An ambulance driver who was charged with speeding while delivering a life-saving organ is to plead not guilty.

Mike Ferguson was not in court as a letter from his defence team was read out asking for an adjournment of the case for a trial date to be fixed.

The senior driver with West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service could lose his licence, or even his job, if the prosecution against him goes ahead.

The 56-year-old was in an official vehicle with blue lights flashing when he was allegedly clocked at 104mph on the A1 in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire.

Mr Ferguson, who has an unblemished record of over 30 years' service, had been asked to transport a liver from St James's Hospital in Leeds to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge in the early hours of January 16.

He was charged with speeding by Lincolnshire Police and his case was opened at Grantham Magistrates' Court today.

A letter from Mr Ferguson's defence team was read out to the court by the clerk, asking for an adjournment.

The prosecution did not oppose the move and the case was adjourned for two weeks, for a trial date to be fixed on June 11.

The 0 percent loans, for up to 60 months, will be offered in conjunction with what Chrysler described in a statement as its single largest national sales program, a three-month advertising campaign that automaker said would cost it about $100 million.

The campaign, dubbed the "Summer Sales Drive," will include more than two dozen new 30-second TV ads, new radio spots and a new national print campaign, Chrysler said.

In addition to free financing on most Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles, the company said it would also continue offering cash rebates totaling as much as $4,500 on some new cars and light trucks.

The advertising and incentives campaign comes against the backdrop of cutthroat competition in the auto industry, which has seen a renewed and costly incentives push in recent months as automakers seek to prop up sagging sales and offset the effects of the sluggish U.S. economy.

Jim Schroer, who resigned as Chrysler's top marketing and sales executive last Friday, had been a leading critic of big rebates and cheap financing deals, saying they were destroying the profitability of Detroit's automakers.

DaimlerChrysler has dropped all claims against General Motors that the design of the Hummer H2's grille infringed on the Jeep grille design.

DaimlerChrysler claimed the H2 grille, which features seven vertical slots, looked too much like the Jeep grille design, which also contains seven vertical slots.

In February 2002 the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana denied a request by DaimlerChrysler for a preliminary injunction against GM over the grille design issue.

DaimlerChrysler appealed that ruling, but was turned down last November by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

On May 19, DaimlerChrysler agreed to a final judgement in the case in the U.S. District Court.

The dispute revolved around the shared history of Hummer and Jeep. The former American Motors Corp. purchased Jeep in 1969, establishing a military vehicle division called AM General and a separate Jeep division for mass-market vehicles.

In 1982, American Motors spun off AM General. The former Chrysler Corp. purchased American Motors, including Jeep, in 1987.

AM General developed the Humvee for the military, and later the Hummer for civilian customers. AM General, an independent company, assembles the H1 and H2, but GM owns the brand and marketing rights.

A 1999 Camero was stolen 14 months ago from the parking lot of the apartment building where Danny, 15, lives with his father. When Danny grabbed the old set of keys by mistake to get inside his father's car, the doors to the car parked next to it unlocked.

The Camero was a different color and had a different identification number than the stolen vehicle, but the boy's father says his neighbor stole the car, Flink reported.

Admitting its past blunders in a newspaper and magazine campaign is an unorthodox attempt by GM to attract the roughly 40 percent of auto buyers it says won't even consider GM products.

Ads will begin running next week in USA Today, the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other national and regional publications. TV ads may follow.

In part, GM is trying to polish an image tarnished by low-quality cars such as the Chevrolet Chevette and Citation. Many GM cars of the 1980s and 1990s were notorious for oil leaks and premature paint flaking -- the kind of defects that can aggravate consumers. GM has received a boost in recent years due to gains in vehicle-quality studies.

The campaign, which GM calls "The Road to Redemption," will be about "5 percent mea culpa and 95 percent what's good about GM," said John Middlebrook, GM vice president of brand marketing, in a news conference Wednesday.

"We were looking for something jarring, and the most jarring thing was the hard truth," said Dave Moore, chief creative officer at McCann-Erickson Detroit, the local ad firm that created the campaign. "Saying that '20 years ago we had some really bad products, but we've learned our lesson' is a pretty unconventional thing to admit in an ad."

