Cross Lander impressionne les concessionnaires et les dignitaires am?ricains avec les voitures construites en Roumanie ? l'occasion de la toute premi?re assembl?e des concessionnaires am?ricains

( BW)(FL-CROSS-LANDER) Cross Lander Impresses U.S. Dealers and Dignitaries with ARO Built Vehicles at First-Ever U.S. Dealer Meeting

Business Editors/Automotive Writers

CAMPULUNG, Romania--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2005--U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Romanian Ambassador and Minister Counselor for Economic Affairs, and Almost All of the Company's 148 U.S. Dealers Were on Hand for Vehicle's First Official Drive on U.S. Soil Cross Lander Chief Executive Officer, John Perez, announced today that the company successfully unveiled pre-production models of the Romanian built Cross Lander 244X Sport Recreation Vehicle (SRV) last week at the international auto manufacturer's first-ever national United States dealer meeting held in Key Largo, Florida

Representatives from almost all of the company's 148 U.S. dealers, members of the media and elite dignitaries from the U.S. and Romanian government, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce William H Lash, III, Romanian Ambassador to the U.S. Sorin Dumitru Ducaru, and Romanian Minister Counselor of Economic Affairs to the U.S. Dan Enache, were on hand to take part in the first official U.S. test drives of the Romanian-built off-road vehicle, the Cross Lander 244X, which is bound for sale in the U.S. market

"I want to stress the support of the Romanian government on the success of this project along with the partnership of U.S government," Ambassador Ducaru said in his address to the gathering of dealers, media and business partners.

"I am looking forward to getting the good news of the growing capacity and growing sales from John Perez. Thanks not only to the leadership of Cross Lander here in the U.S. but also to the team of wonderful dedicated Romanians that make this project possible." Shortly after Ambassador Ducaru pledged his support for the project, Secretary Lash touched upon the importance of the U.S.'s relationship with Romania during his address to the gathering

"Romanians are with Americans side-by-side. You don't see it on CNN. You don't read about it in the Washington Post or the New York Times, but Romania is one of our closest and strongest allies," Secretary Lash said.

"No matter where the road takes us, no matter what the terrain may be, we'll be driving together, U.S. and Romania, off-road to a future of adventure to prosperity." Secretary Lash drew thunderous applauses from the gathering when he went on to point out that going off-road is fun for Americans, and that "America wouldn't be a country if we didn't go off-road." The dealer meeting is another major step forward for Cross Lander in its quest to bring its new off-road vehicle to the U.S. market. The meeting comes on the heels of the company's recent certification from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Cross Lander 244X

Cross Lander has continued to accomplish many things as a result of the multi-million dollar investment made by the company and its dealers, including building a U.S. dealer network of 148 dealers and improving the quality and reliability of the 4x4 vehicle by equipping it with a new engine and drive train which are all necessary to allow ARO's vehicles to penetrate the U.S. market. In addition, Cross Lander has secured more than 20 global suppliers that have continued to stand behind the company, many of which were present at the dealer meeting

"We at Cross Lander greatly appreciate the show of support from our global suppliers, the U.S. Embassy in Romania and the U.S Commerce Department," Perez said.

"All of our supporters, suppliers, workers, shareholders and the public should be proud of this moment and assured we have not and will not stop working towards our goals of meeting the expectations of the privatization agreement and building Romanian-made vehicles that its people can be proud of." All the dealers on hand were more than impressed with the Romanian-built vehicles and expect a high demand for the vehicles once they become available in the United States

"I was very impressed to see the support from both the Romanian Ambassador Ducaru and Secretary Lash from the U.S. Department of Commerce. This meeting strengthened my conviction that Cross Lander has all the right people in all the right places to make John Perez's dream a reality," said Bob Luecke, owner of a Cross Lander dealership in Arlington, Texas.

"The American people are starved for a simple, strong, functional vehicle that can be 'the family workhorse' that dad can use for hunting and fishing, mom can use to take the dog to the park, and the kids can drive to school. No other manufacturer markets a vehicle that can do all this and is this affordable. The value to price ratio is off the chart." "Adventurous customers who like to explore difficult terrain in the US know what is important in a vehicle. In this respect, Americans and Romanians must be like minded because the ARO/Cross Lander 244X stands out against other US vehicles in the fact that it was built to be strong and reliable and not to have several fancy expensive options that don't help the vehicle perform off pavement," said Michael Lokey, owner of a Cross Lander dealership in Tampa, Florida.

"The bottom line is that the US is ready to buy a vehicle that is designed to handle the most difficult terrain, tested to be reliable and constructed at a competitive price. In short, Americans and Romanians like more go and less show." "I eagerly signed up to be the first Cross Lander dealer in the US. I knew this project was not going to be accomplished overnight, but I have total confidence in John Perez to not only bring the Cross Lander vehicles to the US, but more importantly to enforce high standards of quality and to follow through with after sale satisfaction both to the consumer and the dealer," said Jerry May, the first ever U.S. Cross Lander dealer and owner of two dealerships in Arkansas.

"After this meeting I have seen more excitement than ever as my fellow dealers inspected and drove the U.S. version of the 244X. I must have heard the comments 'This will sell' and 'I can sell these' one-hundred times. Everyone I spoke with was one-hundred percent delighted with the 244X. It is one mean looking machine." "The dealers understand that importing a new vehicle line for sale in the United States presents its fair share of challenges," said Perez.

"However, we at Cross Lander have never wavered from our goal of bringing these vehicles to the U.S. and international marketplace in order to satisfy the large, untapped consumer need for rugged, affordable four-wheel drive vehicles."

About Cross Lander

Cross Lander is the only world automotive manufacturer in the United States that is aggressively targeting the 4x4 off-road sport recreation vehicle (SRV) market. Cross Lander is headquartered in Miami, Florida, and has offices and a manufacturing plant in Campulung, Romania

For more information please visit http://www.CrossLander4x4.com.

CONTACT:

For Cross Lander, Miami

Brian Warecki, 813-221-0030 [email protected]

KEYWORD: FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL EUROPE

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: MANUFACTURING AUTOMOTIVE PRODUCT

SOURCE: Cross Lander