Volkswagen Continues Sponsorship of the Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Oct. 5, 2007 -- Volkswagen of America, Inc., in conjunction with the Chicago Area and Northwest Indiana Volkswagen dealers, proudly announces its 12th consecutive year of sponsorship of The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

"We're delighted to continue our sponsorship for our 12th year now," said Stuart Karp, Volkswagen Central Region Director. "The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon is a great opportunity for Volkswagen, our dealer partners, our customers and the whole community to come together in a celebration of endurance, stamina and determination."

Preceding the race at the Health & Fitness Expo, held October 5-6, at McCormick Place North Building Hall 1, Volkswagen will be distributing band- aids, chap stick and Volkswagen shaped pasta. Expo attendees can get their picture taken crossing the finish line at our photo finish booth. Photos will be placed on ChicagolandVW.com for consumers to download.

Volkswagen will also be promoting their involvement with the Carbon Neutral Project. This is a partnership with Carbonfund.org to start addressing the issue of carbon emissions. Volkswagen will offset the carbon emission for one year of every new Volkswagen purchased in the US from September 1, 2007 - January 2, 2008. VW will also be making it easy for anyone who already owns a V-dub to determine their vehicle's carbon output and take action toward offset right away. The contributions of the full Volkswagen community will be put toward the re-forestation of the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley. This area has been dubbed the VW Forest. You can also visit VW.com or Carbonfund.org/VW for more information on the project. Pledge forms and other Carbon Neutral Project items will be available at the VW booth.

On race day, the new Touareg 2 and the Rabbit will be the pace car for the men's and women's runners and Volkswagen will also distribute merchandise after the race.

As in the past, Volkswagen will award a new vehicle to the runner breaking a world record. Over the years, three vehicles have been awarded to record breaking competitors in The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world's largest producers of passenger cars and Europe's largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Rabbit, New Beetle, New Beetle convertible, GTI, Jetta, GLI, Passat, Passat wagon, Eos, and Touareg through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. Visit Volkswagen of America online at vw.com.

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