By Katie Stallcup

Published: March 18, 2008

A man drove off with a dealership’s car Tuesday afternoon.

The man was test driving a 1996 Saturn SL1, two-door, with a salesman at approximately 1:30 p.m. when he stopped at a gas station, Auburn police Assistant Chief Tommy Dawson said.

“Once the salesman got out, (the driver) proceeded to flee the area,” he said. “He drove off, and we’re still looking for him.”

The man is described as a white male in his early 20s, Dawson said.

“Hopefully, it’ll turn up somewhere, someone will catch this individual driving,” he said. “He was last seen in the Glenn (Avenue) and Dean (Road) area of Auburn … (Investigators) have questioned another person, but at this point, I couldn’t say he’s involved.”

Dawson said a region-wide lookout for the vehicle and driver has been issued.

Officers recovered another stolen vehicle in the area. They suspect the man was driving it before he went to the dealership, Dawson said.

The man came to the dealership asking for an inexpensive car to get him to Florida, Auburn Mazda General Manager Keith Schwarzauer said.

“He got in it with the salesman,” Schwarzauer said. “Right before they got to (a gas station), the customer said a light was on.”

When the salesman got out to ask gas station employees for water for the engine, the man drove off.

“The biggest thing we were concerned about was the salesman, and he was OK,” Schwarzauer said. “We can replace the car. We can’t replace the person.”

Since it opened in its Opelika Road location in 1991, the dealership has never had that happen before, he said.