Frequently Asked Questions
General Participation Questions
Q: When does the promotion start and end?
A: The promotion starts at 12:00:00 AM Pacific Time (PT) on 6/25/08 and ends at 11:59:59 PM (PT) on 8/25/08.
Q: Do I have to submit a car in order to participate in the promotion?
A: Yes, submitting (see Designing A Car for the Grand Prize Contest/Judging) a car is required to initially register, participate and be eligible for the three primary components of the promotion including the People’s Choice award, weekly sweepstakes drawings and program-end contest for the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T.
Eligibility
Q: Who is eligible for the promotion?
A: The promotion is open only to legal residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry. Employees and directors of Microsoft Corporation or an employee of a Microsoft subsidiary, Gage Marketing Group, LLC (“Administrator”) and their parent entities, their subsidiaries and affiliated companies, advertising, promotion, or production agencies, web masters and web suppliers, and their respective IRS dependents, immediate family members (parent, child, sibling and spouse) and individuals residing in their same household are not eligible to participate.
Designing A Car
Q. Do I have to design and submit a car to be eligible one of the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/Ts?
A. Yes, you must submit a car (Note: there is no requirement of custom design elements). However, a car with no design elements probably isn’t going to get you to the final round of judging or the most ratings in the showroom, but it’s up to you how much or little time you want to spend on your creation.
Q. Do I have to use every design tool available to be eligible for the promotion?
A. No, you do not need to use every tool. Therefore, how you use the tools available, and how many you use, to design a car for this promotion is up to you.
Q. Do I have to upload my photo and/or a unique design image to participate in the promotion?
A. No. See previous question.
Q. Is there a way my car submission/entry would not be qualified for the promotion?
A. See Screening below.
Q. Can I enter more than one car?
A. Yes, you can design and submit one additional car per calendar day during the promotion.
Q. How will the judged contest winner of the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T be determined?
A. The total field of all submitted, eligible and approved Showroom cars will be narrowed down to approximately 1,000 based on the individually submitted cars that are rated the most times in the Showroom (see Showroom and Rating Cars for the People’s Choice Award). Then, a panel of judges from MSN and Dodge will review and judge these submissions based on the judging criteria outlined in the official rules of 1) Dream Impact, 2) Theme and 3) Uniqueness (for complete information and judging criteria see Official Rules) to determine a single contest grand prize winner.
Q. How will I know if I am a winner of the judged contest?
A. On/about September 25, 2008, the potential winner will be notified by an email, phone call and/or letter mailed to the address listed on your entry within 7 days following the determination. If the notification that is sent is returned as undeliverable, or you are otherwise unreachable for any reason, we may award the award/prize to an alternate winner.
The Showroom and Rating Cars for the People’s Choice Award
Q: How do I participate to win the 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T People’s Choice Award?
A: You are automatically eligible to participate for the People’s Choice Award once your car has met the screening criteria. Eligible visitors who visit the Showroom will rate vehicles, and the car that receives the most ratings by the end of the promotion will be the preliminary People’s Choice Award winner.
Q. How will I know if my car is approved to the Showroom?
A. You will receive confirmation within 48 hours of submitting a car.
Q. How can I find a specific car, or my car in the Showroom?
A. There are multiple options for finding a car in the Showroom, you can sort by Category, Color, Rating and Date Submitted. Or simply click on Quick Search and type in the Car ID# we provided to you. You can find this Car ID# either on i) the Thank you page that appeared after registration or ii) the confirmation email you received from us upon registration. This will take you to the specific car ID you enter.
Q. How are the number of ratings determined?
A. When you click on the ‘Rate It’ button on each car’s Showroom page, that counts as one ‘rating’ for that specific vehicle which is tabulated for the People’s Choice Award, and towards the total number of ratings a car has available to be assessed for the grand prize judging.
Q. What is the 30 point rating score used for?
Creating a rating score, up to 30 maximum, for the car you are viewing is simply for fun to let us know how cool you think the car is. Using the rating scale is not counted as a rating for the People’s Choice or end of promotion grand prize judging.
Q. Can I rate my own vehicle?
A. Yes, you can rate your own vehicle once per calendar day during the promotion. You can rate up to 20 unique cars a day including your own.
Q. Can my friends or other eligible participants rate my car multiple times a day?
A. Each friend or participant can rate your car a maximum of once per calendar day during the promotion. However, each individual can rate up to 20 unique cars a day. Meaning, they can rate yours, their own and any other cool rides they see in the Showroom up to the maximum of 20 cars daily.
Weekly Sweepstakes
Q: How do I enter the Weekly Sweepstakes Random Drawing?
A: You will automatically receive one (1) Sweepstakes entry the first time you register your information for the promotion (limit one (1) sweepstake entry per entrant for the promotion). You will receive one (1) additional sweepstakes entry each time you return and log in to the promotion site. You will also receive one (1) entry each time one of your car(s) is rated and recorded in the People’s Choice Showroom. See the Official Rules for complete details.
Q. If I am not one of the weekly Sweepstakes winners, do my sweepstakes entries carry over week to week?
A. Yes, your non-winning entries roll-over week to week and are added to any new sweepstakes entries you receive that week through the various methods.
Q. How do I know how many Sweepstakes entries I have?
A. Click on the Log In tab near the top of the page. Log in with the email and password you created during your initial registration. Once you click on the Log In button, you will be able to see your total accumulated Sweepstakes entries earned to date. If you opted-in to receive Microsoft Points, you can also see the total number of Microsoft Points accumulated to date as well.
Q: How do I find out if I've won, and when should I expect to receive a Sweepstakes prize if I am a winner?
