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Western Star Trucks Becomes Newest Member of Freightliner LLC

27 September 2000

Western Star Trucks Becomes Newest Member of Freightliner LLC

   Acquisition Receives Clear Approval; Freightliner Broadens Product Line,
                                 Market Reach

    PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 26 Freightliner LLC, a
DaimlerChrysler AG unit, announced that its acquisition of 100% of the
outstanding stock of Western Star Trucks Holdings closed today.  Freightliner
acquired the company for a purchase price of U.S.$453 million.
    Western Star will be integrated into Freightliner's vocational truck unit,
Sterling Truck Corporation.  The Western Star brand will continue as a
separate product line in the market, and the two companies' dealer networks
will be optimally configured throughout North America to offer customers
expanded service and support capabilities.
    Freightliner also gains one of the leading heavy transit bus manufacturers
in North America, Orion Bus Industries.  The Orion products and brand name
will continue in the market and Freightliner's specialized vehicles group,
which includes Thomas Built Buses, American LaFrance and Freightliner Custom
Chassis Corp, will support the company.
    "The combined organization is highly focused and will have no equal in its
ability to support the unique needs of the vocational and owner-operator
customer," said Freightliner President Jim Hebe.
    "The Western Star and Orion brands and products are tremendous complements
to Freightliner LLC's truck and bus product offering," Hebe added.  "We offer
customers not only the most comprehensive truck and bus product solutions, but
also the most extensive distribution and service network throughout North
America."
    The addition of the range of Western Star trucks fulfills Freightliner's
strategy to offer a full product line to owner-operators as well as further
expand the company's vocational truck offering.  Adding Orion Bus products to
Freightliner's current bus offering supports Freightliner and its
DaimlerChrysler parent company's strategy to become North America's largest
full line bus manufacturer.  Freightliner, through its Thomas Built Buses and
Orion units, manufactures a comprehensive line of both school, commercial and
transit buses.
    "We intend to capitalize on synergies in product design, manufacturing,
purchasing, aftermarket support, and our dealer networks," Hebe added.  "We
expect this to not only strengthen each of our truck and bus units, but more
importantly, it will enable us to respond to customers' needs with unmatched
technical, manufacturing, service, and financial resources."

    Management Team Takes Shape
    John Merrifield will expand his responsibilities as the senior vice
president of sales and marketing at Sterling to combined sales and marketing
for the Sterling and Western Star brands.  Manufacturing and engineering
operations of Western Star will be directed by Roger Nielsen, General Manager
of Operations.
    Merrifield has led the development and growth of Sterling Truck
Corporation since 1997 when Freightliner acquired the rights to Ford Motor
Company's heavy truck product line.
    Since that time, Sterling has established a strong presence in the
medium- and heavy-duty vocational truck segments, particularly in the day cab
truck segments, such as construction, pick-up and delivery, LTL and regional
distribution.
    Nielsen, a 15-year Freightliner veteran, has led the integration effort to
bring Western Star into the Freightliner family.

    A Clear Leader in Commercial Vehicles
    "We're anxious to build on the strengths of our companies and get underway
with the successful integration of Western Star and Orion and their employees
into the Freightliner family," Hebe added.  "We have built a powerful platform
for our continuing growth and dominance of the North American commercial
vehicles market."