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Mercedes-Benz M-Class Official Vehicle of the Sundance Film Festival

1 February 1999

Award-Winning Mercedes-Benz M-Class Hits the Streets as Official Vehicle of the 1999 Sundance Film Festival

    PARK CITY, Utah, Jan. 29 -- A fleet of 30 Mercedes-Benz
M-Class sport utility vehicles are traversing the snow-covered streets of Park
City transporting members of the film industry from premieres to parties as
part of the 1999 Sundance Film Festival which runs from January 21 to 31.  Now
in its eighth year of association with the Sundance Film Festival,
Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc. (MBNA) is a presenting sponsor of the
highly acclaimed Festival as well as the official sponsor of Independent Film
Competition which highlights the work of dramatic and documentary film
producers.
    "We are very pleased to once again be a part of the Sundance Film
Festival.  Over the eight years of our association with the Festival, we have
seen it grow in scope and depth, bringing an ever-broader range of films and
ideas to the forefront.  Our sponsorship of the Festival comes at a time when
we too are expanding the scope of our own offering with vehicles like the
M-Class and other innovative, contemporary and lifestyle-oriented products
that challenge the traditional definitions within their segments," said Joe
Eberhardt, vice president of marketing at MBNA.
    The Mercedes-Benz M-Class took the automotive world by storm when it
appeared on the market in the fall of 1997 garnering virtually every major
automotive award for its unique combination of passenger car handling and
safety features in combination with true off-road performance capability.  The
Sundance fleet consists of both the $34,950 six-cylinder ML320 and the newly
introduced V8-powered ML430.
    A global automotive manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz is a long-time
multinational sponsor of premiere independent film festivals in the U.S. and
abroad.