FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 24, 2003) –It is “a really big show.” as early TV icon Ed Sullivan used to say. The 2004 Washington Auto Show, a perennial holiday favorite in the nations capitol, will double in size this year when it rolls into the newly expanded Washington Convention Center on Dec. 26, 2003 as the facility’s first public show. Hosted by the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association (WANADA), the 62nd staging of the auto show will showcase more than 700 makes and models from 37 manufacturers set against the backdrop of Washington’s newest venue.

With opening day just twelve weeks away, WANADA auto show committee members have officially shifted into overdrive to ensure both the biggest and best event. Leading the effort is WANADA Auto Show Committee Chairman George Doetsch, president, Apple Ford, supported by committee members Don Bavely, Rosenthal Automotive; Tammy Darvish, DARCARS; Daniel Jobe, Capitol Cadillac Company; Chip Lindsay, Lindsay Cadillac Company; Charlie Stringfellow, Brown Automotive Group; and Morty Zetlin, American Service Center.

For years, WANADA auto show planners have eagerly awaited the Washington Convention Center expansion. “The 2004 Washington Auto Show will now have nearly double the exhibition space of previous shows, enabling our manufacturers to finally bring exhibits of a much greater size and scope.

Auto show visitors will notice the difference immediately,” predicts Doetsch. “In keeping with this grand new venue and the excitement the show is generating, we’ve expanded the run of the show this year to ten full days, though Jan. 4, 2004, celebrating with a theme of “History with a Future.”

The Washington Convention Center is now a 2.3 million square foot facility, including 725,000 square feet of exhibit space, 150,000 square feet of meeting space and a 52,000 square foot ballroom that can accommodate 2,400 seated dinner guests. The Washington Auto Show Snow Ball Gala will make its debut in the convention center ballroom this year, offering patrons an evening overlooking the auto show floor on Mon., Dec. 29. Now in its 16th year, the Snow Ball will donate proceeds of the event and the silent auction to five area charities -- the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, the Boy Scouts of the National Capital Area, the American Red Cross of the National Capital Area, R. Adams Crowley Shock Trauma Center and the Parkinson Foundation of the National Capital Area. The Snow Ball Gala is also sponsored by The Washington Post and BB&T Bank.

Formerly a marketing executive with Ford Motor Company, Doetsch can direct auto show planning with a manufacturer’s insight and the experience gleaned from over 40 years in the automotive industry. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Doetsch started young as an auto technician at age 17. He completed graduate studies at Loyola College and management training programs at Ford’s Marketing Institute. In addition to his tenure at Ford, Doetsch was director of operations for Geneva Management, Inc. in Arlington, managing 15 automotive dealerships. Owner and chairman of Apple Ford in Columbia, Md. since 1994, Doetsch became a dealer principal in 1987 with the purchase of a Baltimore-based Ford franchise.

The 2004 Washington Auto Show: “History with a Future” will bring acres of new cars, trucks, mini-vans and sport utility vehicles from over 37 domestic and import automakers to the new Washington Convention Center from Dec. 26, 2003 through Jan. 4, 2004. For auto show operating hours, ticket information and discounted “e-tickets,” visit the Washington Auto Show online at www.washingtonautoshow.com or contact WANADA at 1-866-WASH-AUTO. Take METRO to Mt. Vernon Sq./7th Street Convention Center Station.

Now entering its 87th year of existence, WANADA represents dealerships throughout the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area.