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DealerTrack to acquire Arkona,
Inc.
Lake Success, NY, and South Jordan, UT April 27, 2007
DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: TRAK) and Arkona, Inc. (OTC BB: ARKN) have
signed a definitive agreement for DealerTrack to acquire Arkona for $1.38 per
share of common stock. The total purchase price of the transaction is
approximately $58.9 million.
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AutoNation to label fuel-efficient
vehicles
Dealer Magazine
FLORIDA -- AutoNation Inc., the
Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based automotive retailer, in response to increasing
consumer demand for vehicles that are fuel efficient or offer other
environmentally friendly emerging technologies, will launch its...
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Carmakers face rise in online advertising prices
Automotive News
NEW
YORK (Reuters) -- The auto industry saw prices for digital advertisements rise
10 percent to 20 percent last year, but still got more mileage from spending on
the Internet than...
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GM sees softer second quarter sales; plans summer
incentives
Automotive
News
NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Troy Clarke, General Motors'
head of North American operations, said today he expects second-quarter sales to
be softer than initially forecast due to a weaker overall industry than GM had
anticipated.
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ARKONA NEWS
MCL selects Arkona to enter DMS market in
U.K.
Tunbridge Wells, England -- MCL Group
Ltd. and Arkona, Inc. (OTCBB: ARKN), the top ranked dealer management system
(DMS) provider for 2007, as determined by Auto Dealer Monthly magazine, and the
technology leader in ASP-based solutions for new car franchises, announced today
a strategic business agreement to introduce Arkonas automotive DMS into the
U.K. market. This announcement is the culmination of more than two years of
joint business and product development efforts to provide U.K. automobile
dealers with a more robust, fully VAT compliant, and cost-effective solution for
managing their operations.
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Arkona partners with
AskPatty.com
Dealer Magazine
UTAH -- Arkona, Inc., one of the three largest dealer
management system providers in the United States, has endorsed AskPatty.com,
Inc., an automotive Web site providing a turn-key sales and marketing
certification program to dealerships in order to...
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ARKONA PARTNERS
Arkona's dealers are invited list their new and used auto inventory for free
on Lemonfree.com.
Launched in October of 2006, Lemonfree.com has quickly
grown into a leading destination for prospective auto buyers looking for a fast,
informative used and new car search engine. With over 1.5 million searches
monthly, Arkona dealers can benefit from this traffic by listing their inventory
at no charge.
Arkona makes this process simple by providing your data as
a standard feed that can be updated onto lemonfree.com daily. All we need is
your approval to send data to lemonfree.com. For more information, send an email
to feedback@lemonfree.com.
DMS TIPS AND TRICKS
DEALER SPOTLIGHT
Driver's Village is the largest Auto Mall in New York State, occupying over
90 acres in Cicero, NY. It currently features 20 different automotive franchises
and a Used Car Superstore, surrounded by a convenient 1-mile long loop road.
The auto mall is operated by Roger Burdick, a member of one of Central New
York's oldest and most-respected automotive families. Roger's father, Glenn
Burdick, entered into the business in 1937. Over the years, Glenn's sons-David,
Roger and Jonathan-joined their father and created an automotive empire north of
Syracuse. The Burdick family combined to own and operate 22 franchises in 12
locations.
In December of 2001, Roger Burdick purchased the defunct Penn Can Mall
property in Cicero, not far from his existing dealerships. His dream was to
consolidate his dealerships on one property, improve the automotive experience,
and operate more efficiently.
The former Penn Can Mall presented an interesting challenge. The existing
mall provided more space than Roger needed, and many portions of the old mall
were in a state of disrepair. Over the next few years, he consulted with top
minds throughout North America and created the vision of what would become
Driver's Village.
After touring auto malls in California, New York, Arizona and Vancouver,
Roger and his team developed a design. M&T Bank shared Roger's vision,
became a financial partner and joined in the process of starting an automotive
revolution.
Roger began demolition and construction of the old mall in September, 2002.
In June of 2003, he opened a state-of-the-art Volkswagen dealership, and was
joined by his brother Jonathan's Hyundai store. Soon after, Driver's Village
began to take shape. Opening over the next 15 months were Audi, Porsche, Mazda,
Kia, Buick, Hummer, Isuzu, Dodge, Nissan and Mitsubishi dealerships. Driver's
Village also became home to NY's largest Collision Center, a quick service
facility (Driver's Express), and a parts & accessories store (Driver's
Expressions). During the winter of 06-07, other Burdick dealerships opened at
Driver's Village: BMW, Toyota, Scion and Lexus.
In addition to creating an auto mall, Roger Burdick created a shopping mall
Inside Driver's Village. The mall is home to a fitness facility, food court,
karate school, coffee shop, insurance agency and driving school. It's also the
home of the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame. The former mall housed a
3-theatre cinema complex that has been transformed into the finest conference
space in Central New York. The Driver's Village Commons regularly hosts
community events that range from 300 to 6000 people.
Driver's Village has fast become the number one location in Central New York
for auto sales, selling more vehicles from a single destination than any other
dealer group. Sales for 2007 are expected to approach 10,000 new & used
vehicles.
Bigger. Better. Faster. Easier. Driver's Village - it's about time. Arkona
congratulates Driver's Village on their forward-thinking and success.
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