Bill Van Amburg Rejoins Weststart-CALSTART as Senior Vice President

PASADENA, Calif.--Jan. 1, 20043, 2004--

Addition of Van Amburg's Industry Experience Part of Expansion Plans for Advanced Transportation Organization

WestStart-CALSTART - North America's leading advanced transportation organization - is pleased to announce the hiring of Bill Van Amburg as senior vice president. He will lead major programs, business development and share in overall company management responsibilities.

For Van Amburg, this is returning home. He was involved in the launching of CALSTART in 1992, then served as communications director and vice president of the organization from 1993 to 2000. Following that he has been active in emission trading market development, as well as providing consulting services in markets and technology commercialization. For the last year he has been leading the Hybrid Truck Users Forum (H-TUF) program for WestStart-CALSTART, a program to commercialize and bring to market heavy-duty hybrid vehicles.

"Bill is an important part of helping WestStart-CALSTART move to the next level of capability and I'm delighted he has rejoined our team," said John Boesel, president & CEO. "He knows the players, understands the technologies and brings the skills to help move those technologies to market. He also adds knowledge of environmental markets - such as emission credits - that are part of the future equation for transportation. He adds tremendously to our own expansion as we help the industry grow."

Van Amburg brings more than 25 years of experience in marketing and market development, technology commercialization, communications and environmental markets, including emission credit trading. He is a graduate of the Executive Management Program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and has a certificate in Brand Management from the Stanford Alumni Association, as well as a bachelor's degree in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. In addition he brings experience as an Emmy award-winning broadcast journalist from the late 1970s to the early 1990s.

"I've strived all my life to help make a difference in the world," said Van Amburg, "And that's what the WestStart-CALSTART team is all about. There is now a portfolio of cleaner and more efficient vehicle technology on the cusp of market acceptance and I couldn't be more excited than to be right here, right now, helping to make it happen."

WestStart-CALSTART is North America's leading advanced transportation technologies consortium. It is a fuel neutral, participant-supported organization of more than 115 companies and agencies dedicated to expanding and supporting a high-tech transportation industry that cleans the air, creates jobs and improves energy efficiency. Its California operating division does business as CALSTART. Visit www.weststart.org for more information.