9/21/2004 6:31:00 AM
Wireless Computer With Head-Worn See-Through Display is driving
increased service productivity and superior customer service at JM
Lexus in Margate, FL
BOTHELL, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Sept. 21, 2004–
Microvision Inc. (Nasdaq:MVIS) announced today that its Nomad
Expert Technician System is in use at JM Lexus, Margate, FL, the
largest Lexus auto dealer in the country. The Nomad System is the
world’s first wearable, wireless computer with a head-worn,
see-through display, providing automotive technicians and service
advisors with hands-free access to online vehicle history and repair
information while they work on vehicles or consult with customers.
Service personnel can provide faster, more accurate service and
repairs with critical information superimposed on their vision as they
work.
JM Lexus, in Margate, FL, has been the number one Lexus retailer
in the world for the last 11 years. The dealership jumped to 5th on
the 2001 Ward’s Dealer 500 ranking from 11th on the 2000 list. JM
Lexus also boasts extraordinarily high customer satisfaction and owner
loyalty ratings. In September 2003, JMFE appeared for the second time
on the InformationWeek 500 listing of the nation’s leading information
technology innovators.
Ranked by Forbes magazine as the 15th-largest privately held
company in the United States, JM Family Enterprises, Inc. (JMFE)
(www.jmfamily.com), headquartered in Deerfield Beach, Florida, is a
recognized leader in the automotive industry. JMFE is a $7.7 billion
force in the automotive industry with over 3,600 associates. JMFE owns
Southeast Toyota Distributors (SET), the world’s largest privately
owned distributor of Toyota vehicles, parts and accessories operating
in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
According to Tom Sanko, Microvision VP of Marketing, JM Lexus has
agreed to share its Nomad Expert Technician System experience with
other dealers and the media. “We are also getting ‘before and after
Nomad’ productivity and quality metrics to demonstrate the
effectiveness of the Nomad installation,” Sanko said. “JM Lexus is a
premier reference account for the Nomad System. A member of the Elite
of Lexus for its superior customer service, JM Lexus was the first new
car dealership in the nation to be named a J.D. Power and Associates
certified Retailer. They have consistently leveraged cutting-edge
technology to deliver superior quality and customer value.”
Dave Mullen, VP and General Manager, for JM Lexus stated, “We’ve
found Nomad to be such a compelling information tool for the
technicians that we plan to feature it in our upcoming ad campaign
because it helps us provide better service to our clients. We are
finding new uses for the Nomad every week. For example, our service
techs use the Nomad system for not only researching online Lexus
Technical Service Bulletins, campaigns, and technical specifications,
but they are clocking on and off of repair orders to expedite the
service history and billing process. It also enables them to ‘work
while they are waiting’ by filling out ‘electronic paperwork’ such as
cause and correction reports while waiting in line for parts. The
Nomad allows the technicians to spend more time working on a vehicle
and less time in front of a computer terminal.”
According to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA),
total dealership revenue reached almost $700 billion in 2003. Service
and parts departments contributed 46% of total operating profits at
the average dealership.
There were 25,200 separate new car dealer franchises listed in the
1997 U.S. Economic Census. Worldwide there are an estimated 73,000 new
car dealerships, 3,200 heavy truck dealers, 448,000 Repair Shops, and
48,000 tire dealers. In total these enterprises employ more than 1.37
million technicians, with 875,000 technicians employed in the U.S. by
new car dealers and aftermarket repair shops.
About Microvision: www.microvision.com
Headquartered in Bothell, Wash., Microvision Inc. is the developer
of highly patented scanned beam technology for display and imaging
applications. The company’s technology has applications in a broad
range of military, medical, industrial, professional and consumer
information products.
Forward Looking Statement
Certain statements contained in this release, including potential
market opportunity and potential product benefits, are forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected in the company’s forward-looking statements include the
following: market acceptance of our technologies and products; our
ability to obtain financing; our financial and technical resources
relative to those of our competitors; our ability to keep up with
rapid technological change; government regulation of our technologies;
our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights and protect
our proprietary technologies; the ability to obtain additional
contract awards and to develop partnership opportunities; the timing
of commercial product launches; the ability to achieve key technical
milestones in key products; and other risk factors identified from
time to time in the company’s SEC reports, including in its Annual
Report on 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003, and its Quarterly
Reports on Form 10-Q.
CONTACT: Microvision Inc.
Matt Nichols, 425-415-6657 (media)
or
Brian Heagler, 425-415-6794 (investors)
SOURCE: Microvision Inc.