Oct. 13--A year after big changes began at Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group Inc., executives said Monday that the Tulsa automobile rental company is diversifying its fleet, dividing its 2010 purchases among a variety of U.S. and foreign automakers.

The inventory changes triggered a positive response on Wall Street: Dollar Thrifty shares hit a 52-week high of $27.50 before closing at $26.33, up 15 cents or 0.57 percent. The company's 52-week low share price was 60 cents, recorded March 3.

Diverging from longtime agreements with Chrysler Corp., its dominant supplier, Dollar Thrifty executives said the company would spread its 2010 vehicle orders from a previous 85 percent reliance on Chrysler to a mixture of Ford Motor Co., Chrysler, General Motors, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia and other vehicles.

Dollar Thrifty President and CEO Scott L. Thompson said: "One of our primary goals for 2009 was to diversify our fleet in order to mitigate the various risks associated with concentration of inventory from any individual suppliers, while at the same time providing our customers with a broader array of options to meet their individual needs. We are pleased to have achieved this objective in a relatively short time frame.

"We believe the diversification of our fleet suppliers makes Dollar Thrifty a more stable employer for Tulsa, while also providing our customers with the broadest selection of products to serve their rental needs.

"As a former subsidiary of Chrysler, this really is a milestone in the company's long

and rich history."

The last year has been tumultuous for Dollar Thrifty: Its board of directors replaced CEO Gary L. Paxton with Thompson; Standard & Poor's and Moody's lowered its corporate credit rating; it cut its work force by 6 percent; and its stock was nearly delisted by the New York Stock Exchange.

But Thompson noted that Dollar Thrifty and its 7,000 employees -- including 700 in Tulsa -- persevered.

"During the last 12 months, your company has faced the most erratic winds and we may have had one of our finest hours," he said in a memo to employees.

"So, today take a minute -- only one minute -- and think about the year we've had. Think about Oct. 13, 2008 vs. Oct. 13, 2009.

"A year ago today, the company set off on (a) new direction full of uncertainty, vagueness and ambiguity. We were in the midst of a storm like few have ever seen. Our 97-cent stock price was actually the least of our problems."

The company's troubles began with high jet fuel prices in the summer of 2008 that caused airlines to cut capacity. The collapse of the credit markets further depressed travel, leading to the bankruptcy of a Florida tour operator, a business partner of Dollar Thrifty's.

In the late fall and winter, Dollar Thrifty restructured its debt. It also reached agreement with its rating agencies and creditors to diversify its vehicle fleet.

"With this amendment," Thompson said in February, "the company obtains maximum flexibility in purchasing vehicles.

"We will be able to make fleet purchase decisions based on the most favorable purchase economics available in a rapidly changing marketplace, rather than a predetermined mix of GDP (guaranteed depreciation program) and risk vehicles."

Dollar Thrifty executives said the company continues to see improvement in fleet depreciation costs per vehicle because of improving residual values in the used-vehicle market, as well as more favorable prices on 2010 vehicles.

Executives said they had established a goal of achieving an average fleet cost of $350 per vehicle per month sometime during 2010.

It now appears that fleet costs will be less than that for the third and fourth quarters of 2009, they said.

Vehicle diversity Dollar Thrifty's 010 fleet purchases will include a mix of manufacturers:

--34 percent of new vehicles from Ford.

--30 percent from Chrysler.

--20 percent from general Motors.

--10 percent from hyundai, Kia and other manufacturers.

--6 percent from Nissan

D.R. Stewart 581-8451 don.stewart@tulsaworld.com

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