GM has narrowed the gap between it and Toyota Motor Corp. -- the company recognized as best in initial vehicle quality by J.D. Power and Associates -- by 58 percent in the past four years. The study measures quality problems in the first three months a vehicle is owned. In J.D. Power's 2003 study, released this month, GM again topped its domestic rivals, recording an average of 134 problems per 100 vehicles -- one more than the industry average. Toyota repeated as the automaker with the highest overall initial quality, with an average of 115 problems per 100 vehicles.

GM has, however, continued to lag further behind the industry in J.D. Power's long-term vehicle durability studies.

"That's a real advantage for Toyota and Honda, and you could argue is the most important thing when a person is deciding what to buy next," said Joe Ivers, partner at J.D. Power. "How the product does in year three, four or five is a big deal to the car buyer, and GM has had a harder time there."

A J.D. Power study showed in 2002 about 200,000 vehicle buyers left GM for Japanese-made vehicles, while only 75,000 switched to GM from its foreign counterparts.

Nonetheless, the GM ad campaign will try to attract buyers of rivals' cars and trucks by highlighting GM gains in initial quality studies, said Gary Cowger, GM president of North America.

"We may not have done everything right in the past, but we've learned from it," Cowger said. "It's a corporate-wide communication effort to close the gap between perception and reality."

He said two factors -- GM's past reputation for poor quality and family traditions of driving only an Asian or European vehicle -- keep four out of 10 new-vehicle buyers from even considering GM.

The text-heavy, two-page ad states: "Thirty years ago, GM quality was the best in the world. Twenty years ago it wasn't." Another part of the ad talks about "learning some humbling lessons from our competitors."

The ad campaign builds on recent GM efforts to attract consumers by allowing them to take GM vehicles home for an overnight test drive and by inviting owners of competing vehicles to events where they can test drive new cars and trucks.

"The road to redemption has no finish line," the ad says. "But it does have a corner. And it's fair to say we've turned it."

Companies don't typically admit their mistakes in their ads, a local marketing expert says.

"If you think back to Tylenol, they admitted problems with tampered bottles, but most are like Exxon, which never did an ad to admit mistakes so openly. This is unique by GM," said Aradhna Krishna, University of Michigan business marketing professor.

The lowest interest rates in at least a generation have unleashed a flood of bond sales as companies refinance higher-coupon debt or lock in low rates for future needs.

DaimlerChrysler's sale brings expected total investment-grade issuance this month to about $64.4 billion, according to Thomson Financial and Reuters data, just shy of March's $65.4 billion, which was the most of any month this year.

Companies' incentive to refinance is strong as coupons on some new deals hit record lows. The Gillette Co. earlier this month sold $300 million of five-year notes with a 2.5 percent coupon, the lowest ever for a five-year bond, according to Thomson Financial.

Meanwhile, with yields on alternatives such as safe Treasuries near 45-year lows, investor demand for corporate debt has been strong.

"They're more attractive than any other fixed-income asset class right now," said Joe Jackson, portfolio manager for BB&T Asset Management.

SALE TERMS

DaimlerChrysler, the world's third-biggest automaker, sold the notes through its DaimlerChrysler North America Holdings unit. The 3.75 percent notes yielded 3.826 percent, or 1.49 percentage points more than Treasuries. Proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes, a company spokesman said.

When the unit last sold five-year notes in January, they yielded 4.793 percent or 1.625 percentage points more than Treasuries.

Automakers' bonds were one of the poorest performers in the corporate market last year as a wave of bankruptcies and accounting scandals soured investors on heavily indebted companies. With bankruptcies and accounting debacles waning, the sector has enjoyed a turnaround, yet some investors believe it has come too far too fast.

"The corporate market has had this phenomenal run and is due for a real breather, and (autos) might well be a poster child for that," said Mitchell Stapley, chief fixed-income officer for Fifth Third Investment Advisors, who said he did not participate in the deal.

Another worry is that automakers' fortunes are closely tied to the economy, which is struggling with excess capacity, especially in the manufacturing sector.

"All you have to do is look at the durable goods numbers this morning to realize it's not exactly a big-ticket-item economy right now," Stapley said.

Slumping demand for cars and military aircraft pushed orders for durable goods sharply lower in April, according to a Commerce Department report on Wednesday.

CHRYSLER TURNAROUND A PLUS

Still, DaimlerChrysler has been viewed as a stronger credit than General Motors or Ford Motor Co., with more manageable pension liabilities, analysts said.

