For the second consecutive year, Earnhardt Auto Centers in Phoenix and Dallas-based DriversSelect are tops among 12 recipients of Prestige Financial’s annual “True Partnership” award. The award is given to dealers who have shown an extraordinary commitment to the lender in terms of overall contract volume, origination efficiencies and portfolio performance.

The award’s name reflects Prestige’s atypical marketing approach, which is to forego relationships with most dealers in a given region in order to focus on building strong partnerships with a few select dealers who, in turn, produce high volumes of profitable paper by tailoring their operations to Prestige’s innovative nonprime and subprime lending programs. Prestige does business with over 400 franchised dealerships in 20 states, with the “True Partnership” award reserved for the elite performers.

“Our special finance center contracts seven to eight hundred customers a month,” says Colleen Murphy, Earnhardt’s special finance director. “People are surprised to learn that we’ve been with Prestige for just over two years, and yet they’ve recently come to account for more than a third of our subprime volume. It comes down to the fact that their programs and their focus on our company have earned them that business.”

Earnhardt funded nearly 2,000 contracts with Prestige in 2007, which gave them top honors for the year. Along with Earnhardt and DriversSelect, other repeat recipients from the previous year include Larry Miller Toyota in Phoenix, Mike Calvert Toyota and Davis Chevrolet in Houston, Boulder Toyota, Albuquerque’s American Toyota, Larry Miller Pontiac Buick Cadillac in Boise, as well as Stockton to Malone Honda and Larry H. Miller Chevrolet, which are both in Salt Lake City. Georgia-based Bill Heard Enterprises and Karl Malone Toyota in Salt Lake City are first-time recipients.

Best known for its Open 7, Open 13 and Double Bankruptcy loan products, Prestige has gained market share in recent years by broadening its credit spectrum to compete also for nonprime paper in the mid-600 score range. The lender has no minimum credit score or down-payment requirements and offers generous advances and low fees, while its unique Rate Reduction Program, which automatically drops the APR every three months on loans that perform well, assists dealers in closing loans with rate-sensitive customers.

“This award is emblematic of the success we share with these outstanding dealerships,” says Prestige CEO Robert Avery. “We’re fortunate to do business with hundreds of excellent dealers in so many parts of the country, and our efforts are focused on helping to raise each of them to the level of an Earnhardt or a DriversSelect. Partnership is a two-way street. And dozens of our dealers are right on the brink of joining this top tier. We’ll continue to do our part to get them there.”

For more information about Prestige Financial Services, visit www.gopfs.com.