Three Chevrolet Models to be Assembled in Kazakhstan

• Azia Avto will assemble and distribute Chevrolet Captiva, Chevrolet Epica and Chevrolet Lacetti
• First Chevrolets on display at Astana Motor Show this week
• Strong market growth expected in next five years

Astana, Kazakhstan, 2007-04-24 -- The first Chevrolets assembled by General Motors' local partner, Azia Avto, in Ust-Kamenogorsk, go on show in the Kazakh capital, Astana, today. The Chevrolet Captiva SUV, Chevrolet Epica sedan and Chevrolet Lacetti compact models are assembled from kits supplied from General Motors' South Korean manufacturing facilities (GM DAT).

The assembly of 1500 units this year and more than 3000 in 2008 will put Chevrolet in a strong position in a market with significant growth potential. Kazakhstan, with a population of 18 million, saw annual vehicle sales exceed 60,000 for the first time in 2006. Based on continued economic growth, this figure is expected to increase to 250,000 within five years. The cars produced in Ust-Kamenogorsk are to be sold exclusively within Kazakhstan.

“Kazakhstan has a prosperous future and we are very pleased to have a reliable and knowledgeable manufacturing partner to work with,” said Chris J. Lacey, Executive Director GM Central and Eastern Europe. “There is plenty of opportunity to extend General Motors' activities and model offer in Kazakhstan and, working with our ever growing dealer network, we will be able to reach out to even more prospective customers.”

“We are very proud to bring one of world’s top three brands to our country”, said Yerzhan Mandiyev, President of Azia Avto. “Chevrolet’s reliability, attractive design and strong brand image are exactly what a growing number of Kazakhstan’s new car buyers are looking for.”

In recent years, Chevrolet has been particularly successful in Europe's fastest growing markets. While the company’s sales growth in the first quarter of 2007 in all of Europe was at a considerable 33 percent, sales volume in Romania increased by 128 percent and in Russia the growth was 109 percent in the first three months of 2007 versus the same period last year. With a 90-percent growth rate, Bulgaria also contributed considerably to Chevrolet’s success in the region.

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 284,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, nearly 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. In Europe, GM sells its Opel, Vauxhall, Saab, Chevrolet, Cadillac, Corvette and Hummer ranges in over 30 markets. It operates 10 production and assembly facilities in seven countries and employs around 60,500 people.

More information on GM can be found at http://www.gmeurope.com

Source: GM Central and Eastern Europe

Chevrolet Extends Pioneering Sponsorship of FLW Outdoors

Official tow vehicle of FLW Outdoors to sponsor all 12 tournament trails through multiyear extension

MINNEAPOLIS, April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- FLW Outdoors and Chevrolet announced today a multiyear extension of their sponsorship agreement that upholds American-built Chevy as the official tow vehicle of the world's premier tournament-fishing organization. Chevy will retain its platinum sponsor status, participating in all 12 tournament trails.

Chevy was the first nonendemic company to sponsor FLW Outdoors more than 20 years ago. The new agreement makes the newly-released 2007 Chevy Silverado the official tow vehicle for sponsor boats at all Wal-Mart FLW Tour events as well as a variety of other tournaments. Chevy will be the title sponsor of the sixth qualifying event on the FLW Tour. In 2007, the Chevy Open will be held on the Detroit River in Detroit, Mich., July 12-15. Chevy will also hold title sponsorship of the BFL Wild Card and will be the presenting sponsor of the Wal-Mart BFL All-American.

FLW Outdoors and Chevy will present "Chevy Pro Night" at local Chevy dealerships across the country where FLW Tour and Wal-Mart FLW Series BP Eastern Division events are held. In addition, Chevy will continue to sponsor a professional angling team, perhaps the most competitive group of pro fishermen ever assembled. The Chevy pro team consists of legendary anglers Jimmy Houston, Dion Hibdon, Larry Nixon, Kim Stricker, David Fritts and Luke Clausen. Among the six anglers, they have accumulated 10 tour-level victories in FLW Outdoors competition alone. This team also boasts combined FLW Outdoors earnings of more than $3 million. In Hibdon, Clausen and Fritts, Team Chevy is also home to three of only five anglers in the history of the sport to have won both the FLW Tour Championship and the Bassmaster Classic. Sondra Rankin will fish for Team Chevy from the back of the boat as their lone co-angler. In her young career, the Benton, Ky., native has already notched three top-10 finishes on the FLW Tour. Chevy also sponsors two saltwater teams that compete on the Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour.

As a platinum sponsor, Chevy will be featured in a variety of media formats, including the Emmy-nominated "FLW Outdoors" television program on FSN, which is broadcast to approximately 81 million households in the United States plus an additional 429 million households internationally. Chevy will also benefit from prominent advertising in FLW Outdoors Magazine and on http://flwoutdoors.com/ as well as signage at tournaments and a booth in the popular Family Fun Zone. At the Family Fun Zone, Chevy will provide a simulator, offering fishing fans the experience of a virtual test drive in a Chevy-wrapped Ranger boat.

Irwin L. Jacobs, chairman of FLW Outdoors, said: "Chevy is a cherished member of our sponsor family. They first partnered with Ranger Boats roughly 25 years ago and have been a sponsor of FLW Outdoors since the beginning. Chevy has remained dedicated to the millions of anglers around the world, and these anglers have responded by proudly driving the best tow vehicles on the market.

