One of the largest single-day sporting events worldwide, the Indy 500 has announced its pick for the 2008 pace car and driver. Two-time Indy 500 winner Emerson Fittipaldi will keep the pace with two distinctly different Corvettes. This will mark a record 19th time that a Chevrolet has served as the official pace vehicle for the race and the 10th time that Corvette has paced the race.




(See video from General Motors at:
http://media.medialink.com/WebNR.aspx?story=34268 )


To start the race, Fittipaldi will drive a concept-only ethanol-powered Corvette Z06, capable of changing colors from green, blue, gold and yellow. The second, a special edition Corvette, is designed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the iconic 1978 Corvette Indy 500 pace car with a similar black and silver design. This version will also serve as the Indy 500 Festival associate cars that are driven around Indianapolis during the month of May.



Registered journalists can access video, audio, text, graphics and photos for free and unrestricted use at http://www.mediaseed.tv.



About Genaral Motors:

General Motors Corporation, also known as GM, an American multinational corporation, is the world's largest auto company by production volume for the first 9 months of 2007, and by sales volume since 1931. [4] However, it ranks second behind Toyota in net worth, revenue and profit.



Founded in 1908, in Flint, Michigan, GM employs approximately 284,000 people around the world. With global headquarters at the Renaissance Center in Detroit, Michigan, USA, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 33 countries. Their European headquarters are based in Zurich, Switzerland. Their Holden headquarters are in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. In 2006, 9.18 million GM cars and trucks were produced globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. GM is the majority shareholder in GM Daewoo Auto & Technology Co. of South Korea and has had collaborative ventures in technology and manufacturing with several of the world's automakers.



Daewoo is GM's most recent acquisition, having been rescued by the combine shortly after going into receivership towards the end of 2000. The brand has been retained for the home market of South Korea, although since January 2005 the brand's products have been sold as Holdens in Australia and Chevrolets in other markets.



Holden is the Australian division of GM, although some of its products have been exported to other countries in low volumes, as Chevrolets (Middle East, Brazil and South Africa), Buick (China), Daewoo (South Korea), Vauxhall (UK), and Pontiac (US).



Saab is a prestige marque based in Sweden and sold world-wide.



Hummer and Saturn are almost exclusively sold within US and Canada, with both of these brands having being created within the last two decades. The Hummer H3 is now made in South Africa. This car is also now available for sale in Australia


Opel is the key European brand, although high volumes of its products are made in Africa and Asia.


Since the early 1980s, Vauxhall has been a Britain-only brand, with virtually all of its models since then being identical to Opels.



GM Parts and accessories are sold under GM Performance Parts, GM Goodwrench and ACDelco brands through GM Service and Parts Operations which supplies GM dealerships and distributors worldwide. GM engines and transmissions are marketed through GM Powertrain. GM's largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. GM owns nearly-half (49%) of the finance company GMAC Financial Services, which offers automotive, residential and commercial financing and insurance. GM's OnStar subsidiary is a vehicle safety, security and information service provider.

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