Ann Arbor, Mich., Area Family to Compete in National "Minivan Summer Games"

Pearlman Family, Heading to New York to Represent Ann Arbor, Mich., in Games; Going for Gold to Win a Trip Anywhere in the World and a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country

-- More than 5,560 families nationwide entered online to compete in one of the eight regional semi-final events and advance to the finals in New York City on July 31, 2004 -- View footage from a semi-final event at http://www.minivansummergames.com and click on "play video"

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., July 22 -- The Pearlman family of Ann Arbor, Mich., is heading to the national finals of the Minivan Summer Games in New York City on July 31, 2004 after claiming victory in the semi-final round of Chrysler Group's Minivan Summer Games held in Detroit, Mich., on Saturday, July 17th.

The Minivan Summer Games promotes the importance of family, quality time in the vehicle, and togetherness and teamwork which is needed to handle the rigors of everyday life. National finals competitions will include stowing, going, packing, running, and putting families to the test in a series of real- world events. The family that proves it has the best speed and coordination, and shows they can handle the rigors of everyday life will be national champion and gold medal winner and receive a dream vacation of their choice and a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country.

Chrysler Group, the inventor and long-standing leader of the minivan segment, created the first-ever Minivan Summer Games in celebration of the all-new 2005 Chrysler and Dodge minivans with Stow 'n Go(TM) seating and storage system and the 20th anniversary of the ultimate family vehicle.

"I never thought we would be selected for the contest, but loved the idea of winning a new minivan," said Susan Pearlman. "I was completely shocked and very excited when we received the phone call asking us to participate!"

The Pearlman team consists of Susan Pearlman, her husband, Mark and five others including their four children, Aaron, Allison, Zachary and Hannah, along with Justin, a family friend. To prove that they are world-class minivan contenders, and make it to the national finals, they had to pass through two rounds of increasingly difficult competitions, including the qualifying round and semi-final games. To prepare for the semi-finals, the Pearlman's visited a local Chrysler dealership where a salesperson let them borrow a minivan for a few hours in order to master the new Stow 'n Go(TM) seating and storage system. If the Pearlman's win the finals, they plan to take their dream vacation in Scotland or the Caribbean.

More than 5,560 families across the country signed up via the online qualifying round. Approximately 40 qualified families for each city were contacted by judges and invited to compete in the live semi-final games that were held in eight markets across the country: Boston, Cheyenne, Wyo., Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, Raleigh, N.C., Gilroy, Calif., and Virginia Beach, Va. The eight gold-medal families from the Semi-Final Game will represent their region in the National Games in New York City on July 31st, 2004.

  Three winning families will be awarded at the national finals:

  -- Gold: a dream vacation anywhere in the world and a new 2005 Chrysler
     Town & Country
  -- Silver: a new 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan and a family vacation anywhere
     in the U.S.
  -- Bronze: a two-year lease on a new 2005 Dodge Grand Caravan

Since introducing the minivan 20 years ago, Chrysler Group has sold more than 10 million minivans worldwide and has a 34 percent share of the minivan market. The minivan market continues to be vibrant with industry-wide sales averaging 1.2 million for the past 10 years.

Additional information and news from DaimlerChrysler is available on the Internet at: http://www.media.daimlerchrysler.com/ .