 News of April 25, 1999
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| GM- Chevrolet
Monte Carlo, Jay Leno gear up to pace INDY 500 |
April 21, 1999 - Chevrolet hosted a press conference yesterday at Indianapolis Motor
Speedway to celebrate the all-new 2000 Monte Carlo pace car and its celebrity driver, Jay
Leno. The host of "The Tonight Show" will drive the pace car for the
Indianapolis 500 on May 30. Leno had a pace car practice session, tutored by none other
than racing great/pace car driver Parnelli Jones and Jon Moss, manager of GM Specialty
Vehicles. The practice session was followed by several interviews with Leno and a press
conference that included comments by Leno; Don Parkinson, Monte Carlo brand manager; and
Tom Pyden, Chevy's director of communications. |
The new 2000 Monte Carlo Pace Car |
| "I've had a lot of thrilling experiences in my lifetime, but I can't
wait to drive the Chevrolet Monte Carlo around the track for the 83rd running of the Indy
500," says Leno. "I'm thankful to Chevrolet and IMS for this once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity." This will be the 12th time the bowtie has paced the Indy 500 since
1948 -- a record among all manufacturers. "This year's pace car will be seen on the
track before our customers can buy the production version of the 2000 Monte Carlo at our
showrooms this September," says Parkinson. "Many times, a car will be chosen to
pace a race simply because it's the newest in a lineup, and other than that there is no
direct tie-in. Well, Monte Carlo follows a much different attitude because Monte Carlo has
been born and bred to race. It's the winningest nameplate in NASCAR history. In fact, its
winning percentage is 70 percent better than the next nearest competitor."
|
BMW: James
Bond 007 to drive Z8
|
| Munich, 9.4.1999 -- The film world’s most successful secret agent,
Bond, James Bond, will be driving the stunning new BMW Z8 in "The World is Not
Enough", the 19th in the series of Bond films, the premiere of which is scheduled for
November 1999. This thoroughbred BMW sports car is as elegant and smooth as Agent 007
himself, and with a six-speed transmission and a 400-horsepower V-8 engine, it outraces
the bad guys with thrilling speed. The first photo shows the Z 07 design study, seen for
the first time at the Tokyo Motor Show. Suspense is already building up with regard to the
final version, due to reach the showrooms early in 2000. Inspired by the legendary BMW
507, the Z8 is also a two-seat open sports car, capable of communicating its character as
the "ultimate driving machine" to the film's hero in no uncertain terms. The
long, sleek engine compartment and streamlined body design flow through to a powerful,
muscular rear end.
"The World is Not Enough is BMW´s third collaboration with the popular Bond film
franchise. BMW launched the Z3 roadster in the 1995 Bond film "GoldenEye", the
seventeenth in the series. The enormous demand for that vehicle, which achieved an
outstanding level of popularity through the Bond movie, resulted in the car selling out
completely in its first production year, and it today being the best selling roadster in
the world. Up till now BMW has built more than 170,000 BMW roadsters, manufactured in
Spartanburg, South Carolina (USA), that have been exported to 120 countries around the
world.
Bond drove the luxurious 750iL in Tomorrow Never Dies and also rode a BMW R 1200 C
Cruiser motorcycle with Bond girl Michelle Yeoh in some of the film´s most memorable
scenes. In 1998, the Cruiser was the best-seller of BMW's motorcycles worldwide.
|
Volvo
Trucks’ Deliveries January-March 1999
|
Volvo, April 20, 1999 - Volvo Trucks' deliveries up to March1999 recorded
a total of 19,799 units, an increase of 3 per cent compared with the same period last
year. Sales showed the following distribution:
| |
1998 |
1999 |
|
| Europe, total |
9,251 |
10,751 |
+16 |
| of which Western Europe |
8,351 |
10,319 |
+24 |
| Eastern Europe |
900 |
432 |
-52 |
| North America |
6,698 |
7,446 |
+11 |
| South America |
1,861 |
889 |
-52 |
| Asia |
1,023 |
452 |
-56 |
| Other markets |
465 |
261 |
-44 |
| Total |
19,298 |
19,799 |
+3 |
Increased deliveries in Western Europe and North America compensated lower volumes in
South America, Asia and Eastern Europe. The order intake during March was on the same high
level as the year
before. |
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