TULSA, Okla. --- Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group has acquired the Dollar Rent A Car franchise operation at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The acquisition adds approximately 500 vehicles to the company's corporate fleet. Terms of the transaction, effective June 1, were not disclosed.

Preferred Car Rental LLC, operated by Joanne and Tom Kieffer, sold the franchise to Dollar Thrifty. Preferred has been a franchisee in the Dollar Rent A Car system since 1992, winning Dollar's President Cup award for the past seven years. The award honors the Dollar location with the top performance in revenue growth and customer service.

In 2005, the Minnesota airport served a record 37 million passengers. That number places the Twin Cities among the top 25 airport markets in the country.

The acquisition is part of a larger Dollar Thrifty strategy outlined three years ago, with a goal of securing operations in the top 75 airport markets. Since 2003, the company has taken over locations in 56 U.S. and Canadian markets. It has also opened 31 Greenfield locations. The company said that hose moves added approximately 31,000 vehicles to its rental fleet on an annualized basis.