The new joint venture will purchase from Magellan 50,000 vehicle navigation and driver information systems for approximately $50 million. These systems, which will use "next-generation" satellite navigation technology, will be installed this coming summer in Hertz' rental car fleet, including Lincoln Towncar and Ford Taurus models. The joint venture will also install, maintain, market, advertise and set pricing for the new vehicle navigation systems globally. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

"Over the last several years, Magellan's vehicle navigation technology has proven its value to the car rental industry. Our new joint venture with Hertz will build on our prior success in this market," stated Mr. David W. Thompson, Orbital's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We're extremely excited about being the exclusive in-car navigation supplier to Hertz and expanding the distribution of our new, advanced vehicle navigation and driver information system," added Thompson.

Mr. Robert J. Bailey, Hertz Senior Vice President for Quality Assurance, said, "The Hertz-Magellan joint venture is consistent with our commitment to customer service and the provision of cutting-edge technology to our customers. It is also an innovative means of rapidly deploying what is a global technology. Hertz has been leading the industry in providing Global Positioning System (GPS) technology for travelers since 1995, and our joint venture with Magellan gives us technological superiority in the rental car industry with regard to navigation systems."

These next-generation vehicle navigation and driver information systems, developed and manufactured by Magellan, will be available in 1999 at Hertz locations in the U.S., where the directional data base covers the 48 contiguous states, and at locations in France, Germany, United Kingdom and Canada.

Manufactured by Magellan, which is based in Santa Clara, California, NeverLost combines GPS satellite technology with dead-reckoning and map-matching technology. Navigation Technologies Corporation of Sunnyvale, California developed the NavTech™ Navigable Map Database used in the NeverLost system.

To use the NeverLost system, customers simply input a local street address or may choose from a range of destinations including hotels, airports, restaurants and other points of interest. The new user-friendly route guidance systems will provide easier and more detailed turn-by-turn driving directions with increased data base coverage. Also, each unit will be equipped with an Emergency Location Button, which immediately displays the vehicle's exact location on the screen. So, if a customer requires assistance from Hertz' Emergency Roadside Assistance service, they can easily let Hertz know exactly where they are.

Magellan's new system also meets the needs of the global marketplace by providing customers with the choice of six additional languages, including Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish. Hertz' existing units provide voice prompts in English only.

In 1995, Hertz introduced its Magellan-manufactured Hertz NeverLost on-board navigation system in the U.S. Upon initial roll out, Hertz installed 600 units in its fleet at Hertz airport locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Orlando, San Francisco and Washington D.C. A year later, Hertz expanded this optional service by installing over 7,500 additional NeverLost units, bringing the total number to over 8,000 available for rental. Currently, Hertz offers NeverLost units at over 50 Hertz locations in 35 cities in the U.S.