TULSA AUTO COLLECTION CEO CALLS IT QUITS.

Don Thornton, a dealer who led the troubled Tulsa Auto Collection, has resigned.

Thornton stepped down as CEO of the Auto Collection Aug. 31. COO Bill Knight temporarily is leading the consolidation of Ford Motor Co. dealerships until a CEO is chosen, said Ford spokesman John Ochs.

Thornton, 65, had been a car dealer for 27 years when he gave up his independence and threw his experience behind the Auto Collection, a new retailing idea created by Ford.

In April 1998, Thornton, five other Oklahoma dealers and Ford pooled their resources to create a single sales and service entity covering the entire Tulsa market.

Ford's radical retailing …