"A lot of people have viewed (DaimlerChrysler) somewhat favorably because they did stop the bleeding at the Chrysler division earlier than projected," said Steven Bocamazo, a fixed-income analyst for Loomis Sayles & Co.

Automakers' bonds also are among the few sectors left where investors can find yield, strategists said.

"This is the cheapest sector of the industrial market and close to being the cheapest sector of the investment grade market so you're making a big bet if you're completely out the autos," said Fifth Third's Stapley.

Currently ranked ninth and 10th, respectively, Marlin and Wallace expect a solid effort on the Monster Mile's concrete surface.

"It's just a big Bristol, and we always do well at Bristol," said Wallace, driver of the No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge Intrepid and a three-time winner at Dover.

"It's a tough race," Marlin said. "I just hope we can stay dry for a change and get it all in. It's a 400-mile race and that's about all we got in last week at Charlotte. We'll try to hang around up front and hopefully have enough left to turn it on at the end."

Marlin finished seventh last week in the Coca-Cola 600 in his No. 40 Coors Light Dodge Intrepid and continues his climb toward the top of the charts. He has moved from 24th after Darlington to ninth in the last seven races. Although he trails leader Matt Kenseth by 394 points, he's got 24 races or two-thirds of the season left to whittle away at Kenseth's advantage.

He hasn't won at Dover, but Marlin has scored 10 top-10 finishes at the Monster Mile in 34 starts. The 45-year-old Tennessee native will make career start No. 581 on Sunday.

Wallace, a 46-year-old NASCAR veteran from St. Louis, finished 12th last week at Charlotte and dropped four points behind Marlin in the standings. Wallace has competed in 38 races at Dover International Speedway, scoring three victories and 18 top-10 finishes, but he hasn't finished in the top-10 at Dover the past two seasons. He'll make his 611th career start on Sunday.

NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series

Dodge Ram drivers will also get a chance to conquer the Monster Mile this weekend in Friday's MNBA Armed Forces Family 200. Ted Musgrave, driver of the No. 1 Mopar Performance Parts Dodge Ram, is fresh off a victory at Charlotte and is the defending champion at Dover.

Musgrave moved up to fourth in the series standings after his win at Charlotte and trails leader Bobby Hamilton by only 50 points. Hamilton, driver of the No. 4 Square D Dodge Ram, finished seventh at Charlotte and holds a 20-point advantage atop the standings over Rick Crawford after five races.

Ram driver Brendan Gaughan finished second at Charlotte and ranks fourth in the standings.

Musgrave's win at Charlotte tightened the Craftsman Truck Series Manufacturers' championship standings. Chevy leads Dodge 34-32 with Ford close behind with 29.

Time trials for Friday's race will get under way today at 3 p.m.

NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series

Oakley Funny Car driver Scotty Cannon and Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., have a happy relationship, and Cannon is eager to get back on the track that's been good to him in recent years for the Lucas Oil NHRA Route 66 Nationals this weekend in the 10th round of the 23-event POWERade Drag Racing Series.

Route 66 Raceway is where Cannon posted his career-best elapsed time of 4.783 seconds in the first event here in 2001. It's also where he was runner-up last year, against Del Worsham.

Cannon's new Dodge team is buoyed by its performance last week in Heartland Park Topeka, where Cannon qualified No. 4 with a solid 4.81-second pass, although he was ousted in the first round after losing a cylinder early on. Always
aiming to improve their performance, Cannon and his crew, led by crew chief Phil Shuler, tested in Topeka the following Monday.

"What we had done starting in Englishtown," Cannon explains, "was we actually changed the way we were running the motor in the car, because we didn't feel that the way we were running it it was capable of running .70s or real low .80s easy. We hadn't really had much success with the tune-up that we had. So we changed it and in doing so we had to change the clutch
combination.

"The Topeka race showed some promised. We actually went an .81," he adds. "So first round Sunday we dropped a hole (cylinder) because we had a little bit too much fuel in it with the way we were running the clutch. So we tested on Monday and the car made three good runs. We were just trying to go 300 or 400 foot to make sure we had the fuel system right, and the car made three excellent runs."

