Alpine Electronics Takes Car Culture 'Underground' With New Online Community

Alpine Electronics Takes Car Culture 'Underground' With New Online Community

Consumer Site Brings Automotive and Music Enthusiasts Together to Share, Learn and Win

TORRANCE, Calif., April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Car lovers share an undeniable passion for their vehicles and how they personalize them. Music lovers live to listen, share and discover music. Alpine Electronics of America, Inc., the industry-leading manufacturer of automotive mobile media solutions, is bringing these impassioned souls together along with brand fans to its new online car and music community: Alpine Underground. The new site is a multifaceted online destination that connects car and music fans, giving them a place to share, listen, learn or just engage with other enthusiasts.

Alpine Underground consists of three separate sections: "Garage" for car enthusiasts, "Rock the Dash" for music artists and fans and "Pulse" for news, events and sharing. Users can connect with other consumers who share their enthusiasm for cars, music and sound systems, and stay up-to-date on the latest news from Alpine.

The "Garage" section allows anyone to create a personal profile and upload pictures of their Alpine-equipped vehicle. A qualifying vehicle can range from a simple Alpine sound upgrade to an ultra-customized system. Alpine's own award-winning show cars are also parked in the Garage. Users are encouraged to register to create their own profile and fully participate in the Garage by uploading vehicle photos, commenting on other vehicles and marking their favorites. Users can post up to five vehicles, with eight photo albums per vehicle and up to 30 photos or videos per album. The Garage door is open for anyone to come in if they want to just view photos or rank the vehicles.

Alpine is continuing to champion great music by bringing its successful "Rock the Dash" contest back for a second year. In this section of the site, users can participate in the popular contest that gives emerging music artists of all genres the chance to be seen and heard. Bands and single artists may post up to five songs and have the Alpine Underground community listen and vote for their favorites. New to the contest this year is the ability for artists to upload their music videos, giving voters the chance to experience the visual expression of the music before they cast their votes.

Alpine provides "Rock the Dash" musicians with tools to help promote their participation, such as banners to post to their Web sites and social networking pages, to encourage friends and fans to check out the contest and vote for their songs. The prize pool for the top-ranked artists includes Alpine products as well as gifts and exposure that will help advance their careers. New this year is the chance for registered voters to also win prizes. More than $16,000 in prizes will be offered throughout the duration of the contest.

The "Pulse" section is the place to go for the latest insider news and happenings from Alpine. Posts and commentary will cover topics such as car audio, automotive culture, events and technology.

"This site marks a new direction for Alpine. While we have always focused on providing consumers with great products, Alpine Underground allows them to be part of a larger community and gives them the tools to interact with us and other car and music fans," said Stephen Witt, vice president, marketing, Alpine Electronics. "This site provides a dynamic and ever-evolving Alpine experience for all visitors."

For more information, please visit Alpine Underground at: http://underground.alpine-usa.com/.

About Alpine Electronics

Alpine Electronics is an automotive electronics manufacturer that supports drivers in over 60 countries and provides the world's leading auto makers with audio, video, navigation and driver assistance products. The company specializes in system integration solutions with innovative vehicle entertainment and information technologies.

The company is committed to developing products that are safe, comfortable and eco-friendly for the automotive environment.

For more information about Alpine Electronics, visit www.alpine.com. For more information about Alpine's aftermarket products, visit www.alpine-usa.com.

Source: Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

CONTACT: Connie Sung, +1-310-280-7963, connie.sung@wongdoody.com, or
Jennifer Cody, +1-310-280-7717, jennifer.cody@wongdoody.com, both of
WONGDOODY, for Alpine Electronics of America, Inc.

Web Site: http://www.alpine.com/

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