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Mercury to Launch 2000 Sable Via the Internet At the San Diego International Auto Show

31 March 1999

Mercury to Launch 2000 Sable Via the Internet At the San Diego International Auto Show

    SAN DIEGO, Calif., March 31 -- Mercury will leverage the
Internet to bridge time and space, bringing together customers, journalists,
and company officers for a major automotive reveal during the San Diego
International Auto Show.
    The Mercury Sable webcast is scheduled today at 10 a.m. PST on
http://www.mercuryvehicles.com or http://webevents.broadcast.com/mercury/2000sable/.
    "We came to California to do things differently," said Lincoln Mercury
President Mark Hutchins.  "To appropriately reveal the redesigned 2000 Sable,
a press conference was not going to be enough; an Internet launch was not
going to be enough; only an integrated, multimedia, and customer-focused event
could capture the essence of Sable and the Mercury brand."
    The webcast will feature live streaming video, provided by broadcast.com,
of the Sable reveal press conference followed by virtual chat rooms.
    Journalists and car enthusiasts will be able to chat live via moderated
Internet chat rooms with Ford CEO and President Jac Nasser in Dearborn; Vice
President of Design J Mays from the New York Auto Show; and President of
Lincoln Mercury Mark Hutchins in San Diego.
    Web attendees will have the opportunity to watch the world introduction of
the redesigned 2000 Sable, while also obtaining product information, viewing
detailed interior and exterior photos, and possibly even winning a 2-year
lease on the new Sable.
    At the New York Auto Show, journalists will not be left out.  A large-
screen television will project the live webcast, while three computers will
ensure New York media are online for chat room participation, alongside J Mays
at the Mercury display.
    "We are pleased to aid Lincoln Mercury in its leverage of the product
launch with exposure through to our Internet audience of more than 800,000
daily visitors," said Stan Woodward, vice president of broadcast.com.
"Working with Lincoln Mercury allows us to enhance the wide variety of
business programming we provide to our visitors."
    Lincoln Mercury relocated to Irvine, California from Dearborn, Michigan in
July of 1998.  It markets the full line of Lincoln and Mercury cars and
trucks.
    Broadcast.com is a leading aggregator and broadcaster of streaming media
programming on the Web.