The Ford Mustang stamp, honored by the United States

(from left to right) Dearborn Mayor Michael Guido; Dearborn Postmaster James O'Beirne; Ford Motor Company Vice President, Government Affairs, Martin B. Zimmerman; Congressman Knollenberg (R, MI-11); USPS District Manager John H. Talick.

Photo: Ford

"I was a teenager at the time, and I can still remember the excitement that swelled around its introduction," said Zimmerman. "Like virtually every other teens at that time, I thought it would be the coolest thing in the world to own a Mustang." When the Mustang rolled off the assembly line, its base price was advertised at $2,368. Reaction to the Mustang’s arrival was so tremendous dealers could not get enough of the cars to meet demand. The Ford Mustang became an overnight sensation, and its success can be credited to the years of planning and effort put into its concept and design. The Mustang continues to dominate its segment. Sales have increased 28 consecutive months and are up 21% year-to-date through October this year over 1998.

As part of the Postal Service’s Celebrate The Century stamp and education program saluting the 1960s, the Ford Mustang stamp was selected by the public during nationwide balloting in May of 1998 as one of the 15 commemorative stamps.

The Celebrate The Century commemorative stamp and education program honors some of the most significant people, places, events and trends of each decade of the passing century. In cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education and 12 leading education associations, the Postal Service has developed a curriculum being used in 300,000 classrooms nationwide, taking students on a field trip through the past 100 years of American history.

Judge Rakoff's decision not only vindicates DaimlerChrysler, but clearly establishes the principle that air bags must be used properly in order to save lives, said DaimlerChrysler Assistant General Counsel Kenneth Gluckman. The tragic truth of this case is that the difference between life and death for the child was the fact that he was not wearing his seat belt.

On December 4, 1998, a New York jury found DaimlerChrysler 50% liable and hit the company with $750,000 in damages stemming from the death of five-year-old Michael Crespo who was killed when an air bag deployed in a 1995 Dodge Caravan during a head-on collision. At the time of the accident, Michael was riding in the front seat of the minivan without a seat belt. Medical experts testified that the child would have escaped serious injury had he been properly belted.

In post-trial motions before Judge Rakoff, DaimlerChrysler argued that the plaintiffs failed to show that any feasible alternative air bag design would have prevented injuries to Michael Crespo. In discussing the alternative designs proposed by the plaintiff judge Rakoff found that, "it is clear that plaintiff utterly failed to adduce any competent evidence that any of these proposed alternatives was safer than defendant's design."

The plaintiff's principal claim was that the airbag deployed at a lower vehicle speed than it should have. According to Gluckman the air bag in the Caravan was designed to deploy at the same speed as air bags in virtually every other vehicle on the road at the time. In addition, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - the government agency charged with ensuring automotive safety - agreed that the deployment speed was appropriate and consistent with the federal government's goal of promoting greater safety for the greatest number of passengers.

Gluckman noted that a Cleveland, Ohio jury recently rejected arguments that an even lower deployment speed was too low in an air bag child-death suit against automaker Volvo. In that case, a six-year-old girl was killed because she was riding in the front seat and not wearing a seat belt.

"With Judge Rakoff's decision and the Cleveland verdict, we now have two precedent-setting legal rulings that existing deployment speeds are not defective and that air bags must be used properly to save lives," said Gluckman. "While we are gratified by these victories in the courtroom, we hope these tragic accidents reinforce to parents the critical need to keep kids buckled in the back seat."

Concurrent with the sale, GM and Arthur Andersen have entered into 10-year services and marketing agreements. Under the services agreement, Arthur Andersen will provide finance and accounting transactions processing services in the United States for payroll, dealer billing, accounts receivable and accounts payable, fixed asset accounting and travel and entertainment expenses beginning in the second quarter of 2000 when a new shared service center is to be completed.

Under the marketing agreement, GM will assist Arthur Andersen in marketing these services and expects to generate additional revenue through financial participation in Arthur Andersen's success. GM has structured this sale to provide all affected employees with the opportunity to transfer to Arthur Andersen.

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