Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 19 June 2005 - Two of General Motors newest vehicles, the 2005 Cadillac STS and the 2006 HUMMER H3, garnered honours in their respective car and truck categories for automotive 'Interior of the Year'.

Nominated by Ward's Auto World magazine, a leading international auto industry commentator, the Cadillac STS, recently arrived in showrooms, won 'Industry-at-Large, premium priced car'.  The HUMMER H3, which will arrive in showrooms across the region throughout the summer, won the "Industry-at-Large, popular priced truck."

The 2005 STS marks the return of rear-wheel-drive for the model after nearly 25 years as a front drive model. The interior choices of the Cadillac include aluminium trim on both console and instrument panel on V6 models and two colour choices for wood trim that is standard on V8 models. Other exclusive features of the STS interior include Tuscany leather seats that are available with heating and cooling functions, Bose 5.1 audio system and four- colour, adjustable navigation screen.

"Our goal with the STS interior, in keeping with the philosophy of the entire vehicle, was to strike just the right balance between luxury and performance attributes," said David Leone, vehicle chief engineer for Cadillac. "We incorporated a number of high-technology features in an interior design that is both contemporary and inviting. This award, as well as the reaction of the media and customers to the STS, tells us that we were successful in achieving that balance."

The 2006 HUMMER H3 interior represents the future design theme for the brand. As a mid-size SUV, the H3 is more likely to be a primary vehicle in a household than previous HUMMERS. This fact influenced the design strongly, making comfort and intuitive function the key design objectives. "The goal was to make the interior more refined, purposeful, comfortable and well- crafted," according to Jon Albert, interior design manager for the H3. The interior features bright trim accents and more use of colour than any previous HUMMER. Six interior colour combinations are available -- three for the standard cloth seats and three for the available leather.

The centre stack, flush fit to the instrument panel, is finished in a material called Nissha. This new material carries a metallic finish for a premium look, but is resistant to light reflection and smudges for excellent wear. An emerging material for automobiles, Nissha has previously been used mostly in the electronics industry. This material also is used as the main component in the gauge cluster.

More than eighty journalists and 900 industry at-large executives made the winning selections. Thirteen cars and 10 trucks were nominated for Interior of the Year awards.

The Auto Interiors Show is the largest annual industry event in the world dedicated exclusively to interiors professionals, and is attended by several thousand interiors professionals who come to see the latest in vehicle interior products, components and technologies.

-Ends- 

About HUMMER
General Motors Corporation, the world's largest vehicle manufacturer, and AM General reached an agreement in December 1999 in which GM acquired exclusive ownership of the HUMMER brand name worldwide. The iconic HUMVEE is the original HUMMER, the cornerstone of the brand. 

In 2003, HUMMER introduced H2, reflecting an evolution of the brand and making HUMMER more accessible to a wider civilian audience. The HUMMER H2 SUT is an evolution of the H2 which adds even more flexibility for cargo requirements.  The HUMMER H3, a more compact model is due to be introduced in different markets as a 2006 model year.

About Cadillac
Cadillac is the luxury vehicle division of General Motors Corporation. It was founded in 1902. Cadillac is currently undergoing a worldwide brand rebirth, investing more than US$4 billion in a designer-led renaissance to unveil a new line-up of products that embody luxury, performance and quality.

This investment is paying off - global sales and market share in recent years have made consistent gains. Cadillac today produces the XLR convertible luxury roadster, the SRX midsize luxury utility, the CTS entry-level luxury sedan, the STS performance luxury sedan and the world's most powerful line-up of SUVs, the Escalade, Escalade ESV and Escalade EXT.  The newest member of the Cadillac family, the DTS luxury performance sedan is set to arrive in showrooms across the Middle East later in 2005.

The Cadillac brand has been an iconic presence in the Middle East region for over 50 years, with 2004 sales up by 50% over the previous year. In 2005 the Middle East region has been ranked as the third largest market for Cadillac outside North America, behind China and Europe.

For more information:
Saada Hammad             
Communications and Public Relations Manager
General Motors Middle East
Tel Dubai +971 4 3143350
e-mail saada.hammad@gm.com  

© Press Release 2005