O'Reilly World of Outlaws

Danny Lasoski, driver of the Mopar-powered Eagle owned by Tony Stewart, will continue is Outlaw duel with Steve Kinser in Ohio this weekend. The Outlaws race at Sharon Speedway in Hartford, Ohio on Friday night and then head to Eldora Speedway in Rossburg, Ohio for a Saturday night show.

Lasoski leads Kinser by 53 points after 30 starts this season. Lasoski has compiled seven wins, 22 top fives, 28 top 10s and 10 poles so far in 2003.

Weekend Motorsports TV, Radio Schedule
All Times Eastern

Last week, Chrysler killed an ambitious plan to produce a small pickup and its derivatives in a new plant in Windsor, Ontario, by mid-decade.

Chrysler's choice of the Dodge M80 small pickup for the high-profile project demonstrates its need to reach a new generation of young buyers. Now the company will rely on smaller-volume entries such as the Jeep Scrambler due in July 2004.

In addition, the M80 was among the vehicles considered for export if the Chrysler group decides to sell the Dodge brand in Europe.

The weakening U.S. auto market, intensifying price pressures and industry overcapacity make the assembly project unfeasible, says Dieter Zetsche, Chrysler group CEO.

But darker prospects for the small pickup, code-named M80, also undermined the project. Anticipated margins on the entry-level vehicle were not hefty enough to bolster the business case.

"We said from Day One this will be a difficult business case because of the buying power of these customers. The small pickup market "is a particularly price-sensitive segment," Zetsche says.

"We wanted to add to our product line," Zetsche says. "But we could not find a business case which would justify investment in incremental capacity. It would not have been responsible to make any other decision."

Chrysler had asked major suppliers to participate in building and owning the plant. That innovative arrangement may be resurrected in the future, Zetsche says.

The Canadian Auto Workers, suppliers, and the provincial and federal governments of Canada worked to bring the deal to fruition, Zetsche says.

The company would not specify its anticipated investment. Published estimates have pegged the total investment at more than $1 billion.

Buzz Hargrove, CAW president, expressed outrage at the Chrysler group's decision and blasted Canadian officials for not offering heftier financial incentives.

The company described its work since October as a feasibility study. The M80 was not a funded vehicle in the long-range product plan, says Ken Levy, company spokesman.

Says Zetsche: "There is no deterioration of our product plan whatsoever."

The M80 was intended to be a small, inexpensive pickup at a time when competitive offerings are gaining in size and price.

The Chrysler group's upcoming entries aimed at young buyers include the Jeep Scrambler, a Jeep Wrangler derivative that goes on sale in July 2004. Chrysler-Jeep dealers also expect to sell the Jeep Compass, a small, entry-level SUV shown at the 2001 Detroit auto show, although timing is unknown.

In addition, Dodge dealers expect a Neon replacement in calendar 2005. Dodge dealers also have been pushing for a vehicle priced and positioned below the Neon.

"They will look at their product plan and fine-tune it to compensate for the cancellation of the M80," says Jeff Schuster,director of North American forecasting for J.D. Power and Associates. The M80 program would have yielded an estimated 200,000 units annually, he says.

Now the Scrambler volume may be boosted beyond the anticipated annual build of 15,000 to 20,000 units, Schuster says. Or the Compass, which Schuster pegs at 50,000 units annually, could be considered for Dodge, he says.

"This is a huge blow. We're going in the wrong direction and we're seeing plants close and production reduced. We thought this would help start to reverse a trend, and this is not going to happen," CAW president Buzz Hargrove said.

"I'm just devastated. I'm angry. I'm frustrated. It's the last thing in the world I expected. Quite frankly I thought things were rolling along well on the project," Hargrove said.

"A lot of people were looking forward to the opportunity for 2,500 new jobs," he said.

The Chrysler unit of DaimlerChrysler AG said late on Wednesday it had canceled plans to build the new truck plant in Windsor, directly across the border from Detroit, citing a weakening North American auto market.

Plans for the C$1.6 billion ($1.2 billion) plant, which had rested in winning government and industry financial support, had been seen as a major victory for the CAW in last autumn's contract talks when the union had pushed for new investment to offset plant closures and layoffs in the industry.

The Windsor plant was a project the company had touted to build a new small-sized pickup dubbed the M80, to compete in a segment dominated by models from Ford Motor Motor Co., General Motors Corp., and Toyota Motor Corp.

