Michigan State Student Wins Edmunds' Inside Line "Win a Trip to the Frankfurt Auto Show" Contest

Business Wire, August 31, 2007

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Inside Line, Edmunds' high-speed online car magazine, today announced that Eric Tingwall, a Michigan State University student from Novi, Michigan, has won its "Win a Trip to the Frankfurt Auto Show" essay contest. As the winner, Tingwall will be flown to Frankfurt, Germany, where he will cover auto show launches and other events as a reporter for Inside Line's blog Straightline.

Contestants submitted 500-word essays explaining why they should be given the opportunity to blog for Edmunds' Inside Line.

"For years I've dreamed of testing driving cars for a living," wrote Tingwall in his winning essay. "I'm earning dual degrees in mechanical engineering and journalism at Michigan State University, which means you could say I've already paid $30,000 for this trip to Germany."

The contest was generated as part of the Saturn Astra's marketing campaign on Edmunds' Web sites. Tingwall will be given a unique opportunity to drive the new Astra just moments after the car is tested for the first time by the U.S.'s leading automotive journalists. Tingwall will also attend special GM invitation-only press events where he will be introduced to General Motors executives, including Saturn General Manager Jill Lajdziak. He can also choose to attend and report on any other events open to media at the auto show.

"We had a great response to the contest and clearly reached our intended audience of young automotive enthusiasts who are eager to share their opinions and knowledge," said Sean Peoples, Executive Director of Automaker Initiatives at Edmunds.com. "Our sites provide the opportunity for really creative and effective marketing programs; some others are in the works and will be announced shortly."

About Edmunds Inc. (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)

Edmunds Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value([R]), is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site and home to the oldest and most established automotive community. AutoObserver.com launched in 2007 and provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.