PORTLAND, Ore. (Mar. 10, 2005) — Seven Canadian Freightliner dealers have been named 2004 Freightliner Trucks ASPIRE program award recipients.

The program — which stands for Acknowledging Sales, Parts & service, Image and Relationship Excellence — recognizes Freightliner dealers who demonstrate superior sales satisfaction, customer service, and achieve high levels of performance in all aspects of their business.

The ASPIRE Awards recognize three levels of achievement: Summit, Alpine and Peak. The Summit Award is for dealers who score in the top 5 percent; the Alpine Award is for those in the next 10 percent; and the Peak Achievement Award is for all participating dealers who earn a perfect score in key sales and parts categories.

Canadian dealers, named in the ASPIRE Summit category include: First Truck Centre, Edmonton, Alta.; and Peace Country Freightliner Grand Prairie, Alta.

In the ASPIRE Alpine group, Freightliner of Red Deer, Red Deer, Alta.; Team Truck Centres, London, Ont.; Freightliner Sterling Mont-Laurier, Mont-Laurier, Que.; Camions Freightliner Riviere-du-Loup, Riviere-du-Loup, Que.; and Mabo Truck Centre, Val D’Or, Que., were all honoured.

“Since we introduced the ASPIRE program to dealers last year, we have seen a significant increase in sales performance and marked enthusiasm throughout our dealer network,” said Mark Lampert, senior vice-president of sales and marketing.

Additionally, as part of the awards program, the 2004 Freightliner Trucks Dealer of the Year award was given to Freightliner of Evansville, Inc., located in Evansville, Ind., for displaying exceptional dedication and performance in each ASPIRE awards criterion.