24-AUG-2004:

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WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR AWARDS

A Concept Whose Time Has Come

TORONTO, Canada - For Immediate Release - August 24, 2004

In less than six months, the inaugural World Car of the Year awards will be presented and only one vehicle will claim the title, 'World Car of the Year'.

What will it be? What country will it represent? Which manufacturer? Will it even be a car? Could it be some form of multipurpose vehicle instead?

Those questions will be answered by an international panel of 50 journalists who will review all the eligible vehicles in minute detail this fall before casting their secret ballots in January 2005.

The results will be tabulated, and maintained in strict confidence, by the international accounting firm KPMG until the winner is announced next February, in conjunction with the Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Canada.

In an increasingly global automotive environment, the World Car of the Year Award program is a concept whose time has come.

The awards program has been established to recognize and reward automotive achievements and excellence on a global scale.

To be eligible, the car must be in production, and sold in at least five countries on two continents. Since cars are introduced in different countries at different times, a new car will not be eligible until it is available in the minimum number of markets. New vehicles introduced to the market between January 1 and December 31, 2004 will be eligible for the inaugural 2005 WCOTY awards.

The 48 jury members confirmed to date are all automotive journalists of significant stature within their own regions, from all of the world's major automotive markets. They represent Japan, England, Italy, China, Thailand, Korea, France, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Poland, Norway, India, Greece, Turkey, Australia, New Zealand, as well as the USA and Canada. Brief biographies on each juror, and their photographs, can be found on the awards web site at www.wcoty.com.

A Steering Committee of six members oversaw the jury selection this past spring.

A Steering Committee of six members oversaw the jury selection this past spring.

At the official launch of the WCOTY awards on February 11, 2004, Steering Committee member Graham Johnson stated, "We do not intend for WCOTY to be, nor do we perceive the awards as being, in competition with ANY existing national, regional, or magazine-sponsored awards." The intent is for WCOTY to complement existing COTY awards and to heighten consumer awareness of those awards in their respective countries.

For more information about the WCOTY, please visit our web site at www.wcoty.com or e-mail or call Beth Xenarios, Executive Manager, at beth@ajac.ca, 1-905-342-2220.