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From Bloomberg
Will Another Five Years of Tiger Woods Save Buick?: Doron Levin
Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) -- The world's most recognizable male athlete drove to the Torrey Pines Golf Course near San Diego on Monday in an unrecognizable new Buick.
The prototype of a future convertible that General Motors may or may not build drew attention and stares -- or maybe it was the driver, Tiger Woods. GM public relations people hoped the stunt might generate some buzz for Buick, a division that has just limped through its worst sales year in half a century.
Woods, who has been under contract to General Motors Corp. to promote Buick since 1999, was scheduled to tee off this morning at Torrey Pines in the Buick Invitational, which he won last year.
Woods has been rated the world's No. 1 golfer for 235 straight weeks. Yesterday he signed for another five years with GM at an undisclosed sum, which advertising professionals estimate could be more than $25 million.
Last week in Chicago, Gary Cowger, GM's president, announced that the No. 1 automaker will invest about $3 billion over the next five years for new Buick models, perhaps including the convertible.
Declining Sales............Full Article