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Nissan Boosts Number of Minority-Owned Dealerships

14 July 2000

    PORTLAND, Ore. - At the annual membership meeting of the National Assoc. 
of Minority Automobile Dealers being held here, Nissan North America, Inc. 
today announced the addition of four new minority-owned Nissan or Infiniti 
dealerships.  These include North Houston Infiniti, Casa de Nissan, Champion 
Nissan, Inc. and Kings Nissan.  With the addition of these dealerships, NNA has 
increased its ethnic minority-owned retailer count by 41 percent since Nissan's 
Dealer Diversity Initiative started in 1998.

    As part of its Dealer Diversity Initiative, NNA set an objective to
increase minority-owned dealerships by 25 percent and African American-owned
dealerships by 100 percent by 2002.

    North Houston Infiniti, owned by Fernando Somoza, is the largest Infiniti
facility in the world.  Somoza brings his considerable expertise as co-owner
of a Porsche-Audi dealership, a BMW-Porsche-Saab dealership and three Saturn
dealerships in Houston, to this new venture with Infiniti.

    Gonzales Automotive Group has purchased Casa de Nissan in South Gate,
Calif., the only Hispanic-owned dealership in Nissan's Southwest Region.
Silvestre Gonzales, with his son Silvestre Gonzales Jr., also has extensive
dealership experience and over the last three years, has purchased Whittier
Chrysler Plymouth Jeep, Whittier Dodge, Whittier Isuzu Kia and Casa de
Gonzales Chrysler Plymouth Jeep.

    Champion Nissan, Inc. in Scranton, Pa. was awarded to African American
dealer Steve Ewing, an 18-year veteran in the automotive industry and former
owner of several Ford dealerships in the last decade.

    The purchase of Kings Nissan by Consolidated Equities, L.L.C., marked the
first African American-owned Nissan dealership in Cincinnati.  Consolidated
Equities is comprised of partners Winston R. Pittman Sr., Sanford L. Woods,
Steve Harrell, Reginald Hubbard and Chris Doleman.

    Pittman is former president and chairman of the National Association of
Minority Automobile Dealers (NAMAD), while Woods is the organizations' current
first Vice Chairman and Chairman-elect.  Chris Doleman of the San Francisco
49ers, is an investor with Consolidated Equities.

    "At Nissan North America, we know that in order to be a profitable and
highly regarded company, we must meet the needs of an increasingly diverse
customer base," says Jed Connelly, senior vice president, sales and marketing.
"Our objectives were to establish a more diverse dealership network and we
believe, that although we still have work to do, we are on track."

    In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling,
engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing,
distribution and manufacturing.  Infiniti is supported by a network of
approximately 170 retailers throughout North America and offers a range of
luxury vehicles including the Infiniti QX4 luxury Sport Utility Vehicle,
G20 sports sedan, I30 luxury sedan, and flagship Q45 performance sedan.