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On the Road to the Washington Auto Show

27 December 1999

On the Road to the Washington Auto Show

                Toyota Echo Trek Offers Potential 'Free Ride';
              Cross-Country Trip to Benefit Children's Hospitals

    WASHINGTON, Dec. 27 -- The Washington Auto Show wants to take
America for a ride -- a free ride, to be exact, for one lucky consumer.  The
Toyota Echo Trek will put two Gen-Xers behind the wheel of a 2000 Toyota Echo
for the ultimate road trip, a six-day journey from California bound for
Washington, DC and the Washington Auto Show:  Hot Wheels(R) 2000.  At stake
for those at home -- the car.  The Toyota Echo will be awarded to the
individual guessing the closest to the total mileage driven on the trip.
America can guess the mileage and follow along with regular live coverage of
the trek on the Auto Show's web site (http://www.washingtonautoshow.com), cars.com ,
or gettoyota.com and at the show itself.
    The journey begins today at Toyota headquarters in Torrance, California.
College students Mike Machiran and Todd Pivec, followed by a chase vehicle
complete with a camera crew, will make a series of special deliveries in major
cities along the way.  Through its sponsors, the Toyota Echo Trek will donate
$2,000 and Mattel toys to children's hospitals in six cities:

    The Sunrise Children's Hospital                      Sunday, 12/26/1999
    Las Vegas, Nevada                                    3:00pm

    University of New Mexico Children's Hospital         Monday, 12/27/1999
    Albuquerque, NM                                      3:00pm

    Children's Mercy Hospital                            Wednesday, 12/29/1999
    Kansas City, MO                                      12:00pm

    Children's Hospital Medical Center                   Thursday, 12/30/1999
    Cincinnati, OH                                       1:00pm

    John Hopkins Children's Center                       Friday, 12/31/1999
    Baltimore, MD                                        11:00am

    Children's Inn at NIH                                Saturday, 1/1/2000
    Bethesda, MD                                         12:00pm

    The Echo is scheduled to usher in the 21st Century at the Washington Auto
Show, arriving at 2:00 p.m. on January 1, 2000.  The eight-acre automotive
showcase is hosted annually by the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers
Association (WANADA), running from December 26, 1999 to January 3, 2000.  The
winning guess and new owner of the Toyota Echo will be announced upon the
Echo's arrival.
    With a nod to EdTV and The Truman Show, the Echo drivers will be caught on
camera during their trip.  These intimate "camera calls" will be broadcast on
a large screen at the Washington Auto Show and on the show's Web site at
http://www.washingtonautoshow.com .  The Trek is sponsored by Toyota,
washingtonpost.com/ cars.com .