DaimlerChrysler Corp. has begun the launch of fully transactional web sites for more than 2,100 Chrysler, Jeep(R) and Dodge Five Star Dealers and will integrate them with DaimlerChrysler’s corporate web site and central database. This seamless Internet presence will provide car buyers on-line resources for current pricing, incentives, new and used car inventories and financing, among other services.
The launch begins this week with Five Star Dealers in Portland, Oregon, Seattle, Washington and the Baltimore/Washington D.C. metro area and will roll out nationwide over the next several months.
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“We’ll have the ability to move information from an engineer’s desk, through our dealers’ business systems, all the way to the consumer’s living room and back again,” said Gary E. Dilts, Senior Vice President of DaimlerChrysler’s eConnect unit. “If a change is made relative to pricing, incentives or financing, for example, it is communicated on a real-time basis directly to the consumer. It definitely raises the standard for on-line car and truck shopping.”
The Five Star web sites will provide the fundamental web development and business management tools a dealer needs to establish dynamic e-commerce operations. Advanced features will include a variety of custom pages, searchable new and used vehicle databases, e-mail response and management tools, a custom domain name and site traffic reporting tools.
To create and manage the sites, DaimlerChrysler has partnered with The Cobalt Group, Inc., the leading provider of Internet-based business-to- business services to the automotive industry. The partnership developed out of a successful pilot program conducted by Cobalt earlier this year with DaimlerChrysler Five Star dealers in the Baltimore/Washington area. The initial term of the agreement is through the year 2002, with an additional term through 2004. DaimlerChrysler will receive an equity interest in The Cobalt Group in the form of common stock and common stock purchase warrants.
The DaimlerChrysler Five Star Dealer program recognizes dealerships that operate at the highest levels of customer satisfaction by employing trained and satisfied people and utilizing consistent, customer-focused sales, service and parts processes. In addition, Five Star dealers engage in comprehensive customer follow up to determine satisfaction with the sales and service experience.
Web site: www.media.daimlerchrysler.com