But Chrysler chief executive Dieter Zetsche said the business environment had changed dramatically since since plans for the plant were first floated.

"I do understand the emotions and, of course, we knew there would be a big disappointment," Zetsche said on Thursday.

"At the same time, I have to make it very clear that during last fall, we did not give a promise that we would build that plant. What we said, and we said it clear and loud, was that we would try to do everything possible to make that a viable business case, but that we only could proceed if there would be an economic basis for that," he said.

Zetsche added that "the door is clearly open to Canada and to Windsor" for further investment and reiterated plans to spend C$2.6 billion in Canada between 2002 and 2005.

Independent auto analyst Dennis DesRosiers downplayed the effects of the Windsor cancellation.

"It's not devastating. It's negative that we lose upside potential, but we didn't have these jobs to begin with, so it's not as if an existing worker is losing his job," said DesRosiers.

"It hurts in that we lose upside potential, not that we're losing existing jobs."

The campaign will pitch the new Pacifica sport wagon and the Sebring convertible.

The campaign, one of the biggest from DaimlerChrysler Canada, is part of an effort to move the Chrysler brand and vehicles to a premium position.

"Diana helps us express the passion and emotion our customers feel from driving and being seen in a Chrysler product," says Ron Smith, vice president marketing of DaimlerChrysler Canada.

Two commercials were produced. Both use Krall on camera and singing.

In one spot she sings "L.O.V.E.," a song recorded for the commercial.

A new spot using the parting of the Pacific Ocean in an urban setting was introduced last week for the Pacifica in a national campaign in Canada.

In the spot, Krall sings "Charmed Life," which is an original composition of hers.

Both commercials were created by PentaMark Canada.

In the United States, the Chrysler group is using Canadian singer Celine Dion in advertising to help move the Chrysler brand upscale.

The company says Dion will appear in some Canadian commercials this year.

Americans love cars, but they don't care much for the people who sell them.

The Gallup Organization asked Americans to judge the honesty and ethics of 21 vocations. Car salespeople ranked 20th and advertising executives 19th.

Only telemarketers ranked lower - 21st.

Six percent said car salespeople were ethical.

Journalists were ranked in the middle of the pack, two rungs above congressmen, with 26 percent of those surveyed ranking this profession as honest and ethical.

For the third straight year, Gallup's survey on honesty and ethics in professions finds that the American public rates nursing as the field with the highest standards of honesty and ethics.

Seventy-nine percent of Americans say nurses have "very high" or "high" ethical standards.

Military officers and high school teachers also ranked high.

The spot was pulled on May 8 after complaints to Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. and the Publicis Groupe agency from listeners in Salt Lake City and Albuquerque, Ariz., the only markets in which it ran.

"A proposed new manufacturing facility, incorporating innovative supplier initiatives for Windsor, Ontario, will not be built because of business viability issues," the German-American company said in a statement.

The Windsor plant, just across the U.S. border from Detroit, was a project that Chrysler had planned mainly to build a new small-sized pickup dubbed the M80.

The M80 was to compete in a segment dominated in the United States by older models from Ford Motor Motor Co., General Motors, and Toyota Motor Corp.

But Chrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche said in a statement that the business environment had changed dramatically since the addition of the plant to Chrysler's Canada-based production was held out as a possibility to the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) in contract talks last fall.

"The state of the automotive market has created a formidable hurdle, especially for a small, entry-level vehicle such as the one we were considering," Zetsche said.

"Additionally, competitive pricing, ongoing incentives and increasing overcapacity in North America led us to conclude that this is not the time to add new capacity," Zetsche said.

The plans to build the plant were billed by CAW chief Buzz Hargrove as a major concession in labor talks that ended with a new contract agreement last October.

And a source close to the talks said the union was sure to be angered by the company's decision not to build the new plant, which would have added new assembly line jobs and given a sorely needed boost to a key Canadian trade union.

The source did not elaborate, and CAW officials could not be reached for immediate comment. But Canada has lost a growing number of manufacturing and auto worker jobs to low-cost facilities in countries including Mexico in recent years.

The Cannonball Run. Or, to be historically accurate, the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash.

There were four Cannonballs in all, the first in 1971, the last in 1979. They stirred up police agencies all across the country, inspired a number of movies, and, ultimately, spawned today's One Lap of America tour.

