America Online and General Motors Extend Strategic Alliance; New Agreement Builds on Success of Prior Marketing Initiatives

Business Wire, June 13, 2001

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

DETROIT & DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 13, 2001

America Online, the world's leading interactive services company, and General Motors, the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, today announced that they will build on the success of their original marketing and advertising collaboration by extending their online strategic alliance.

Under the multi-million dollar agreement, the companies will continue to promote the full line of GM cars and trucks across the America Online service and the AOL family of interactive brands including Netscape.com, CompuServe and Digital City. The companies will also continue to promote the GMBuyPower.com website that enables consumers to configure a vehicle, find it in a dealer's' inventory, access finance tools, view Internet-only offers and contact dealers via email for price quotes.

During their successful alliance, AOL and GM have teamed up to offer consumers a number of unique online promotions including the "GM Ticket to Ride" Sweepstakes that gave AOL members the chance to win a different prize each week. In a clear example of the power of online marketing, nearly 400,000 AOL members signed up for the sweepstakes or requested brochures on GM products. The companies also promoted the "Chevy Trucks / AOL Insider Saving Ski Sweepstakes" that gave AOL members the chance to win one of 30 vacations to the Deer Valley Resort in Utah.

Katherine Benoit, e-GM North America general director, said, "We're excited about extending this alliance as we continue to integrate the online medium into the auto-shopping experience. We've been extremely pleased with our relationship with America Online. We've worked together to give AOL members more information about GM products and to strengthen the ties between consumers and our dealer network."

Myer Berlow, President for Worldwide Interactive Marketing at America Online, Inc., said, "Our alliance with General Motors has been a win-win based on our ability to help consumers find the information they need for an auto purchase, and the unique promotional and marketing opportunities that we've developed for GM's complete line of vehicles. We're pleased to extend this successful relationship as we continue to make researching and shopping for autos online easier and more informative."

America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, Inc. (NYSE:AOL). Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.

General Motors (NYSE:GM), the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, designs, builds and markets cars and trucks worldwide. In 2000, GM earned $5 billion on sales of $183.3 billion. It employs about 386,000 people globally.