---

Thor Agrees to Acquire Bus Manufacturer

7 January 1998

Thor Agrees to Acquire Bus Manufacturer; Acquisition Expected to Add to Earnings; Thor Sells Henschen for Cash

    JACKSON CENTER, Ohio, Jan. 7 -- Thor Industries, Inc.
announced today that it has agreed to acquire the operations of
Champion Motor Coach, Inc., a subsidiary of Champion Enterprises Inc.
for approximately $11 million cash.  The acquisition is subject to
government approvals and other usual conditions.  Champion Motor Coach, Inc.
of Imlay City, Mich. is the third-largest manufacturer of small and mid-size
buses and has sales of approximately $60 million.
    "Acquisition of Champion Motor Coach, which is profitable, will give Thor
over $200 million annually in Bus sales and is expected to add to Thor
earnings this fiscal year.  The purchase of Champion Motor Coach represents a
major expansion in Bus, our fastest growth segment.  The plan is for Champion
Motor Coach to be managed by its current management team as a separate
subsidiary of Thor," said Wade F. B. Thompson, Thor Chairman.
    In a separate transaction, Thor announced that it sold its Henschen
Industrial axle manufacturing operation, which has sales of $6 million, to
QDS Components Inc., Winchester, Tenn. for about $3.5 million cash.  The sale
will result in a one-time gain after tax of about $933,000 or 11 cents per
share.
    "These important transactions demonstrate Thor's continuing emphasis on
its two core businesses, Buses and RVs.  Henschen was a minor part of Thor,"
Mr. Thompson added.
    Thor is the second-largest manufacturer of recreational vehicles and the
largest builder of mid-size buses.

SOURCE  Thor Industries, Inc.