BIRMINGHAM, Ala., May 14 – Local, state and national Honda executives will attend the unveiling of a new concept automotive dealership at Tameron Honda in Hoover Thursday.

Thomas M. Acheson, chairman and CEO of the Tameron Automotive Group, will host executives from the American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC, area business leaders and distinguished guests at the event. The new Tameron Honda facility, which features the largest Honda inventory in the state of Alabama, includes an expanded service lounge, a business center for customers to use and even a children’s activity center.

"The remodeled Tameron Honda facility represents a new concept in high-tech and convenient automobile dealerships," said Thomas M. Acheson, chairman and CEO of the Tameron Automotive Group, Inc. "We’ve been proud to serve the customers across the area for more than 30 years, and this new facility represents our continued commitment to the greater Birmingham community."

Richard Colliver, executive vice president of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., said, "We have two great enterprises…a newly remodeled and gleaming dealership here at Tameron, and a great new factory to soon open its doors in Lincoln, Ala. Both of them can stand as symbols together of our new commitment here in Alabama." Colliver is American Honda’s top sales executive, heading up both the Honda and Acura divisions of American Honda.

Charles Ernst, assistant vice president of Honda Manufacturing of Alabama, LLC, will attend the Thursday event at Tameron and update guests on the progress of the Alabama Honda plant. The project is on schedule and the plant is scheduled to open in approximately six months. The Honda plant in Alabama will begin producing 120,000 Honda Odyssey minivans and V-6 engines.

As for the new Tameron Honda, Acheson said that the facility features a café-style information center in its showroom. A business center, adjacent to the new service lounge, provides dedicated phone lines for customers to use for business and personal use. In addition, the Tameron service lounge offers a children’s activity center for the entertaining of young minds.

"We think that these features will create a more family-friendly, professional and relaxed atmosphere," said Acheson. Tameron spent approximately $1.5 million to renovate the facility. The renovation is a part of a nationwide American Honda initiative to upgrade and modernize its dealerships to make them more attractive, more customer-focused and more customer friendly.

In addition to the high-tech and customer-focused conveniences afforded at the new Tameron location, the dealership will also showcase the Honda Insight – America’s first gasoline-electric hybrid automobile. The Honda Insight achieves 68 miles per gallon on the highway and can travel 600-700 miles on a single tank of gas, significantly reducing the number of visits to the gas pump.

Tameron Automotive Group, Inc., has been a franchised dealer of American Honda Motor Co., Inc., since 1972. The company’s sales for calendar year ended Dec. 31, 2000, were $58.8 million. Tameron Honda currently has 135 employees. The dealership’s new vehicle, parts, service and body shop departments operate in a 58,200-square-foot building and its previously owned vehicle department operates in a 16,600-square-foot building. Both are located on 6.81 acres of land in Hoover, Ala.