Auto Exchange adding lots, shop in Lawrence

A used-car business is expanding its reach and offerings in Lawrence.

Auto Exchange, 1225 E. 23rd St., plans to open an affiliated business — After Market Unlimited — in a new building going up between the car lot and the Rock Chalk Car Wash.

The new shop, above, is expected to open within a month, offering auto accessories, spoilers and paintless dent removal services, said Sean Voth, general manager of Auto Exchange. Working in the shop will be Jim Vinyard, shop president; Aaron Hilderman, vice president; and two paint specialists.

Auto Exchange also continues work on adding two new lots for used cars: the former Site service station at the northwest corner of 23rd Street and Haskell Avenue; and the former Wright’s Wallcovering lot at the southwest corner of 33rd and Iowa streets.

Auto Exchange has not set a firm timeline for opening the additional two car lots.

Wireless

Sprint calls upon Vitale’s hoops hysteria

The madness of March soon could be ringing in your ears — on bus trips, in the grocery aisle, even the movie theater.

Exclusive Dick Vitale ringers — with the pervasive ESPN hoops analyst screaming “AWESOME, BABY!” or “DIPSEY-DOO, DUNK-A-ROO!” — are available for downloading onto Sprint PCS Vision phones, the Overland Park-based company said Thursday.

Fourteen of Vitale’s famous — some say infamous — sayings are in the lineup of “College Hoops” ringers available for use by Sprint’s 6.2 million users of PCS Vision phones. Also available for purchase: college basketball scores and news from CBS Sportsline and ESPN, and college fight-song ringers and college and university logo screen savers.

Mortgages

30-year rates reach seven-month high

Rates on 30-year mortgage rates hit the highest level in seven months, reflecting four straight weeks of rising rates, a national mortgage survey reported Thursday.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, said its weekly survey showed that rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages averaged 5.85 percent this week, up from 5.79 percent last week.