For the End of Daylight Saving Time, Sears and the Diehard Brand Remind Customers to Check All Batteries--Including in Your Car

HOFFMAN ESTATES, IL--Nov. 4, 2011: With the end of Daylight Saving Time coming up this weekend, DieHardŽ, America's most trusted auto battery brand, is partnering with Sears Auto Centers to encourage shoppers to check and change all their vital household batteries, not just those inside the house (in smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, etc.) but also the important battery sitting in their driveway: their car battery. The DieHard Brand and Sears urge everyone to take a few minutes on Sunday, Nov. 6, to ensure the safety of their household by changing the inside batteries and checking the car battery (and replacing it if necessary).

To make checking and changing a car battery as convenient as possible, Sears offers battery checks at its Auto Centers. If a battery is found to be in need of replacing, Sears will install the trusted quality and power of DieHard, America's most preferred auto battery brand, for the price of the battery and a small labor charge, as well as check the vehicle's electrical system to ensure years of hassle-free starts from the new battery.

"Don't be one of the 78 percent of Americans who wait for their car battery to die before replacing it," said Chris Caruso, GM of DieHard. "Waiting to replace your car battery until it dies not only causes unnecessary inconvenience, but also is more expensive when you factor in the costs associated with having to have your vehicle towed and the loss of productivity. Helping avoid these issues by replacing your battery now with a long-lasting, extreme-performing DieHard battery is why we, along with Sears, are encouraging customers to test and check their car batteries before winter arrives."

As winter looms, so do the memories of the 2010-2011 blizzards that stranded cars and motorists on highways across the country. In fact, for many in the Northeast, the rare October snowstorms, which pummeled the region this past month causing power outages and driving delays for motorists, are a reminder that preparing their car now for winter is a must. Many forecasters are predicting this winter to be worse than last year's. They are expecting harsh weather and extreme temperatures in the coming months, which puts added stress on car batteries during a time when it is crucial for them to be operating at their best. And winter isn't the only season that affects a car battery.

"What many don't understand is that summer heat can have a substantial impact on car-battery failure," said Caruso. "A battery starts dying in the summer and fails in the winter when it's trying to start a cold engine."

Even if a car battery appears fine, it should be replaced before the fourth winter season of use. Sears Auto Center associates can easily determine the age and power of customers' automobile batteries and will recommend the best course of action for each driver.

About Sears Holdings Corporation

Sears Holdings Corporation is the nation's fourth largest broadline retailer with over 4,000 full-line and specialty retail stores in the United States and Canada. Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance retailer as well as a leader in tools, lawn and garden, consumer electronics and automotive repair and maintenance. Sears Holdings is the 2011 ENERGY STARŽ Retail Partner of the Year. Key proprietary brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known labels as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as the Apostrophe and Covington brands. It also has the Country Living collection, which is offered by Sears and Kmart. We are the nation's largest provider of home services, with more than 11 million service calls made annually. Sears Holdings Corporation operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation.

About the DieHard brand

Introduced in 1967, Sears designed the DieHard automotive battery to produce 35 percent more usable starting power than other similar batteries. Featuring a revolutionary tough, thin-walled case of translucent polypropylene plastic, which was 50 percent thinner than conventional black rubber-type battery enclosures, the design's extra room meant bigger plates, more acid and extra starting power. During testing, not a single failure was reported in over 26,000 starts in temperatures ranging from sub-zero to more than 100 degrees, hence the name "DieHard." Recently DieHard Platinum batteries were named #1 by a leading consumer publication five years in a row.