Saturn, a General Motors Vehicle Brand, Links Entire U.S. Retail Network With Shared IT Platform From EDS

Central Retailing IT System Is First of Its Kind in Automotive Industry

DETROIT, Feb. 1 -- EDS announced today it has begun deployment of a centralized, network-based infrastructure to accommodate the full range of information technology (IT) needs for the 450- plus retail outlets of GM's Saturn unit.

The implementation of the Centralized Saturn Retail System (CSRS) marks the first time an automaker has linked all of its retail outlets with this type of IT configuration. General release of this new electronic linkage, delivering the CSRS and Dealer Management System for Saturn Retailers, began in September 2003 and will be completed by the spring of 2004.

Adoption of this system, also known as an ASP-model (application service provider), brings a number of improvements and benefits to Saturn Retailers, including:

   --  Compared with current dealer computing technologies, overall dealer
       costs can be reduced significantly over time, after retirement of the
       system conversion and start-up fees.

   --  The robust ASP infrastructure is extremely reliable, with multiple
       layers of synchronized redundancy and security.  Monitored around the
       clock by EDS, all data is backed-up instantly.  In addition, a
       constantly updated back-up system is housed at a separate EDS
       facility located away from the main hosting center.

   --  EDS IT professionals provide all maintenance and updates, ensure
       virus protection and manage the CSRS.  This allows Saturn Retailers
       and their employees to focus less on the day-to-day management of
       their IT systems and more on the selling and servicing of new
       vehicles and its industry-leading customer satisfaction processes.

"We've been extremely satisfied with the smooth changeover to the new system, and the overall performance has been excellent," said Gerhard Mueller, owner of Saturn of El Paso (Texas) and Saturn of Las Cruces (New Mexico). Mueller, a member of Saturn's Retail Information Technology Task Force, has been instrumental since the beginning phases of the planning and development of the new system.

"We've experienced very little downtime; the operating speed and responsiveness of the system is excellent and all of us are pleased that issues of program upgrades along with systems and data recovery are no longer problematic. In addition, the new solution enables managers and other employees to access the system from home and offsite computers, which is a great benefit. Perhaps most important, the leadership team at EDS and our relationship with them has been outstanding," said Mueller.

Marty Raymond, director - Retail Strategies, Systems and Training at Saturn said: "This is the right move for us and our retail network. Centralized, hosted systems are the wave of the future for auto retailers in North America. With the hardware and software risks shifted from the retailers to the providers, it's one less worry for our entire network. We've always been a test bed for new ideas at Saturn, and this is just another example of that. Saturn is proud to be setting the pace for IT progress in automotive retailing."

"Our approach is unique in that this is the first centrally hosted service designed to be used by multiple dealer groups. Our design makes it possible for retailers to share the same computing resource, which saves significant expense in hardware, hardware maintenance and operating systems, while at the same time ensuring that a retailer's information is kept private and secure from other retailers sharing that computing resource," said Phil Johnson, project manager - GM Information Systems & Services.

"The delivery of a comprehensive and competitively priced ASP Dealer Management System solution for automotive retailers was long overdue," said Karen Blunden, president, EDS Automotive Retail Group. "By utilizing the core capabilities of EDS in systems management, redundancy and disaster recovery, we are able to deliver a rock-solid offering that is typically less expensive to own and operate than traditional in-store server-based systems.

"Since its inception, Saturn has been a leader in forward-thinking IT solutions and processes for their automotive retail network, and by migrating their entire US-based retail network to an ASP delivered Dealer Management System, they once again have shown the industry that they continually push the envelope," concluded Blunden.

While completing the installation for Saturn retailers, EDS will be making similar systems available for other automotive retail networks and groups.

About GM

Saturn is a car and truck brand within General Motors. General Motors Corp. , the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, employs 340,000 people globally in its core automotive business and subsidiaries. Founded in 1908, GM has been the global automotive sales leader since 1931. GM today has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in more than 190 countries. In 2002, GM sold more than 8.6 million cars and trucks, nearly 15 percent of the global vehicle market. GM's global headquarters is at the GM Renaissance Center in Detroit. More information on GM and its products can be found on the company's consumer website at www.gm.com .

About EDS

EDS, the world's most experienced outsourcing services company, delivers superior returns to client through its cost-effective, high-value services model. EDS' core portfolio comprises information-technology and business process outsourcing services, as well as information-technology transformation services. EDS' two complementary, subsidiary businesses are A.T. Kearney, one of the world's leading high-value management consultancies, and UGS PLM Solutions, a leader in product data management, collaboration and product design software. With 2002 revenue of $21.5 billion, EDS is ranked 80th on the Fortune 500. The company's stock is traded on the New York and London stock exchanges. Learn more at www.eds.com .