A: You can check out the Winners page of the site within 7 days of the end of a Weekly Period (Weekly periods end at 11:59 p.m. PST Tuesdays except the last week of the promotion which ends at 11:59 PM PST Monday). Prizes will be mailed to winners within 2-4 weeks of winners’ status determination, based on the contact information supplied at the time of registration. Note: Making sure your contact information is accurate is your responsibility.
Screening
Q. Why did I receive a message that my car is being reviewed before being posted in the Showroom?
A. It’s just a routine check-up to ensure that the design elements utilized comply with the Official Rules. You will receive an email within 48 hours informing you of your car’s status in the showroom.
Q. Why did I receive an email that my car submission was denied?
A. While we address each individual submission, in general all entries:
- Must be your own original work
- Must include any and all consents, approvals or licenses required to submit your entry
- Must not otherwise violate the rights of any other person or company by using their trademarks, music, logos
names or images without their express written consent
- Must be in compliance with the MSN Autos Code of Conduct
If your entry does not meet the above requirements it will be determined ineligible.
Q. If I receive an email that my car submission is denied, am I still eligible to create another car?
A. Yes, you can create another car that adheres to the submission guidelines in the Official Rules.
Microsoft Points
Q. What are Microsoft® Points?
A. Microsoft Points is a micro-payment system that can be used across 2 digital marketplaces – Xbox Live and Zune. Your points are held in a balance associated with your Windows Live ID until you use them to buy goods and services.
Q. How Can I earn Microsoft Points by participating in the MSN Autos Dream, Design, Drive Challenge?
A. Good question! We’ve made it easy to accumulate Microsoft Points when you participate in the MSN Autos Dream, Design, Drive Challenge
- First – you must design a car and register for the MSN Autos Dream, Design, Drive Challenge!
- When you do, simply click on the – Yes, I want to receive Microsoft Points – box on the registration form.
- Upon registration, you’ll immediately receive an email with a Points coupon code for 100 Points that can be deposited at the Microsoft Points website http://points.microsoft.com. (Please note that the MSN Autos promotional Points coupons must be redeemed at the Microsoft Points website and not through the Xbox Console or Zune client. However, once these coupons are converted into Points in your account, these Points can be used in the same manner as any Microsoft Points in your account).
- Then, return to the MSN Autos Dream, Design, Drive Challenge daily. Create another car, login, and you’ll receive 50 points each time you submit a new car. Plus earn another 50 points for your first ranking in the Showroom during that session. That’s up to *100 points per day during the promotion! (please note that specific caps do apply).
Q. How do I deposit my Points coupon code?
A. To deposit the coupon at the http://points.microsoft.com site, simply click the “Redeem a Microsoft Points prepaid or promotion code” link. Existing Points users will be asked to sign in with their Windows Live ID. New users will be asked to create a new Windows Live ID and accept the Terms of Use.
Q. How will I receive the remaining Points I have accumulated during the promotion?
A. At the end of the promotion, you will receive an email with a coupon code(s) for the total amount of points accumulated during the promotion that you can deposit into your Microsoft Points account. To deposit these Points coupons, follow the steps 3 & 4 above. Go to the Microsoft Points website http://points.microsoft.com and select “Redeem a Microsoft Points prepaid or promotional code” link. You will be asked to sign in with your Windows Live ID.
Q. I am an existing Xbox Live subscriber, why can’t I enter this Points coupon on my Xbox Console?
A. For this promotion, you must enter the Points coupon at http://points.microsoft.com. In the near future, there will not be a distinction on where you can enter any Points promotional coupons – whether it is through the Zune client, the Xbox console or the Microsoft Points website. Rest assured that when you enter these coupons on the Points website, those Points go into your Points balance that can be used across Xbox Live Marketplace and Zune Marketplace. These Points are no different than any other Microsoft Points that you may have purchased or earned!
Q. I didn’t opt-in for Microsoft Points when I first registered, but am interested now, can I earn still earn points when I participate in the promotion?
A. Unfortunately no. Program requirements state that you must opt-in to accumulate Microsoft Points when you initially register for the promotion.
Q. I see there are specific caps that apply, what does that mean?
A. There is a maximum number of Microsoft Points an individual participant can accumulate throughout the entire promotion duration (June 25, 2008 – August 25, 2008) of 2,000 Microsoft Points. Once an individual meets this cap, based on eligible activities completed, the points’ accumulation will stop at 2,000.
Q. How do I know how many Microsoft Points I have accumulated in the MSN Autos promotion?
A. Click on the Log In tab near the top of the page. Log in with the email and password you created during your initial registration. Once you click on the Log In button, you will be able to see your total accumulated Microsoft Points and Sweepstakes Entries earned to date. Please note that this is the amount of Points that you have earned with the MSN Autos promotion. This does not represent your total balance for Microsoft Points. To see your balance, please visit Xbox Live, Zune or http://points.microsoft.com.
Q. I opted in to receive Microsoft Points, but have not received the Points for registration. How come?
A. Please Contact Us.
Q. I am not seeing any Points accumulating when I Log In, or, they have stopped accumulating, but I am still participating in the promotion, how come?
A. First, please make sure you Log In on all subsequent visits using the same email address and password created during the initial registration process. However, if you have logged in with this information, and still are not seeing any points accumulation, please Contact Us. If your account has stopped accumulating points, it may be because the overall promotion Points cap has been reached, or your individual Points cap has been reached. Please see Official Rules for details.
Q. When should I expect to see my final Microsoft Points email?
A. You should receive your final Microsoft Points email with coupon code(s) on/about 9/19/2008.
For more information on Microsoft Points go to:
http://points.microsoft.com