Hundreds of automobile dealers from around the country will converge on Music City USA when the new Nashville Auto Auction hosts its grand opening celebration and sale, Feb. 19 and 20.

Guests at the Tuesday night celebration will be treated to “A Taste of Music City” featuring live bluegrass and country music and tours of the new 265-acre facility, which is located about 15 miles east of the original Nashville Auto Auction that started auctioning vehicles in 1954.

Wednesday morning’s grand opening sale will include nearly 6,000 vehicles, a special appearance by Tennessee Titan Frank Wycheck, players from the Nashville Predators NHL hockey team and promotional giveaways.

The sale begins with a 9 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Wilson County facility. Several local politicians including Lebanon Mayor Don Fox and Mt. Juliet Mayor Kevin Mack, plus dignitaries from the Manheim corporate office, will be in attendance.

Construction of the new 14-lane, 265-acre facility located in the Eastgate Business Park near the intersection of Interstate 40 and Highway 109 in Mt. Juliet began in December 2000.

The auction is initially expected to handle 100,000 cars per year (with capacity to handle twice that many), and will eventually employ more than 400 full- and part-time employees. Among the other highlights of the state-of-the-art facility will be:

• A 60,000-square-foot auction building with 14 auction lanes.

  
  

• A 15,000-square-foot training center.

  
  

• An 87,000-square-foot reconditioning building with detail, mechanical, and paint/body shop all under one roof.

  
  

• Car wash and check-in buildings.

  
  

• Parking for nearly 25,000 vehicles.

  
  

  
  

  “This new facility is one of the finest in the industry,” said Tim DeBerry, general manager of the Nashville Auto Auction. “We have more space and a better layout than the old auction, which increases our ability to provide the best service possible to our dealers. They get the benefits of a larger auction and the same personal treatment the Nashville auction has been known for the past 48 years.”

  
  

  The former seven-lane, 142-acre facility, which has been located at 1450 Lebanon Road in Nashville since the auction was founded in 1954, will remain open and be renamed Nashville Dealers Auto Auction. It will continue to host the Monday Night Sale and the State of Tennessee’s Department of Government Services sale every quarter.

  
  

  About Manheim Auctions

  
  

  Manheim Auctions offers services that impact every stage of a used vehicle’s life cycle. These include transaction, 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 wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., Manheim Auctions has been involved in the wholesale automobile auction industry for 56 years. With more than 34,000 employees at its 123 auctions and related businesses, Manheim is a global remarketing organization with 83 auctions in North America and additional operations in France, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

  
  

  In the year 2001, the company says it auctioned more than 9.5 million vehicles at its North American auctions.