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Ford expects Batman to increase sales

22 August 1998

Quality Care Service Customers Can Collect A Souvenir of Batman's One-Race Deal

    BRISTOL, Tenn., Aug. 22 -- Batman will appear on Dale
Jarrett's Quality Care Service/Ford Credit Ford Taurus for just one race --
the UAW-GM Quality 500 NASCAR Winston Cup race at Charlotte Motor Speedway on
Oct. 4 -- but Quality Care Service customers can have a souvenir of the
occasion with a scale-model replica.
    It's all part of "Batman vs. The Joker, the Showdown at Charlotte"  by
Warner Bros./ DC Comics and Action Performance Companies, Inc., the leader in
the design, marketing, and distribution of licensed motorsport merchandise.
    "We're offering our customers scale models of the Batman car, and we think
they could be collectors' items because it's just a one-race program," said
Roy Gadomski, Ford Customer Service Division's motorsport coordinator on the
Quality Care Brand Team.  "It's a real thrill to be involved with DC Comics in
entertaining the NASCAR audience with Batman and The Joker characters.  We
want our customers to share the excitement, too."
    NASCAR fans can receive a 1:32-scale die-cast model of the #88 Batman
Taurus if they have Quality Care Service performed from a Ford or Lincoln-
Mercury dealer with a minimum purchase of $50.  The 1:32 scale version of the
car is available only through Ford and its dealers.  The offer runs from Sept.
1, 1998, through Feb. 28, 1999.
    Quality Care At Your Service is the brand of Ford Customer Service
Division, and represents the high level of service that Ford and Lincoln-
Mercury dealers provide to their customers.  FCSD employs approximately 11,500
people worldwide, and about 6,500 in the United States at 20 regional offices
and 10 parts distribution centers.  FCSD generates about $8 billion per year
in revenue worldwide, through the sales of parts, extended service contracts,
and automotive tools and equipment.