The idea, conceived by Car and Driver magazine columnist Brock Yates, was simple: a bunch of car crazies would marshal up in New York City and see who could get to California the fastest.

This proved to be very fast indeed. Teamed with racing legend Dan Gurney, Yates set the pace in the 1971 inaugural, booming from the Red Ball Garage in Manhattan to the Portofino Inn in Redondo Beach, Calif., in 35 hours, 54 minutes.

The distance was about 2,900 miles. The average speed was just over 80 m.p.h. That includes pit stops, an element Yates turned to his advantage.

Pay at the pump was in the future in the '70s. You had to pay cash or hand over a credit card. Yates and Gurney paid cash.

"And we never waited for the change," he recalls. 'It made a big difference.'

In the last Cannonball in 1979, race driver David Hines and Jaguar dealer David Yarborough, driving a Jaguar XJS, lowered the cross-country record to 32:51.

The record still stands.

"In 1979, the event was losing its sense of humor," says Yates. "Some of the competitors were getting way too serious, the truckers were getting all stirred up, and I knew I just couldn't do it again. Someone was going to get hurt."

Inaugurated in 1984, One Lap of America is the more socially acceptable sequel to the Cannonball Run. Instead of racing across the country, One Lap competitors do all their racing against the clock, on racetracks.

Of course, there's still plenty of driving on public roads, and when the trek between tracks gets to be more than 500 miles, Lappers are likely to be in a hurry.

Which means that more than a few get acquainted with various police agencies every year. Some of them more than once.

But that element -- staying out of traffic court -- is part of the event's challenge.

"From its inception, Chrysler Pacifica was developed with thorough attention to safety, quality and refinement," said Mike Donoughe, Vice President-Family Vehicle Product Team. "The five-star rating is yet another example of the many attributes that will further enhance the image of the Chrysler brand and draw families to this compelling new vehicle."

Chrysler Group engineers used state-of-the-art computer technology to help define and optimize vehicle performance during the earliest stages of Chrysler Pacifica's development. This computer technology was used to anticipate how each component of the Chrysler Pacifica would work together during a crash test to absorb and reduce crash forces sent to passengers. Chrysler Group engineers refer to this use of advanced technology as "crash component choreography." Crash simulations were combined with real crash tests to enhance the safety performance of the Chrysler Pacifica.

Early in vehicle development, the all-new 2004 Chrysler Pacifica also was assigned the internal code "The Protector."

"'The Protector' is really about the driver and his or her responsibility for getting everybody home safely," said Donoughe. "Chrysler Pacifica provides the tools the driver needs to fulfill that role. The first-class seating position, cockpit-style controls, all-wheel-drive and sport-sedan handling help the driver avoid accidents. If a crash does occur, safety systems such as the three-row side curtain air bags help keep occupants safe."

Chrysler Pacifica is one of the world’s first vehicles to offer side curtain air bags which cover all-three rows of occupants as standard equipment. The ceiling-mounted side curtain air bag deploys downward and provides full side window coverage. The air bag meets the voluntary standards set by the industry's Side Air Bag Technical Working Group. In addition, Chrysler Group engineers also used a "pole test," which mimics accidents such as hitting a telephone pole or tree, to evaluate the side air bag sensing system. These types of accidents may be severe because the crash forces are concentrated in a relatively small area of the vehicle.

Chrysler Pacifica also meets Chrysler engineers' strict criteria for handling and stability. The unique sports tourer package is designed with a wide track for optimal handling and stability. Although the Chrysler Pacifica is taller than most passenger cars, its suspension, steering and ride are calibrated to achieve sport sedan cornering and handling qualities. Additionally, knowledge was shared across the DaimlerChrysler family to ensure that the Chrysler Pacifica's rear suspension incorporated "best practices" in technology and design.

"Chrysler Pacifica's adoption of additional development testing with the DaimlerChrysler Driving Simulator in Berlin is one example of how we are taking advantage of resources across the DaimlerChrysler family," added Donoughe.

Chrysler Pacifica's advanced restraint system encompasses the seat belts, air bags and sensors to optimize occupant protection in the event of a crash. In addition to the side curtain air bags, Chrysler Pacifica provides the first Chrysler Group inflatable knee blocker. Located just below the steering column, the knee blocker helps to reduce potential leg injuries in a crash. It also aids in appropriately positioning the driver to get the full safety benefit of the restraint system.

