ATL Automotive worker hands over more than $200,000 he found in customer’s Audi

Michael Edwards, service gate monitor at ATL Automotive, takes photos of a motor vehicle brought in for servicing. Edwards, whose job it is to check and record the contents of customers’ vehicles as they enter the Service Department, handed over more than $200,000 he found while checking in a customer’s Audi Q5 SUV recently.

IT could have been his lucky day, but Michael Edwards chose to follow his grandmother’s advice to be honest the day he handed over more than $200,000 he found while checking in a customer’s Audi Q5 SUV for servicing at ATL Automotive recently.

“I have my bills to pay and back-to-school expenses for my daughter are hitting me hard, but my grandmother always told me that honesty carries you through the world,” Edwards said.

 

Edwards’ job as service gate monitor is to check and record the contents of customers’ vehicles as they enter the Service Department, a position he has held at the company for the last two years.

“I was taking pictures of the vehicle and when I opened the glove compartment some huge coils of money fell out. I was surprised that someone had left so much money in a car, so I took the money to my manager,” he recalled.

Edwards prides himself on being an honest, hard worker. “Some people believe that ghetto people are dishonest. But I wouldn’t just take someone’s money and run off with it because I don’t know how they got it, so I will continue to work for mine,” he pointed out.

Having worked at other automotive dealerships, Edwards — who has been performing similar roles in the industry for the last 15 years — says he has found other valuables in customers’ vehicles, including jewellery and mobile phones.

JAGUAR RANKS SECOND AMONG INDUSTRY NAMEPLATES AND RANGE ROVER EVOQUE IS MOST APPEALING IN J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES APEAL STUDY

• Range Rover Evoque ranked Highest Entry Premium Crossover SUV

• Jaguar 2^nd highest scoring brand in industry-wide survey
• Jaguar XJ is second in the large premium car segment

• Study Measures automotive performance, execution and layout

 

 

MAHWAH, N.J., July 25, 2012 – According to J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study released today, Jaguar ranks second industry wide among nameplates in vehicle appeal and the Range Rover Evoque is most appealing in the Entry Premium Crossover SUV segment. For the second year in a row, Jaguar ranks second out of 34 brands measured in the industry – with the Jaguar XJ scoring as second highest large premium car. Land Rover placed sixth (in a tie) among 34 brands, and the new Range Rover Evoque receives the award for Most Appealing Entry Premium Crossover SUV.

“The J.D. Power and Associates APEAL study simply indicates how much your customers like their vehicles’ design, performance and features, and clearly our customers are quite smitten,” says Andy Goss, President of Jaguar Land Rover North America, LLC. “Jaguar Land Rover is dedicated, as a premium automotive company, to providing the customers of both our brands with quality vehicles that deliver extraordinary performance, innovative technology, and desirable styling.”

Jaguar is the second most improved nameplate. The gain is primarily driven by the Jaguar XJ with 901 points – one of only three models in the industry to score above 900. The Jaguar brand was also the most improved, and tied for 2^nd highest in the industry, in the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Initial Quality Study (IQS).
Land Rover placed sixth overall in the industry in a tie, showing that its lineup of luxury SUVs is well regarded by its customers. Leading the Land Rover lineup is the new Range Rover Evoque, which in its first year in the survey scored higher than all other Entry Premium Crossover SUVs. According to the survey, customers of the award-receiving Range Rover Evoque most appreciate its design and fuel economy, compared to its segment.  The Range Rover Evoque combines class-leading performance with dynamic and agile handling across all terrains. This is the 102^nd global award for the Range Rover Evoque.
The J.D. Power and Associates APEAL study examines how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive based on owner evaluations of more than 80 vehicle attributes. The study’s unique approach to measuring owner satisfaction and how much a customer likes or dislikes virtually every aspect of their new vehicle provides a powerful tool to manufacturers to influence future product development.

The 2012 APEAL study is based on responses gathered between February 2012 and May 2012 from more than 74,000 purchasers and lessees of new 2012 model-year cars and trucks who were surveyed after the first 90 days of ownership.

VOLKSWAGEN AND PORSCHE FINALIZE CREATION OF INTEGRATED AUTOMOTIVE GROUP

Wolfsburg, Germany –  The creation of the Integrated Automotive Group between Volkswagen and Porsche was finalized on August 1 as planned. “The path is now finally clear for a bright future together. Even closer cooperation will enable us to significantly strengthen Volkswagen and Porsche, and further expand the Group’s product portfolio with fascinating new vehicles”, said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft’s Board of Management, in Wolfsburg on Wednesday.

Under the structure developed jointly by Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft and Porsche Automobil Holding SE (Porsche SE), Porsche SE contributed its indirect 50.1 percent holding in Porsche AG to Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft effective August 1, 2012. Volkswagen thus holds 100 percent of the shares of Porsche AG via an intermediate holding company. The cash and share consideration of about €4.49 billion is based on the equity value of €3.88　billion for the remaining shares of Porsche　AG set out in the Comprehensive Agreement entered into in 2009, plus a number of adjustment items. Among other things, Porsche SE will be remunerated for dividend payments from its indirect stake in Porsche AG that it would have received, as well as for half of the present value of the net synergies realizable as a result of the accelerated integration, which amount to a total of approximately €320　million.

The accelerated integration of Porsche AG into the Volkswagen Group allows the implementation of Volkswagen　AG’s and Porsche　AG’s joint strategy more quickly. “The unique Porsche brand will continue to develop successfully under Volkswagen’s multibrand strategy and proven decentralized management structure. Porsche will retain its own identity and operational independence, just like all of the other Group brands”, said Winterkorn.