Total preference figures for premium Panasonic sound system outpace Bose,
        Harman Kardon, and Mark Levinson systems by nearly nine to one

    DETROIT, March 12 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the final survey results of
the ELS Surround Sound Challenge compiled by MORPACE International Research,
Panasonic's revolutionary new discrete, six-channel DVD Audio premium sound
system, ELS Surround, was the overwhelming favorite of the nearly 1,300 SAE
show attendees who participated in the four-day, side-by-side competition
against other premium sound systems conducted at the 2004 SAE World Congress.
The competition took place inside the Panasonic booth on the show floor at
Cobo Convention Center.
    A total of 1,290 people participated in the event over the course of the
show, comparing ELS Surround in the 2004 Acura TL against the Bose system in
the Cadillac CTS; the Mark Levinson system in the Lexus LS 430; and the Harman
Kardon Logic 7 system in the Mercedes E-320.  Participants cycled through the
vehicles, comparing the sound qualities of identical musical selections in
each vehicle, then revealed their preferences by answering a series of
questions from MORPACE representatives.  According to the four-day cumulative
numbers from MORPACE, total preference of ELS Surround over the competing
premium systems breaks down as follows:

    *  ELS Surround vs. Bose (Cadillac CTS): 360 of 400 participants preferred
ELS (89.8%)
    *  ELS Surround vs. Mark Levinson (Lexus LS 430): 373 of 418 participants
preferred ELS (89.2%)
    *  ELS Surround vs. Harman Kardon (Mercedes E-320): 379 of 472
participants preferred ELS (80.3%)

    The high-resolution ELS Surround system is the first DVD-audio system in a
vehicle to provide six independent and discrete channels of sound, instead of
the usual two found in stereo systems.  Moreover, it is the only system that
is personally tuned for the vehicle by five-time Grammy winning producer
Elliot Scheiner, as opposed to the computer-simulated mix found in other
premium automotive sound systems.  ELS Surround allows separate instruments
and voices to be recorded and played over each of the six channels.
    Based in Southfield, Michigan, Panasonic Automotive Systems Company of
America is a division of Secaucus, New Jersey-based Matsushita Electric
Corporation of America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita
Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (NYSE: MC) of Osaka, Japan -- one of the world's
leading developers and producers of innovative digital and other electronic
products for consumer, business and industrial use.  Panasonic Automotive
Systems Company of America also acts as the North American operating company
of Panasonic Automotive Systems Company, an internal division company of
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., which coordinates global automotive
industry systems and components operations.

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