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Automotive News World Congress to Explore Life in the Fast Lane

DETROIT, Nov. 16 -- Roger Penske, chairman, Penske Corporation and Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO, General Motors lead a distinguished roster of business leaders who will explore the drive among automakers, suppliers and dealers to develop products faster and adopt innovative ways to cut costs and get products to customers at the 2007 Automotive News World Congress, Monday - Thursday, Jan. 15, 2007 - 18 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Dearborn, Mich.

Penske and Wagoner are among nearly three dozen executives who will talk on the theme Life in the Fast Lane: The pace of global competition, sharing insights and strategies winning companies are using to prevail in today's automotive market. For a complete listing of speakers, visit http://www.autonews.com/anwc07 .

The Automotive News World Congress, sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers and IBM, features individual morning addresses, afternoon panel presentations and keynote dinner speakers. Participants will also tour the North American International Auto Show Jan. 18, which runs concurrently with the Congress.

Top executives from the manufacturing and supplier sectors participating in the afternoon panel presentations will address such timely industry issues as:

* Marketing Tomorrow: Reaching the Right Buyer -- Consumers are better informed about the growing selection of products. They're becoming more finicky about how and where they want to buy. That will affect how automakers market their products and dealers sell them. This panel will take a look at what's coming and how attendees can use it.

* New Purchasing Models: Getting Competitive Together -- The competitive forces that automakers face mean pressure on suppliers to cut costs, build lighter parts and add value for their customers. This panel will explore how confronting these challenges together helps build stronger purchasing models.

* Finding the Quickest Route to Your Customer -- In the age of immediacy, it's not enough to have a great product if you can't deliver it in a hurry, whether it's produced around the corner or around the world. But there are ways to outpace customers' accelerating expectations. This panel will showcase strategies and tactics that work.

* Powering the Future in New Ways -- Politics, economics and soaring fuel prices are escalating consumers' expectations about fuel economy. Alternative energy sources and advanced powertrains mean big changes that can help give customers what they need and want. This panel will highlight what's currently available, what's on the horizon and its impact on the industry.

A highlight of the Congress' dinner programs will be the presentation of the Polk Loyalty Awards, recognizing manufacturers for superior performance in customer retention, on Jan. 16 and the Automotive News/PricewaterhouseCoopers Shareholder Value Awards to manufacturers, suppliers and retailers on Jan. 17. The Jan. 17 dinner will also feature presentations of the BorgWarner Championship Driver's Trophy to 2006 Indianapolis 500 winner Sam Hornish, Jr. and the BorgWarner Team Owner's Trophy to Roger Penske.

The early-bird registration fee for all four days of the Automotive News World Congress is $1,395 by Nov. 22. The registration fee is $1,595 after Nov. 22 and the daily rate is $850. Online registration (complimentary for credentialed media) is available at http://www.autonews.com/anwc07 . For a complete agenda, or to register, contact the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) by phone at 866-374-6227 (U.S. only) or via e-mail at aely@cargroup.org .