"This has been a mutually beneficial partnership, and FLW Outdoors remains firmly committed to helping Chevy continue to grow their market share among outdoor enthusiasts."

Named after the legendary founder of Ranger Boats, Forrest L. Wood, FLW Outdoors administers the Wal-Mart FLW Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Series, Stren Series, Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League, Wal-Mart Texas Tournament Trail presented by Abu Garcia, Ranger Owners Tournament Championship Series, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Walleye League, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour, Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Series, Wal-Mart FLW Redfish Series and Wal-Mart FLW Striper Series. These circuits offer combined purses of nearly $43 million through 241 events in 2007.

Wal-Mart and many of America's largest and most respected companies support FLW Outdoors and its tournament trails. Wal-Mart signed on as an FLW Outdoors sponsor in 1997 and today is the world's leading supporter of tournament fishing.

For more information about Wal-Mart, visit http://walmart.com/

For more information about FLW Outdoors and its tournament programs, visit http://flwoutdoors.com/

Source: FLW Outdoors

Team Chevy Rolls Out New Chevrolet R07 Racing Engine

Transition to New-Generation NASCAR Small-Block V-8 Begins at Texas Motor Speedway

FORT WORTH, Texas, 2007-04-14 – On the heels of the successful introduction of the new Impala SS race car in NASCAR Nextel Cup competition, Team Chevy is beginning the transition to the new Chevrolet R07 racing engine. Approved by NASCAR for competition in 2007, the Chevrolet R07 is making its debut this weekend in the Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway.

The Chevrolet R07 marks another step in the evolution of the GM small-block V-8. It is the successor to GM's SB2 (Small-Block/2nd Generation) engine that was introduced in NASCAR Cup competition in 1998. The Chevrolet R07 will eventually replace the SB2 as teams turn over their inventories of engines and components.

"The GM Racing engine development team had four key objectives in mind throughout the design and development of the Chevrolet R07 engine," said Mark Kent, director of GM Racing. "Our goal was to create an engine that produces competitive power, delivers excellent reliability, enhances safety, and reduces costs for Chevrolet teams. Based on the feedback we have received from Chevy teams after extensive dynamometer and track testing, I believe we have achieved our objectives."

The evolution of the GM small-block V-8 racing engine mirrors the development of the GM small-block V-8 production engine, which is now in its fourth generation. Until the introduction of the Chevrolet R07, all of GM's small-block racing engines shared key dimensions such as cylinder bore spacing, camshaft location and deck height with the original small-block V-8 introduced in 1955.

"The Chevrolet R07 is GM Racing's first purpose-built NASCAR racing engine," said Pat Suhy, GM Racing Group Manager, Oval Track. "NASCAR's parameters for the new generation of engines provide a range of choices on key dimensions and design features. Our job was to make the critical decisions and carefully balance the tradeoffs that would enable the Chevrolet R07 to continue Chevy's success in NASCAR. In the long run, the results will show whether we made the right choices."

GM Racing supplies the major components that define the Chevrolet R07 engine package – the cylinder block, cylinder heads, and intake manifold. GM Racing also developed engineered assemblies such as the water pump, rocker covers, valley plate, and front cover. Teams and independent engine builders prepare and assemble these components using their own proprietary parts and processes, including the rotating and reciprocating assemblies, valvetrain, oil pump, fuel and ignition systems, and accessories.

"New manufacturers coming into NASCAR pushed the envelope with engines that had no links to production powerplants, while GM engines were based on the architecture of the first small-block V-8," explained Jim Covey, NASCAR engine development manager for GM Racing. "NASCAR Nextel Cup Series director John Darby addressed this issue by developing a list of parameters that define the envelope for all manufacturers, thus giving Chevrolet an opportunity to develop the R07 engine. Now with the introduction of the Chevrolet R07, Chevy teams have an optimized engine design that reflects the advances in racing technology that have been made over the last 50 years."

Per NASCAR regulations, the R07 displaces a maximum of 358 cubic inches and retains the classic two-valve pushrod design that has been the mainstay of American motorsports for more than 50 years. The R07's key technical advances over the SB2 include 4.500-inch cylinder bore centers (vs. 4.400 inches in SB2) that enhance coolant flow, a raised camshaft that improves valvetrain dynamics, a new six-bolt head bolt pattern that reduces cylinder bore distortion, and a targeted cooling system that minimizes temperatures at critical locations. A cast camshaft tunnel, integral piston squirter galleries, and overhead oil feed galleries reduce engine assembly time. Relocating the fuel pump and eliminating external oil and coolant lines enhance safety.

GM Racing engineers created the Chevrolet R07 in-house using many of the advanced development tools employed by GM Powertrain engineers to design production engines. These included computer-aided engineering (CAE), computational fluid dynamics (CFD), finite element analysis (FEA), and solid 3D modeling. Extensive use of computer modeling accelerated the production and testing of prototype Chevrolet R07 components while reinforcing the connection to GM production powerplants.

"The introduction of the Chevrolet R07 this weekend marks the beginning of a new era for the GM small-block V-8 engine," said Kent. "The Chevrolet R07 is the heir to the winning tradition of GM production-based engines that have powered Chevy to more than 600 victories in NASCAR Cup competition. As we look to the future, we are confident that the Chevrolet R07 engine and the Impala SS race car will continue Team Chevy's winning ways in NASCAR."

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world's largest au tom aker, has been the global industry sales leader for 76 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 284,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. In 2006, 9.1 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services.

More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com

Source: General Motors