GM Receives Clean Cities National Partner Award For E85 Program

DETROIT June 3. 2004; The U.S. Department of Energy recently recognized General Motors with its 2004 Clean Cities National Partner Award for advancing the nation's awareness of ethanol as an alternative transportation fuel.

GM was presented with the award at the National Clean Cities Conference in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. for its "I Fuel Good" marketing program. GM partnered with the National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition (NEVC) to target owners of 2002-2004 model year GM flexible fuel vehicles by giving them a $30 debit card that they could use to purchase E85 fuel, which is a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline.

Owners also received E85 informational literature, a list of E85 refueling stations in their area, a window sticker and a T-shirt. Additionally, participating GM dealers received assistance in educating customers about the benefits of using E85.

"Receiving the Clean Cities National Partner Award is a tremendous honor for GM," said John Gaydash, GM Executive Director of Alternative Fuels Vehicle Marketing. "Our goal is to continue to work with our partners to raise awareness of the benefits of E85 among consumers and government."

"E85 advances domestic energy security, reduces emissions of greenhouse gases, and provides jobs for Americans," said Phil Lampert, executive director for the NEVC. "By working together with the corn growers, ethanol industry and automakers, we believe our efforts will help increase the use of ethanol, which will benefit the environment and help reduce the nation's dependency on foreign oil."

Ethanol is a clean-burning, alternative transportation fuel that is made from domestically produced corn. It delivers performance similar to regular gasoline and does not deplete petroleum energy supplies because it is made from renewable resources. Throughout the past five years, the demand for E85 has increased ten-fold to about 10 million gallons a year.

Several 2005 model-year GM vehicles equipped with the Vortec 5300 5.3L V-8 engine will be available with E85-capabilities, including the Chevrolet Avalanche, Silverado, Suburban, Tahoe police pursuit vehicle; and the GMC Yukon XL and Sierra full-size pickups.

The Clean Cities Program was established by the U.S. Department of Energy to advance the nation's economic, environmental and energy security by supporting local decisions to adopt practices that contribute to the reduction of petroleum consumption. Clean Cities carries out this mission through a network of more than 80 volunteer coalitions, which develop public/private partnerships to promote alternative fuels and vehicles, fuel blends, fuel economy, hybrid vehicles and idle reduction.

The National Ethanol Vehicle Coalition is the nation's primary advocate dedicated to the use of 85 percent ethanol as a form of alternative transportation fuel. It is a coalition of corn growers, ethanol producers and auto manufacturers based in Jefferson City, Missouri. For more information, visit www.e85fuel.com.