They Shoot Horses Don't They? 'Stand By Your Van' Contest Winner Stands for 64 Hours at Chicago Auto Show

* Robert Allan Luckett of Whitewater, Wis. wins a new 2005 Chrysler Town & Country

Snide's Remarks: Many of you have seen my snide remarks concerning this promotional effort by the Chrysler car company.

Why? It reminds me of the marathon dance contests held in the depression years...some of you lived through that era others of you will surely remember the movies and stories that illuminated the darker side of those events.

It seems to me that with all of the flap over Dodge's disasterous sponsorship of the Lingerie Bowl that took place during the half time of the superbowl, where some well endowed and beautiful young women tried to knock the snot out of each other while dressed in Victoria's Secret finest, that the suits at Chrysler would not exploit the need for someone to jump through hoops and become a spectacle in order to get a new van. This idea is abhorrent to me and I imagine to many others out there in TACH land. Let me know how you feel about this stunt. E mail me at msnide@theautochannel.com.

CHICAGO, Feb. 8 -- Chrysler Group's "Stand By Your Van" contest came to a gripping end early Sunday morning, Feb. 8, 2004, after more than 64 hours.

The contest's extraordinary finale left two contestants, Robert Allan Luckett of Whitewater, Wis. and Julio Vidal of Chicago, Ill. in a showdown of mental and physical endurance. In the end, Mr. Luckett was the last man standing after keeping one hand on a new 2005 Chrysler or Dodge minivan longer than any of the other contestants.

In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the minivan and the introduction of its new 2005 Chrysler and Dodge minivans, Chrysler Group awarded Mr. Luckett, the 2004 "Stand By Your Van" contest winner, with an all-new 2005 Chrysler Town & Country.

"The support of my entire family kept my motivation to stand by a minivan longer than the other contestants extremely high throughout the contest," said Robert Allan Luckett after the 64-hour stand-off. "Our expanding family has dreamed about having the space and convenience of a minivan. Winning the new Chrysler Town & Country is going to dramatically improve our daily life and enable us to take a long-awaited road-trip to Montana this summer."

Robert Luckett manages the Whitewater, Wis. cable access station and often takes on the role of a "stay-at-home Dad" to care for his son and daughter, while his wife is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. The Luckett family will be one of the first consumers to experience the Chrysler Group's minivan-first Stow 'n Go seating and storage system, a system that allows customers to fold both second- and third-row seats into the floor in approximately 30 seconds.

Twenty minivan fans, from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, and Wisconsin, competed in the "Stand By Your Van" contest, which took place at the 2004 Chicago Auto Show in the McCormick Place South building beginning Thursday, February 5 at 9 a.m. To be considered for the contest, more than 350 contestants wrote a one-paragraph essay explaining why they would like to compete for a new 2005 Chrysler or Dodge minivan and how winning the vehicle would change their life.

  Specific rules and requirements of Stand By Your Van contestants included:

   * Contestants had to stand with one hand on either a new 2005 Chrysler
     Town & Country or Dodge Grand Caravan minivan at all times.  They could
     not lean, sit, or kneel.
   * During the competition, contestants were permitted a 15 minute break
     every three hours, during which time they could leave the contest area.
   * Chrysler Group offered participants food and beverages throughout the
     duration of the contest.
   * Certified contest judges watched for disqualifications, such as
     contestants removing a hand from the minivan, sitting, leaning or any
     other contest infraction

Since introducing the minivan 20 years ago, Chrysler Group has sold more than 10 million minivans worldwide and has a 38 percent share of the minivan market. The minivan market continues to be vibrant with industry-wide sales averaging 1.2 million for the past 10 years.

Dodge Caravan, Grand Caravan, and Chrysler Town & Country are built in Windsor, Ontario; St. Louis, Missouri; and Graz, Austria.