PORTLAND, OR – Beginning January 1, Brasher's Cascade Auto Auction will change its identity — in name only. After the first of the year, the auction will become Brasher's Portland Auto Auction, dropping "Cascade", the identifier the auction has used since its inception almost 16 years ago.

Brasher's management is quick to point out that the name change doesn't alter the quality of operations or services that hundreds of participating dealers have come to expect on a weekly basis. The reason for the change lies in geographical recognition.

"Representatives of our auction frequently find themselves in front of bank, finance and fleet accounts across the nation that don't know where 'Cascade' is," explains Jerry Hinton, the auction's general manager. "When we tell them we are from Brasher's Portland Auto Auction, the guesswork is removed and our customers will know where to find us without further explanation."

The name and logo change have been in the works for about five months and had to be approved by the National Auto Auction Association. With this completed, Brasher's has begun the transition that will take full effect on January 1.

"It will take a few weeks to get used to the new name," says Hinton. "But in no time it will roll off the tongue as if Brasher's Portland Auto Auction was the name we've always used."

Brasher's Portland Auto Auction will celebrate its renaming with an auction event on January 21 featuring over 1200 vehicles with key consignment from VW Credit and Audi Financial Services. At this event, Brasher's will be giving out apparel with the new auction name and logo along with traditional food and prizes that accompany these types of Brasher's party-sale events.

The auction was launched by Larry Brasher in 1993 in Lake Oswego, a Portland suburb. Operating in a renovated truck facility with four lanes, the auction held its weekly dealer consignment sale in Lake Oswego until 1995, when it moved to a state-of-the-art facility in Wood Village, near Portland's International Airport.

The auction is a member of ServNet, a premier group of independent auto auctions from across the United States. The auction also participates in Auction Pipeline, where customers may view detailed condition reports, market report information and participate in online sales.