Sure Sounds and Looks Familiar! SPEED Channel Autorotica Special Unveils 10 Greatest Car Commercials...Racing Channel My Ass

CHARLOTTE, N.C.--Aug. 3, 20040, 2004--SPEED Channel will air a one-hour special during its popular Wednesday night Autorotica programming block, taking a look at some of the best car commercials of all time. TV's Best Car Commercials will count down the top 10 on Sept. 8 at 8 p.m. ET and don't be surprised to hear the words "... fine Corinthian leather."

"Since the post-World War II era, the American fascination with the automobile has been at the very center of our pop culture," said Robert Ecker, SPEED Channel VP of Programming. "During the last half-century, Detroit has -- via Madison Avenue -- tapped into that culture and managed to find ever more clever ways to sell millions and millions of cars. In the process, they have created not just some of the most iconic vehicles ever to roll off the assembly line, but also some of the most memorable television commercials that have become iconic in their own right. This program celebrates the remarkable legacy of ten of those advertisements that continue to stand the test of time."

TV's Best Car Commercials, from the producers of SPEED's popular American Muscle Car series, features commentary from a variety of voices, including rocker Sammy Hagar, automotive marketing pioneer Jim Wangers, Julie Roehm from Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep, David Caldwell from GM/Hummer and Cal Worthington, America's most famous car dealer.

"It's not really what you are," explains Wangers, who has been in the business nearly 50 years and now heads up Automotive Marketing Concepts. "It isn't really the product you are making today -- it's what the public thinks you are,"

In 2004, SPEED Channel is the exclusive U.S. cable home for many of the top motor sports series in the world. In addition, SPEED's weekly programming schedule brings car enthusiast television to Prime Time Monday through Thursday. Now available in more than 67 million homes in North America, SPEED Channel is among the fastest growing sports cable networks in the country and the home to NASCAR TV.