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Mercedes-Benz Offers Alabama Factory Delivery of Award-Winning SUV

26 February 1999

Mercedes-Benz Offers Alabama Factory Delivery of Award-Winning M-Class Sport Utility Vehicles

    MONTVALE, N.J., Feb. 26 -- Mercedes-Benz of North America,
Inc. (MBNA) today announced the beginning of its U.S. factory delivery program
for the M-Class Sport Utility Vehicle which is built in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Clients who order an M-Class through an authorized Mercedes-Benz of North
America Center can now take delivery at the factory in Alabama and have the
option of taking a short vacation there at the same time.
    Clients who choose factory delivery will be treated to a tour of the
Mercedes-Benz Museum and Visitor Center -- which includes the only vintage
Mercedes collection outside Germany; a private tour of the M-Class factory and
an off-road test track demonstration with a certified driver.  The final stop
is the delivery center where the client is presented with their M-Class,
including a bumper-to-bumper walk around of the vehicle.
    "The Alabama M-Class Factory Delivery Program is yet another example of
how Mercedes-Benz is tailoring the buying process to the needs of our
clients," said Mike Jackson, president and CEO of MBNA.  "Our European
Delivery program, by comparison, has not only been phenomenally successful
since its beginning in 1964, but has contributed to building long-term
Mercedes relationships and we are happy to offer the same service for our
M-Class clients."
    In addition to just picking-up their M-Class from the factory, clients can
pick from two optional vacation packages offered in conjunction with the
factory delivery program.  The Explore Alabama Package is 4-day tour that
includes the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Cheaha State Park,
Little River Canyon and Montgomery -- the state capitol.  The second is the
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail Package where clients can play some of the
lushest year-round golf courses in the U.S., including the Oxmoore Valley in
Birmingham, the Grand National in Auburn/Opelika and the Cambrian Ridge in
Greenville, Alabama.
    "We are proud of our plant, and continue to have considerable interest
from the public in touring our facility and seeing how we build quality and
integrity into every M-Class," said MBUSI president and CEO Bill Taylor.  "We
are excited about the beginning of our factory delivery program and the
opportunity to host our M-Class owners while they experience the pride and
spirit of MBUSI."