(8/19/04) AVANTI MOTOR ON THE SELLING BLOCK

(Webmaster Note: The following was excerpted from a news article by PÉRALTE C. PAU L in t he Atlanta Journal-Constitution, published on 08/17/04)

Avanti Motor Corp., the Villa Rica-based maker of high-end sports cars, is for sale, according to reports from some auto dealers.

The privately held company wants to find a buyer by Oct. 31, according to an Aug. 9 letter Avanti sent to its U.S. dealers.

Company officials did not return telephone calls seeking comment Monday.

Allison Walden, the owner of Automaxx Fine Cars in Hampton, Va., one of Avanti's U.S. car retailers, said dealers were told they could continue to place orders.

Walden's dealership sold four Avanti vehicles last year, priced between $59,000 and $75,000.

"It's not supposed to have any effect on us," Walden said. "If they don't sell it, they're going to continue to manufacture cars."

News of the sale was first reported in this week's Automotive News, a trade publication.

The company employs about 40 people in Villa Rica, located about 40 miles west of Atlanta in Carroll County.

Avanti's plan to sell caught some county officials by surprise. Kenneth J. O'Neill, president and chief executive of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, said he was unaware of it.

"It's obviously an important part of the economy," he said. "[But] It's not a large company in terms of employment."

Avanti, which traces its roots to the early 1960s at the former Studebaker Corp., makes its namesake Avanti sports car that sells for between $79,000 and $93,000.

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