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COLORADO

            The Denver-area market is among the top 10 nationwide for hybrid-vehicle ownership, an R.L. Polk & Co. study showed.  Denver ranked No. 10, accounting for 1.9 percent of hybrid volume in the United States. The top nine cities were San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, and San Diego.

            The Phil Long Dealership group, with 21 locations along the Front Range, has reworked its sales process to create lifelong customers, company officials said.  The new approach focuses on price, payment, trade-in, maintenance, and dealer location.  The marketing slogan is "My Phil Long - My Ride - My Way."  Part of the package includes free oil changes for the first two years of ownership or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first, said Scott Frederick, parts manager of Phil Long Ford of Motor City in Colorado Springs.

            Highline Motors of Fort Collins recently received the Colorado Independent Auto Dealers Association's (CIADA) "Quality Dealer of the Year" award.  The award was presented at CIADA's 65th convention. 

            The Rocky Mountain Fleet Management Association (RMFMA), a nonprofit group that serves fleet managers in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, has elected its 2007 officers.  Coloradoans elected include: David Anderson, chair; Judy Workman, board member; Jeff Hajdu, president; Ken Mannon, Treasurer; and Gayle Patterson, secretary.

WarrenTech held its district SkillsUSA competition in Collision Technology last month.  The event included a series of written and hands-on competitions, said Warren Tech Auto Collision Technology Instructor Laura Angell.  The winners for the post-secondary division were: first place, Mario Smith; second place, Luther Baumer; and third place, John Swenson.  The secondary division winners were: first place, Simon Benedict; a tie for second, Roger Clements and Thomas Rausch; and third, Seth Bussow.  The winning students will advance to the Colorado Leadership and Skills Championships at Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs on April 19-20.    

Arapahoe Community College (ACC) in Littleton also held a district SkillsUSA competition for secondary Automotive Technology students on Feb. 23.  The participating students represented ACC's Arapahoe/Douglas Career Technical School (ACTS), Smoky Hill High School, and Overland High School.  Post secondary students competed on Feb. 26.  The secondary winners were: first place, Jon Sanderson, ACTS; second place, Teren Helfner, ACTS; and third, Chris Ely, Smoky Hill.  Post-secondary winners were: first place, Matt Howard, an ACC apprentice who works at Joe Ferguson Pontiac Buick GMC in Colorado Springs; second place, Jeff Schreiner, a first-year ACC apprentice who works at Weld County Garage in Greeley; and third place, Ryan Lewis, an ACC apprentice who works at Burt Chevrolet in Parker.

            Toyota Motor Corp. is bringing its nationwide tour, Highway to the Future: Mobile Hybrid Experience, to the Denver International Auto Show on March 29-April 1.  The tour is designed to show consumers automotive hybrid technology by letting them test-drive the vehicles.  For more information or the schedule of events, visit www.toyota.com/highway.

            Panda Ethanol Inc. announced that its Yuma subsidiary has signed a construction agreement with Lurgi Inc. to build Panda's 105-million-gallon-a-year denatured ethanol facility in Yuma.  On closing the deal, Lurgi will start construction, estimated to take 18 months.  This marks the second agreement between the two companies, which are constructing an ethanol facility in Hereford, Texas.

NEW MEXICO

            The New Mexico International Auto Show is returning to Albuquerque on April 20 through April 22.  The event will be held at the Albuquerque Convention Center.  A charity preview night benefiting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation of New Mexico will be at 6:30 p.m. April 19, before the public opening.

            Tesla Motors has selected Albuquerque as the site of its new $35 million assembly facility, which will create 400 high-paying jobs, officials said.  The San Carlos, Calif.-based company will produce its zero-emissions two-seat roadster at the Albuquerque facility.  The new jobs will pay from $24,000 to $100,000 a year, with benefits and stock options.

            Todd Fierro, a former Ford Motor Co. executive, has joined Albuquerque-based Eclipse Aviation Corp. to serve as its vice president of manufacturing.  Fierro led the launch of the Ford F-series truck and was involved in the production of the Focus and Taurus.

WYOMING

            O'Reilly Auto Parts is planning to open a store in Gillette.  David Turney, director of internal audit for O'Reilly, said the store would be completed sometime in 2007.