence.

According to the company, selection of the award winners is based on a survey completed by Ford dealers, area managers and remarketing staff. The Golden Gavel Award is presented to the auction with the highest survey ranking in the nation for Ford Factory and Ford Financial

accounts.

“These awards are a tribute to all of the auction employees. We love working with Ford, and it shows,” said Bill Tiedemann, Manheim’s vice president of operations – Ford. “They underscore our commitment to our customers and the dedication of our employees to deliver quality customer service day after day. At Manheim Auctions, our employees do a tremendous job of meeting or exceeding, not just the standards of our commercial accounts, such as Ford, but also the dealers’ expectations.”

Prior to winning the Golden Gavel award in 2001 and 2002, Clanton’s Auto Auction had placed among the top three Ford Financial auctions in 1999 and 2000.

Manheim Auto Auction in Manheim, Pa., Harrisonburg Auto Auction in Harrisonburg, Va., Metro Milwaukee Auto Auction in Caledonia, Wis., and Omaha Auto Auction in Omaha, Neb., all won regional quality awards from Ford Financial.

Nashville Auto Auction in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., and San Antonio Auto Auction in San Antonio, Texas, each received a regional Ford Factory quality award.

About Manheim Auctions

Dedicated to helping dealers succeed, Manheim Auctions says it offers services that impact every stage of a used vehicle’s life cycle. These include transaction, reconditioning and certification services, managed remarketing, end-of-lease-term management services, vehicle transportation, dealer floor planning, retail inspection and government auction services. The company also assists auto manufacturers, fleet and lease companies, banks and other financial institutions in selling their used vehicle inventories. A technology provider to the wholesale auction industry, Manheim offers technology tools that help dealers and national consignors handle their remarketing transactions more efficiently.

A wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., Manheim Auctions has more than 32,000 employees at its 124 auctions and related businesses. Manheim is a global remarketing organization with 85 auctions in North America and additional operations in the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Australia and New Zealand.