CarSmart.com, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Autobytel.com, announced today an agreement with Saturn to provide car-buyers with comprehensive pricing, specification and comparative vehicle information for new and used Saturns through the CarSmart.com website. CarSmart.com will also send consumer purchase inquiries directly to Saturn, for distribution to franchised Saturn retail facilities. Through the alliance, consumers will obtain objective and timely information about Saturn products, and CarSmart will make available to Saturn valuable information about its customers’ car-buying preferences.
“Car-buyers can find extensive vehicle information — from lug nut size to an accurate real-world price — at our web site,” said Mike Gorun, president of CarSmart.com. “This agreement underscores Saturn’s forward-thinking commitment to a pro-consumer sales process, based on an open and honest exchange of information.”
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CarSmart.com pioneered the aggregation of complete vehicle information in 1988. In February 2000, Autobytel.com, the market leader in online car sales, purchased San Ramon, California based CarSmart.com. The purchase combined the two web sites’ customer database of nearly 7 million registered customers into one of the largest independent samplings of car-ordering preferences. This database has the capacity to provide manufacturers and distributors with detailed, accurate information about specific ordering preferences based on options, colors and features consumers actually request when they are not limited to the pre-ordered inventory available at a dealership.
“The CarSmart/Autobytel.com combination is one of the largest suppliers of automotive data on the Internet,” said Gorun. “Our goal is to use that information to determine real time consumer ordering preferences, ultimately providing manufacturers with the timely information they need to streamline the manufacture and distribution of millions of vehicles a year. Manufacturers have expressed interest in this information and could eventually use this data to determine the build options consumers prefer on specific models, in defined markets, prior to actually building those models.”
CarSmart.com and Autobytel.com have over 5,000 dealers nationwide and have established strategic marketing agreements with the top Internet portals such as Go.com, Excite, AOL, Looksmart, Alta Vista, and Snap.com.
About CarSmart.com
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By GlobalDataCarSmart.com is an established, top-rated facilitator of automotive sales. CarSmart.com aggregates an extensive collection of rich automotive content to assist consumers in researching, buying, selling, leasing, financing and insuring new and pre-owned vehicles. CarSmart.com offers the consumer an Accredited Dealer Network of nearly 1,500 nationwide. CarSmart.com is headquartered in San Ramon, California. CarSmart.com/A.I.N. Corp. is a subsidiary of Autobytel.com.
About autobytel.com inc.
Internationally-branded Autobytel.com is the acknowledged leader in online automotive commerce. The most comprehensive automotive Internet site, Autobytel.com offers consumers a positive purchasing and ownership experience, while providing its Accredited Dealer Network with the most efficient way to reach online car buyers. As it assists consumers through every aspect of the automotive lifecycle, Autobytel.com provides continuity into the next vehicle purchase. Launched in March 1995, Autobytel.com’s low-cost, no-haggle car-buying program is available in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Japan. In 2000, Autobytel.com was ranked #1 in Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services for the third year in a row(1).
The statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements under the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Autobytel.com undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause Autobytel.com’s actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, the forward-looking statements are changes in general economic conditions, increased or unexpected competition, changes in A.I.N. Corporation’s financial performance, and other matters disclosed in Autobytel.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
J.D. Power and Associates 1998 — 2000 Dealer Satisfaction With Online Buying Services Studies(SM). 2000 study conducted among dealership Internet specialists who completed 2,144 evaluations of individual services. www.jdpower.com.
About Saturn Corporation
Saturn Corporation entered the automotive market in 1990, bringing a new level of customer service to automotive retailing. Saturn’s first products — the compact SL sedan, SW wagon and SC coupe — featured innovations such as space-frame construction and dent resistant polymer body panels. Saturn recently introduced the world’s first and only three-door coupe, followed in 1999 by a new line of mid-size cars, the L-Series. Saturn was created through a unique partnership between General Motors and the UAW. Saturn and its retailers share a strong focus on customer service, a focus that is an integral part of Saturn’s e-commerce initiatives. For more information on Saturn and its products, please visit www.saturn.com.
Contacts: Autobytel.com/Media Relations: Melanie Webber, Autobytel.com, 949.862.3023, (melaniew@autobytel.com), or Betsy Isroelit, RBI Communications, Inc., 323.960.1360 ext. 17, (betsy@rbicom.com), or Cassandra Cavanah, RBI Communications, Inc., 323.960.1360 ext. 30, (cassandra@rbicom.com).
