What Are The Memorable Moments That Create Automotive Enthusiasts?

HOUSTON, Nov. 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- For the past five weeks, as part of the Shell V-Power Ultimate Enthusiast Contest, automotive enthusiasts from across the country have shared the stories and memorable moments that sparked their love for all things automotive. From memories of working with dad in the family garage, getting their hands on all the top car magazines, camping out at auto shows to see the latest models, to simply being born a car lover, Shell has learned first-hand through the Shell V-Power Ultimate Enthusiast Contest that a passion for automobiles can spark at any moment.

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To help identify the nation's most die-hard automotive enthusiast, Shell has teamed up with top expert judges to find the one person that best embodies what being the Ultimate Enthusiast means. And, these judges have their own stories of when their love affair with all things automotive began.  

For Ultimate Enthusiast judge Alan Taylor, host of Motor Trend Radio, his love for cars all started at the age of seven when his father bought a classic British sports car. "I climbed behind the wheel and something just clicked, I was never the same again," Taylor reminisced. One year later, in 1968, Mattel came out with a new line of toys called "Hot Wheels," sealing Taylor's position as a lifelong car guy. Taylor lives his childhood dreams every day as a professional automotive journalist. "My daily driver is a Shelby Mustang GT500 Super Snake drop top with almost 700 HP, and you may think I'm weird, but I also have a pretty impressive collection of Hot Wheels too."

For fellow judge Tony Marini, executive director of Hot August Nights, "Being a real enthusiast is not about having the flashiest vehicle, but about the behind the scenes tinkering and lifelong camaraderie that shines through and through. While I've always had a passion for cars, my love affair really revved up when I joined the team of Hot August Nights. The 26 years of this nostalgic event is nothing short of amazing and you can't help but feel the power behind it."

The Shell V-Power Ultimate Enthusiast Contest aims to find the best of the best enthusiasts, the one person who spends much of their leisure time paying homage to all things automotive. Now through December 3, enthusiasts can continue to share the stories of why they are the Ultimate Enthusiast at www.shell.us/ultimateenthusiast for a chance to win the ultimate experience.

The top three contest finalists chosen by the judges will be flown to Scottsdale, Ariz. for a three-day, VIP experience at the 42^nd Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction to be held January 13-20, 2013. The experience will include access to the world famous car auction and an invitation to Barrett-Jackson's opening night gala on January 14, 2013 where the grand prize winner will be announced. The Grand Prize winner, along with a guest, will receive an Ultimate Enthusiast week in Italy where they'll have the chance to explore the country's historic sites and rich automotive history.

To pamper their beloved vehicles, all finalists will also receive a year's worth* of Shell V-Power Premium Gasoline. Should the Grand Prize winner be unable to redeem the Grand Prize they will be offered $10,000 in Shell V-Power Premium Gasoline. The Ultimate Enthusiast deserves the ultimate experience and the ultimate gasoline. Shell V-Power Premium Gasoline helps deliver maximum protection for optimal performance of a driver's most prized possession.

Additional Ultimate Enthusiast contest judges include Roger Penske, founder and chairman of the Penske Corporation; Craig Jackson, chairman and CEO of Barrett-Jackson Auction Company; Eddie Alterman, editor-in-chief of Car and Driver; and Larry Webster, editor-in-chief of Road & Track.

For more information on the Shell V-Power Ultimate Enthusiast Contest and official rules, visit www.shell.us/ultimateenthusiast.  For more information on the benefits of Shell V-Power Premium Gasoline visit www.shell.us/vpower.

*For the purposes of this Prize, "a year's worth of Shell V-Power Premium Gasolines" is calculated as the average consumer's yearly gasoline consumption of 636 gallons (4.5 fuel purchases per month x 11.77 gallons of gasoline per purchase x 12 months) at an average August 2012 cost of $3.991 / gallon (consistent with the U.S. Department of Energy statistics for "Motor Gasoline Retail Prices, U.S. City Average" released on August 29, 2012 (636 x $3.991 = $2,538.276).

About Shell Oil Company

Shell Oil Company is an affiliate of the Royal Dutch Shell plc, a global group of energy and petrochemical companies with approximately 90,000 employees in more than 80 countries.  We deliver a diverse range of energy solutions and petrochemicals to customers worldwide.  These include transporting and trading oil and gas, marketing natural gas, producing and selling fuel for ships and planes, generating electricity and providing energy efficiency advice.  We also produce and sell petrochemical building blocks to industrial customers globally, and we are investing in making renewable and lower-carbon energy sources competitive for large-scale use.  In the U.S., we operate in 50 states and employ more than 20,000 people delivering energy in a responsible manner.

The companies in which Royal Dutch Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate entities. In this press release "Shell", "Shell group" and "Royal Dutch Shell" are sometimes used for convenience where references are made to Royal Dutch Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words "we", "us" and "our" are also used to refer to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These expressions are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular company or companies. ''Subsidiaries'', "Shell subsidiaries" and "Shell companies" as used in this press release refer to companies in which Royal Dutch Shell either directly or indirectly has control, by having either a majority of the voting rights or the right to exercise a controlling influence. The companies in which Shell has significant influence but not control are referred to as "associated companies" or "associates" and companies in which Shell has joint control are referred to as "jointly controlled entities". In this press release, associates and jointly controlled entities are also referred to as "equity-accounted investments". The term "Shell interest" is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect (for example, through our 23% shareholding in Woodside Petroleum Ltd.) ownership interest held by Shell in a venture, partnership or company, after exclusion of all third-party interest.

This press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Royal Dutch Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management's current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Royal Dutch Shell to market risks and statements expressing management's expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as ''anticipate'', ''believe'', ''could'', ''estimate'', ''expect'', ''goals'', ''intend'', ''may'', ''objectives'', ''outlook'', ''plan'', ''probably'', ''project'', ''risks'', ''seek'', ''should'', ''target'', ''will'' and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Royal Dutch Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this press release, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell's products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, fiscal and regulatory developments including regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; and (m) changes in trading conditions. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional factors that may affect future results are contained in Royal Dutch Shell's 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2011 (available at www.shell.com/investor and www.sec.gov ). These factors also should be considered by the reader.  Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this press release, October 23, 2012. Neither Royal Dutch Shell nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this press release.

We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this press release that United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC.  U.S. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov. You can also obtain these forms from the SEC by calling 1-800-SEC-0330.

SOURCE Shell Oil Company

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