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The Fontana Group, Inc. |
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The
Fontana Group, Inc.Introduction
The Fontana Group, Inc. has been providing management consulting and expert economic
testimony regarding the retail automobile industry and other industries since 1973.
Fontana became a wholly owned subsidiary of Mathtech, Inc. in 1994.
Fontana draws upon a wide variety of
staff skills in business, economics, market research, quantitative methods, and computer
analysis in designing solutions to client problems. We also call upon our parent company,
Mathtech, Inc., for its highly skilled staff with expertise in economics, statistics,
finance, computer software, engineering, actuarial science and others. With these
resources, The Fontana Group is well equipped to tackle the most complex business
problems.
Our reputation has led to a growing
demand for our services in support of litigation. We have appeared on behalf of clients in
more than 150 legal actions in Federal and State courts and administrative hearings.
Attorneys regularly call upon us for creative analyses, practical solutions and clear
presentations to judges and juries. Although many cases are settled before reaching trial,
The Fontana Group’s participation in a case often improves the terms of settlement.
The Fontana Group has been
headquartered in Tucson, Arizona since 1976. We also provide services out of
Mathtech’s offices in Princeton, New Jersey and Falls Church, Virginia.
Overview
The Fontana Group, Inc. is the largest company specializing nationwide (plus
Canada) in analyzing automobile dealer-manufacturer franchise issues, including:
- Add points
- Relocations
- Terminations
- Product allocation
- Buy/sell turn downs
- Warranty reimbursement
- Customer satisfaction (CSI) data
- Economic damages
We offer consulting services and
seminars on related topics:
- Site selection
- New point applications
- Analysis of R.L. Polk data
- Dealer operations
We have expertise with all domestic and
most import line makes.
We have worked for dealers in 38 states
(plus Canada) regarding 34 line makes.
Selected Areas of Expertise:
- Marketing and Market Analysis
- Economics
- Statistics
- Financial analysis
- Computer data bases
Key personnel:
- Dr. Lyman Ostlund, Founder and Chairman
of the Board
- Dr. Ernest H. Manuel, Jr., President
- Mr. Joseph Roesner, Vice President
- Dr. Jerome Bentley, Senior Fellow
Recent Experience
Automobile Related
- Analyzed customer satisfaction
(CSI) data and calculated lost profit damages for a dealer group whose purchase of an
additional store was denied by the factory due to allegedly low CSI
- Assisted Honda dealers in actions
involving unfair product allocation by Honda’s zone and regional managers who took
bribes
- Calculated lost profit damages for a
dealer who wanted to relocate one franchise and dual it at the location of another
franchise, but who was opposed by the factory
- Assisted several dealers in evaluating
alternative store locations
- Provided seminars for dealer groups on
automobile franchise and marketing issues
- Assisted relocating dealer in developing
reasonable sales objectives for the new location
- Conducted market study for group of
dealers who were protesting the addition of another dealership in their market which is
already exceeding both state and national market penetration
- Calculated lost profit damages for a
dealer whose business was disrupted by a fire in a new vehicle displayed in his showroom
- Calculated lost profit damages for a
Ford dealer who lost sales as a result of hundreds of unauthorized Ford sales by the
nearby Lincoln-Mercury dealer
- Assisted dealers who the factory wanted
to terminate for alleged poor sales performance
- Assisted dealer in opposing sweetheart
award of a new point to a retiring factory executive
- Assisted dealer groups in several states
with suggestions on changes to state automobile franchise laws
- Assisted dealers in consultations with
the factory concerning methods for assigning planning volumes to dealers in a multiple
point
- Assisted dealer group in acquiring
dealership out of bankruptcy that factory allegedly wanted to close
- Provided on-site consulting to
dealership seeking ways to increase new vehicle sales
- Analyzed Toyota’s allocation system
and calculated lost profit damages for several Toyota dealerships who subsequently
obtained large judgments or settlements against Toyota and/or Southeast Toyota
Distributors regarding unfair product allocations and other unfair practices
- Calculated lost profit damages for a
dealer in a libel suit against his local municipality
- Assisted dealers affected by factory
initiatives under Project 2000
- Calculated lost profit damages for a
dealer who received a letter of intent that the manufacturer later cancelled
- Calculated lost profit damages for a
dealer who was injured by the illegal sales of new vehicles by a broker
Other
- Calculated lost profit damages for
franchised auto parts stores injured by unfair competition from franchisor-owned stores
- Calculated lost profit damages for
distributors injured by actions of their manufacturers
- Calculated lost profit damages for a
software company libeled by a competitor
Expert Witness Testimony
Dr. Ernest H. Manuel, Jr. and Dr. Lyman
Ostlund have testified or submitted affidavits in many administrative hearings, State
courts and Federal courts throughout the country, based upon studies by The Fontana Group,
Inc. and Mathtech, Inc. Other staff have also testified as experts in economics,
statistics, labor markets, computers and other subjects in numerous proceedings.
Contact us at:
3509 North Campbell Avenue
Tucson, AZ 85719
Telephone: (520) 325-9800
Facsimile: (520) 325-9847
E-Mail: tfgi@fontanagroup.com |
