Charlotte, NC (February 22, 2006) – Continental Tire North America, Inc. (CTNA) is proud to announce that the new General Tire Exclaim UHP has been ranked best in category among ultra high performance summer tires on tirerack.com. Tire Rack, a leading distributor of performance products, maintains an independent consumer survey designed to help drivers make informed buying decisions. The Exclaim UHP ranked as “excellent” or “superior” by consumers in each category within the UHP passenger segment.

The Exclaim UHP is General Tire's first full line of ultra high performance passenger tires. This line delivers extraordinary performance in wet and dry conditions and targets today's aggressive performance fitments.

The progressive double-V tread pattern of the Exclaim UHP quickly evacuates water to increase resistance to hydroplaning, while the new second generation silica compound provides excellent traction and increased mileage. "The Exclaim UHP provides ultra high performance in wet and dry conditions for performance-oriented passenger cars," says Tony Talbert, CTNA General Tire brand manager. "We are excited to enter the fast growing high performance market in North America with this highly innovative Exclaim UHP product line."

The Exclaim UHP, launched in 2005 as part of a revitalization effort for the General Tire brand, is the pinnacle of performance and value and represents a new generation of General Tire products. “We are very pleased with the results of the consumer survey for the Exclaim UHP. Part of our overall strategy is to revitalize the General brand. Therefore we have launched several new lines in 2005 and will continue to do so also in 2006-2007. We are confident that consumers will be impressed with these new products as well,” said Andreas Gerstenberger, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CTNA's passenger and light truck replacement tire business unit.

The Exclaim UHP is currently available in 21 sizes from 16 – 20 inch, W and Y speed rated and carries the highest UTQG traction rating of “AA”. CTNA plans to add 11 V-rated sizes to the Exclaim UHP line this year bringing the total size offering of the line to 32.

To see the details of the Tire Rack Consumer Survey for the UHP Summer Category please visit: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=UHP.

Continental Tire North America, Inc. (www.continentaltire.com), based in Charlotte, North Carolina, is a group company of Germany-based Continental Corporation, a leading supplier of brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics, tires and technical elastomers. In 2004 the corporation realized sales of EUR 12.6 billion (USD 16 billion). At present it has a worldwide workforce of more than 81,000.