Lithia Motors based in Medford has appointed A.J. Wagner to its board of directors. Wagner is the former president of Ford Motor Co. North America and was a Ford vice president from 2003 to 2006. Lithia operates more than 95 stores selling about 25 brands of vehicles in 15 Western states. Lithia announced recently that it will close 10 to 15 of its 110 dealerships.

 
Certified technician Dallas Kittle recently joined the staff at Sandy Car Care Center in Sandy.

The Ford ASSET training program at Mount Hood Community College in Gresham recently received a 2003 Ford Mustang Mach 1 for its training program. The keys to the Mustang were presented to ASSET staff members by Dr. John Sygielski, a Ford Motor Co. service training instructor.

Kadel's Auto Body, a chain of collision repair shops in the Portland area, recently raised $15,000 for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oregon at its 15th annual golf outing.

The co-owner of Oswego Luxury, a dealership in Lake Oswego, has been arrested on seven counts of unlawful consignment practices. Charles Seaman, 30, faces additional charges, and the once-booming luxury-car dealership is now closed after losing its state dealer certification.

A new classic-car storage facility, The Classic Garage, has opened in Sisters under the ownership of Steve McGhehey, who also operates nearby Redstone Restoration LLC, a vehicle-restoration firm. The 10,000-square-foot highly secured storage facility offers a clubhouse and adjacent garage area for owners to perform work on their vehicles.

St. Helens resident Jeff Hamlin has invented the Chameleon fuel system that improves fuel economy in vehicles after designing 16 prototypes. One recent test of the system on a 1992 car increased fuel economy from 32 to 43 miles per gallon, Hamlin said.

Chuck's Texaco Service, the last remaining full-service gas station and repair facility in Roseburg, recently received the "Business of the Year" award from Roseburg Rotary Club. Owner Chuck McCullum has been at the business for 46 years and has owned the facility for 41 years.

We reported last month about excessive catalytic converter thefts in the Portland area. As a result of losing his own converter, Milwaukie resident Matt Hutchinson is now selling his patented Catcuff anti-theft device in the Portland area and across the country via his Web site. Ten Portland-area Meineke Car Care Centers market the product.

Lief's Auto Collision Centers based in Tigard recently opened a new facility in Salem and has leased a 6,700-square-foot facility in Lake Oswego for its sixth operation in the Portland area.

After years of planning and construction, Lum's Auto Center has moved its seven-line dealership operations from Astoria to Warrenton. The family-owned dealerships operated in Astoria for 38 years.

Les Schwab Tire Centers based in Prineville has announced a commitment to reduce the amount of toxic lead being released onto roads in the Northwest. The more than 400 Les Schwab Tire Centers in Western states will phase out the use of lead-based wheel weights for wheel balancing on passenger cars and light trucks and expects to eliminate all sales by mid-2009, replacing sales with steel weights. The firm also recycles waste tires as well as wheel weights and scrap metal under its environmental practices program.

Yokohama Tire Corp.(YTC) announced Aug. 5 that John Barinstein of West Linn is the grand prize winner of an all-expense-paid trip to Costa Rica for his entry into the ecoTreadsetters video contest promoted by the tire manufacturer. Titled "Helping the Earth-One Step at a Time," the 60-second clip stars Barinstein's sons, Nathan and Skyler, who provide tips on how people can protect the environment. "We launched ecoTreadsetters.com as parts of Yokohama's commitment to the environment as a socially responsible organization," said Fred Koplin, YTC director of marketing communications.

In memoriam: Dee Albert Thomason of Walla Walla, Wash., died recently, a day before his 87th birthday. Services were in Milton-Freewater, where he was born in 1921. In 1950, Thomason purchased Teague Motors in the Portland area, and in 1954 he converted a bowling alley in Lake Oswego to house that city's first Ford dealership. He later moved Dee Thomason Ford to Gladstone, and in 1983 he retired and sold the dealership to his son, Scott, who went on to expand that store, and others, in the Portland area. That entity was sold in 1998, and Scott Thomason now resides in San Francisco.

 
WASHINGTON
A recent grand opening of Heartland Toyota Scion in Bremerton drew a large crowd to the West Hills Auto Plex. At the ceremony, Haselwood Auto Group Manager Rick Wilder dedicated the new dealership to his father and founder of the group, Chuck Haselwood, who died in 2006 at the age of 83.