Fletcher Jones Management Group

'Megadealer' in Irvine: When Auto Age/Dealer Business magazine listed the nation's 100 largest "megadealers" earlier this month, it listed Webb Automotive Group as being in Cerritos. But the 26th-largest group in the country, with eight dealerships and $379.2 million in 1993 sales, actually has considered Irvine its home for several years.

'Megadealer' in Irvine: When Auto Age/Dealer Business magazine listed the nation's 100 largest "megadealers" earlier this month, it listed Webb Automotive Group as being in Cerritos. But the 26th-largest group in the country, with eight dealerships and $379.2 million in 1993 sales, actually has considered Irvine its home for several years.

Fletcher Jones Management Group has agreed to pay $11.5 million in cash and notes to acquire the assets and franchise of bankrupt Jim Slemons Imports, one of the nation's largest Mercedes-Benz dealers. The deal has been approved by Slemons Imports' largest secured creditor, Tokai Credit Corp., and by Mercedes-Benz of North America. But it still must get the blessing of a federal bankruptcy judge. Slemons Imports, which reported revenue of $110.2 million last year, including $61.

The sale of venerable Slemons Imports to the Fletcher Jones Management Group of Las Vegas was completed Wednesday, nearly four months after Orange County's oldest Mercedes-Benz dealership declared bankruptcy. Fletcher (Ted) Jones Jr., a principal of the 12-dealership Jones chain, will serve as general manager of the new Fletcher Jones Motor Cars--which will continue to do business as Newport Beach's only Mercedes dealership in the former Slemons facility.

The sale of venerable Slemons Imports to the Fletcher Jones Management Group of Las Vegas was completed Wednesday, nearly four months after Orange County's oldest Mercedes-Benz dealership declared bankruptcy. Fletcher (Ted) Jones Jr., a principal of the 12-dealership Jones chain, will serve as general manager of the new Fletcher Jones Motor Cars--which will continue to do business as Newport Beach's only Mercedes dealership in the former Slemons facility.

The proposed sale of Jim Slemons Imports to Las Vegas-based Fletcher Jones Management Group for $11.5 million was rejected Wednesday in federal bankruptcy court, leaving the fate of one of the nation's largest Mercedes-Benz dealerships in doubt. The ruling by bankruptcy Judge John Wilson came at the end of a nearly four-hour hearing during which attorneys for Newport Beach-based Slemons Imports and its chief creditor, Tokai Credit Corp., argued unsuccessfully for the sale.

A last-minute deal that provides at least $400,000 for unsecured creditors will keep bankrupt Jim Slemons Imports from being closed at least until an Oct. 21 bankruptcy court hearing decides the fate of the new plan, the attorney for the luxury auto dealer said Wednesday. And that hearing could turn into a spirited auction, bankruptcy lawyer William Lobel said.

Sneaky Bush! Why did I have to read 10 pages on the Senate hearings and turn to Page A22 to find out that Bush had vetoed the jobless extension bill? The timing was perfect since everybody was watching the hearings or preoccupied with it. Your paper did exactly what Bush wanted you to do--bury the news! LEO AUSCHEL, Newport Beach

Talks Continue on Proposed Sale of Slemons Imports: Officials at Jim Slemons Imports said Tuesday that negotiations were continuing as creditors of the bankrupt Mercedes Benz dealership attempt to resolve an impasse that has blocked the proposed sale of the operation. The talks center on unsecured creditors attempts to obtain repayment of some of the approximately $1.5 million they are owed.

"Look out there," the salesman said, gesturing with a jerk of his head toward the showroom window. "It's been a long time since we've had that many people here at one time." That many people was six, each accompanied by a salesman and each looking over the selection of new cars and trucks shining under the lights at the balloon-festooned Nissan of Cypress lot on a recent weeknight.

Sneaky Bush! Why did I have to read 10 pages on the Senate hearings and turn to Page A22 to find out that Bush had vetoed the jobless extension bill? The timing was perfect since everybody was watching the hearings or preoccupied with it. Your paper did exactly what Bush wanted you to do--bury the news! LEO AUSCHEL, Newport Beach

A last-minute deal that provides at least $400,000 for unsecured creditors will keep bankrupt Jim Slemons Imports from being closed at least until an Oct. 21 bankruptcy court hearing decides the fate of the new plan, the attorney for the luxury auto dealer said Wednesday. And that hearing could turn into a spirited auction, bankruptcy lawyer William Lobel said.

The proposed sale of Jim Slemons Imports to Las Vegas-based Fletcher Jones Management Group for $11.5 million was rejected Wednesday in federal bankruptcy court, leaving the fate of one of the nation's largest Mercedes-Benz dealerships in doubt. The ruling by bankruptcy Judge John Wilson came at the end of a nearly four-hour hearing during which attorneys for Newport Beach-based Slemons Imports and its chief creditor, Tokai Credit Corp., argued unsuccessfully for the sale.

Fletcher Jones Management Group has agreed to pay $11.5 million in cash and notes to acquire the assets and franchise of bankrupt Jim Slemons Imports, one of the nation's largest Mercedes-Benz dealers. The deal has been approved by Slemons Imports' largest secured creditor, Tokai Credit Corp., and by Mercedes-Benz of North America. But it still must get the blessing of a federal bankruptcy judge. Slemons Imports, which reported revenue of $110.2 million last year, including $61.

She has been in office barely a week--the "Good Luck" balloon still floats above the vase of roses on her desk--and Jan Laverty Jones, the city's first woman mayor, is already beset by a nasty scandal. The imbroglio, which involves a newly elected councilman, made for scintillating news throughout the campaign.