To celebrate the grand opening of Manheim Auction’s newest Texas facility, the Texas Hobby Auto Auction hosted a commemorative sale on April 26, showcasing the new facility and selling 2,000 vehicles to dealers.

More than 1,000 dealers attended the sale, bidding on cars in the new, 10-lane auction facility. Dealers were also able to participate in drawings for such prizes as a horse and trailer, dude ranch trips and custom-made boots and cowboy hats.

Now located at 8215 Kopman in Houston, the Texas Hobby Auto Auction has grown from a 55-acre location to a more spacious 80-acre site, an expansion that will allow the auction to greatly increase its current business. With the addition of four extra lanes, the new facility now has 10 lanes that allow nearly 3,000 units to run per sale, with the capacity to run many more. The new facility now has in excess of 3,000 paved parking spaces, including a dealer parking area that has doubled to more than 800 parking spaces. In addition to the paved parking 2,500 unpaved spaces are available for sales.

The old facility, located at 800 Brisbane Road, is now being renovated to become a state-of-the-art two-lane auction facility to host Texas Hobby’s Ford Factory Sales. Renovation of the body shop is also under way. The body shop will almost double in size from 25,000 square feet to 40,000 square feet while adding an additional 80-foot downdraft paint booth. The mechanic shop will also be upgraded from 12,000 square feet to 15,000 square feet.

“We are excited about the new challenges a bigger, better facility brings,” said Mike Broe, general manager of Manheim’s Texas Hobby Auto Auction. “Our new auction will make it possible for us to meet the strong dealer demand for quality used vehicles in this region.”

The night before the commemorative sale, employees hosted a Texas-sized celebration to preview the new facility. More than 1,500 guests from all over Texas and surrounding states enjoyed an authentic barbecue dinner and entertainment that included autograph opportunities with celebrities such as Moochie Norris and Kenny Thomas of the Houston Rockets, former NFL great Ray Childress, and champion bull rider Tuff Hedeman. Some brave guests even tested their cowboy instincts and rode a mechanical bull or tried their hand at calf roping.

About Manheim Auctions

Manheim Auctions has been involved in the wholesale automobile auction industry for more than 55 years. With 86 auction locations in North America, as well as operations in Puerto Rico, France, the United Kingdom and Australia, the company is dedicated to helping dealers succeed and to assisting auto manufacturers, fleet and lease companies, banks, and other financial institutions, to sell their used car inventories efficiently and effectively.

The company also offers transaction, reconditioning and certification services, managed remarketing, end-of-lease term management services, vehicle transportation, dealer floor planning, retail inspection, and government auction services.

Manheim Auctions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., with more than 34,000 employees at its 126 auctions and related businesses; in the year 2000, the company auctioned more than 7 million vehicles.

It is also involved in wholesale and retail used car transactions on the Internet through its Manheim Interactive and AutoTrader.com lines of business.

Manheim Auctions’ corporate headquarters is in Atlanta, and its Web site is at www.manheimauctions.com.