Press Release

GM Supports Wild, Wild West World Wide Web Site

09/12/96

The Wild, Wild West on the World Wide Web GM Web Site Blazes Trail
Through Rich Period in American History


DETROIT, Sept. 10 -- College students nationwide will
explore the wild, wild west 90s-style when Ken Burn's latest epic
series, "The West," debuts on the world wide web.

General Motors' new web site entitled, "New Perspectives on
THE WEST," (www.gm.com/TheWest) -- an educational outreach supplement
to the eight-part PBS Series, "The West," premiering September 15 --
will feature an extensive collection of archival images, diary
entries, clips from the series, and interactive resources and
games. The site will also offer visitors a behind-the-scenes look at
the production of the television series with profiles of its creators,
as well as the many historians, commentators and actors whose voices
tell the story.

"The West," a "General Motors Mark of Excellence Presentation," is a
collaboration between America's preeminent documentary filmmaker Ken
Burns and producer/director Stephen Ives. "The series aims to break
through the nostalgia that has surrounded this part of American
history and probe the conflicting visions and competing values that
typify this period," notes Burns.

A first-of-its-kind educational program, "New Perspectives on THE
WEST" will be featured on the GM web site launched earlier this
year. The program is designed to serve as part of the curriculum of
college students across the country who enroll in American history
courses this fall. This program expands the use of GM's web site,
which currently features a multitude of information about the
corporation, its divisions and its cars and trucks.

"We believe that the 'New Perspectives on THE WEST' site offers
college educators a valuable resource for courses that touch on the
rich history of this region." "This web site was designed to
complement and to add new dimension to this landmark series, while
furthering GM's commitment to sharing the American experience through
our educational outreach efforts," said Phil Guarascio, vice president
and general manager of marketing and advertising at General Motors.

Recent studies indicate that college students make up 40 percent of
the more than 20 million Internet users in the United States. "College
students are the most appropriate audience for such a web site because
they have ready access to the technology that makes this pioneering
program possible, and the new perspective on this period of American
history is well established in college curricula," said Dominic
Kinsley, president of Lifetime Learning Systems, who advised General
Motors on this project.

College professors teaching courses related to the history of the
American west are being given an opportunity to preview the site. It
will be accessible to all Internet users on the GM web site from
September 1996 through the end of the year and on the PBS web site
until December 31, 1999.

According to General Motors, the educational outreach programs that
supplement each "GM Mark of Excellence Presentation" are founded upon
a commitment to support quality television that portrays our country's
unique history, ideals and culture in an educational and entertaining
way by translating that experience into something meaningful and
relevant to a classroom setting. Previous GM "Mark of Excellence"
educational initiatives have included curriculum-based programs for
elementary and high school students for the top-rated PBS Series
"Baseball" and "The Civil War."