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• Zafira Goes On Sale In Japan As Subaru Traviq
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• Jaguar Plays 'Wicked Games' To Launch The New Jag Generation
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• All-New Fifth-Generation Toyota Camry Sedan Moves From Sensible -- To Sensual
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• New Spectrum of Applications for Virtual Reality at DaimlerChrysler
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• 100,000th BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle Rolls Off the Line at BMW Manufacturing Corp.
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• Audi with record sales in China
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• Richard Conrad Returns To General Motors' Arlington Plant, Jamie Hresko Promoted To Orion Township Assembly Plant Manager
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• The BMW Technology Office in Palo Alto
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News of  August 29, 2001

100,000th BMW X5 Sports Activity Vehicle Rolls Off the Line at BMW Manufacturing Corp.

Photo: BMW

Spartanburg, S.C. - BMW Manufacturing Corp. has produced its 100,000th X5 sports activity vehicle. The Siena Red X5, with Beige Montana leather and wood trim, rolled off the Greer-S.C. line at 3 p.m., EDT, today. It will be shipped to a BMW dealership in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

The milestone X5 was unveiled to associates at the South Carolina factory during celebrations Thursday. X5 Project Leader Eduard Walek drove the 100,000th X5 off the Assembly line and through a ceremonial portal as associates cheered. He presented the keys to the 100,000th X5 to Dr. Helmut Leube, president of BMW Manufacturing Corp.

The BMW X5 was named the safest vehicle ever tested in 2000 by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, and earned the highest rating the institute has ever given a vehicle of any type or price range. It has been featured on Dateline, and, along with Walek, was this month's Quality Digest cover story.

"I am absolutely thrilled to take part in this milestone," Walek said. "This is testament to years of planning and to everyone's hard work. "From the beginning, it was our intention to develop a vehicle that set a new standard as far as SUVs are concerned. We did not accept the standards that applied to [other SUVs]. We adhered to one principle: The X5 must be as safe as the passenger cars produced by BMW."

The X5 is the first sports activity vehicle (SAV), combining the powerful acceleration and exceptional handling of a car, with the advanced traction technologies and all-wheel drive of an SUV.

The first X5 rolled off the production lines in Sept. 1, 1999. BMW Manufacturing Corp. celebrated the completion of the 50,000th X5 in January, 2001.

(August 23, 2001)

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