Buick Teams With National Car Rental to Promote Regal

25 September 1997
Buick Teams With National Car Rental to Promote Regal

    FLINT, Mich., Sept. 25 -- Buick will promote the all-new
Regal through an exclusive partnership with National Car Rental with a
promotion which will run from Oct. 15, 1997 through April 1998.  The Buick
National Car Rental Promotion will establish National Car Rental as the
exclusive renter of Regal.
    "We're looking to reach targeted buyers in non-traditional ways and to
talk to them where they live, for instance getting test drives through
rentals," said Roger Adams, Regal brand manager.  "National is a perfect fit
because Regal buyers, the supercharged families, are frequent travelers.  This
is a partnership of a premium car and a premium service."
    The promotion is unprecedented for Buick and for National Car Rental.  "We
want to showcase Regal to our renters," said Bob Dimmick, National's vice
president of Marketing.  "It is a great opportunity to provide a great, fully
equipped new car for our renters while attracting new customers to our Emerald
Club service."
    The Program has a variety of components:

    1) National Car Rental will be the only place to rent the all-new Regal.
Emerald Club members will be able to rent the all-new Regal LS complete with
leather interior and CD player in the Emerald Aisle at most corporate owned
rental locations.
    2) Buick Regal will be featured in National print and television
advertising in 1998.
    3) In "Working Mother" magazine, consumers will be able to respond to a
business reply offer to rent a Regal at National and receive free membership
in National's premium Emerald Club.  This is similar to a promotion with
"Working Woman" magazine, in which consumers can test-drive the Regal at a
Buick dealership and receive certificates good for discounted airline travel
on select major airlines.
    4) Through the club's newsletter, Emerald Club members will have an
opportunity to test drive Regal at Buick dealerships and receive 5,000
frequent flyer miles on American Airlines, Delta Airlines or United Airlines.
Emerald Club members will also receive a free Regal video.
    5) Regal will be featured in promotional materials used in National
communications to the trade and to consumers during the promotional period.
    6) National, the official car rental company of the Buick Challenge Golf
Tournament, will host a VIP event at the tournament for top-renting Emerald
Club members.  The tournament is Oct. 2-5 at Calloway Gardens, Ga.

    "This is an exciting promotion for the members of our Emerald Club,"
Dimmick said.
    "They will have exclusive access to the hottest car on the road."
    Today, when customers call their travel agent or National's toll-free
number, 800-CAR-RENT, they can reserve a car at any one of nearly 4,000
locations in 132 countries.  Internet system members include National in the
United States, Latin America, the Caribbean and the Pacific, National Tilden
in Canada, Europcar in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, and Nippon in Japan
and the Pacific.

SOURCE  Buick Motor Division