2006 Dodge Charger Claims First Victory, Winning $75,100 in Charity Auction Benefiting Victory Junction Gang Camp and The Salvation Army

* The bidding race for the first 2006 Dodge Charger volume production unit to roll off the assembly line and autographed race car body used in the world reveal has officially ended; winning bid is $75,100 * Proceeds from the auction will be shared between Victory Junction Gang Camp and The Salvation Army * Winning bidder will receive Charger keys from NASCAR legend Richard Petty at the Dodge Charger 500 on May 7, 2005 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Feb. 14 -- In the midst of Daytona Speedweeks, the all-new 2006 Dodge Charger took an early victory lap winning $75,100 in an eBay charity auction. The auction for the first volume production 2006 Dodge Charger to roll off the assembly line and the race car body used in the world reveal closed Friday. Proceeds from the winning bid will be shared between Victory Junction Gang Camp and The Salvation Army.

The charity auction ran from Feb. 1-11 attracting 56 bidders. A total of 26,435 people visited the auction site.

"The overwhelming response to the auction is not surprising," said Dieter Zetsche, Chrysler Group President and CEO. "The auto show reveal of both the production Dodge Charger and the Charger race car struck an emotional chord with NASCAR fans and Charger enthusiasts alike."

The winning bidder of the auction also will receive a Charger Experience package that features airfare, accommodations and two tickets to the Dodge Charger 500 race in Darlington, South Carolina on May 7 to receive their vehicle keys from NASCAR legend Richard Petty.

The mock race car shell is a replica of NASCAR Rookie-of-the-Year driver Kasey Kahne's No. 9 Dodge Dealers/UAW Dodge Charger. The shell covered the production version of the all-new 2006 Dodge Charger as it was revealed to more than 3,500 international media in a press conference at the 2005 North American International Auto Show. Petty and Kahne took part in the introduction of the vehicle representing the past and the present of Dodge dominance in NASCAR racing. The NASCAR shell has been autographed by Petty, Kahne and Zetsche.

Victory Junction Gang Camp is a not-for-profit organization founded by Paul Newman and Kyle and Pattie Petty. Auction proceeds will help the charity in its goal of enriching the lives of children with chronic or life- threatening illnesses.

The Salvation Army, also a not-for-profit organization, will utilize its share of the proceeds to help care for the poor, feed the hungry and cloth the naked world wide.

Petty's 36 NASCAR Cup Series victories in a Dodge Charger are more than any other Dodge Charger driver in history. Petty drove a Dodge Charger during three of his NASCAR driver championships (1972, 1974, 1975).

Production of the 2006 Dodge Charger SE, SXT and R/T models begins this spring at the Brampton Assembly Plan in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, with vehicles available in North American markets early this summer.