Multi-stage driver and passenger air bags deploy at various levels based on the severity of the crash. Two charges on the air bag module are triggered separately. A minor impact will trigger a low-power deployment while a more severe impact will prompt a more high-powered deployment to optimize occupant protection. The sophisticated driver air bag works in conjunction with the energy-absorbing steering wheel, patent-pending steering column and inflatable knee blocker to provide supplemental restraints in frontal impacts.

Seat belts are the first line of defense against injury in a crash. Chrysler Pacifica is equipped with front seat belt pretensioners and constant force retractors. Both are located within the seat belt retractor system and activated simultaneously with air bag deployment. Pretensioners tighten the seat belt to keep the occupant in place while constant force retractors minimize the load to reduce upper body injuries from the excessive force of the seat belt when it presses against the body.

"Loaded with safety and security features, Chrysler Pacifica was designed to give drivers and other occupants added peace of mind," said Donoughe. "All drivers want to safeguard their families on the road and Chrysler Pacifica assists in that mission."

Limited Edition Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Model Based On Summer Movie "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life."

Exclusive Serial Numbered Collector's Edition

Auburn Hills, Mich., May 21, 2003 -The limited edition 2003 Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider model debuts in July to coincide with the release of the new film "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life." A customized version of the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is driven in the film by virtual game heroine Lara Croft, played by Angelina Jolie.

"The Jeep Wrangler Rubicon is the most capable Jeep ever built, so the heroic and extreme environment in which Lara Croft uses her custom Wrangler Rubicon in Tomb Raider is accurate," said Jeff Bell, Vice President, Jeep, Chrysler Group. "This is more than just a product placement. We have created a 360-degree integrated marketing campaign around the movie and the debut of the Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider model."

Based on the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon designed and created specifically for the movie, the Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider model highlights the unbeatable capability of the Wrangler Rubicon in extreme conditions. Unique exterior features on the Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider model are 16-inch Alcoa forged aluminum wheels, Tomb Raider badging and a number of Mopar accessories including a light bar, riveted fender flares, tubular grille guard, diamond plate bumper guard, rock rails, fog lamp and taillamp guards, black tubular grille guard, fog lamps with brush guards, riveted fender flares in graphite, aluminum diamond plate bumper guard in black, black rock rails and taillamp guards.

Inside the Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider are unique Dark Slate fabric seats with red accent stitching down the center, silver surround instrument panel bezel, red seat belts and a Tomb Raider badge with serial number. As with the custom vehicle in the film, all Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider models are offered in Bright Silver.

Intended to be a collector's vehicle, a limited edition of just over 1,000 vehicles will be available beginning in July at dealerships across the U.S. The base price of the Wrangler Rubicon Tomb Raider is $28,815, including destination.

The Chrysler Group's Jeep Design Studio team, in collaboration with Kirk Petruccelli and Graham Kelly from the Paramount Tomb Raider production team, designed and built the customized Jeep Wrangler Rubicon featured in the film. The Jeep Design Studio applied that same design theme from the custom Wrangler Rubicon for the movie vehicle to this production model.

Under the skin, the Tomb Raider model is based on the most capable vehicle ever built -- Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. As all Wrangler Rubicon models, the Tomb Raider model features Tru-Lok™ driver actuated front and rear locking differentials, front and rear Dana model 44 axles, four-wheel disc brakes, Rock-Trac™ 4:1 low range transfer case and maximum traction reinforced 31-inch tall tires with a trail grabbing tread pattern.

"In the movie, this vehicle will be showcased in many rugged and extreme situations, highlighting key strengths of the brand in a new and exciting way," said Bell. "You'll see the Jeep crossing harsh desert and jungle terrain without any difficulty -- true Jeep capability."

To showcase Jeep vehicle capability and authenticity, the brand is creating 30- and 60- second spots that feature footage from the film as well as original footage in which Jolie appears as Lara Croft. Print advertising will start in mid-May for June issues, and TV advertising will air on June 9.

The first Tomb Raider movie was a massive blockbuster, grossing $47.7 million in the opening weekend, the biggest opening ever for a film with a female star. Worldwide, the film went on to make nearly $300 million in its theatrical release. Lara Croft and Tomb Raider are Trademarks of Core Design Ltd. The Cradle of Life is a Trademark of Paramount.