Honda Remains Top Choice of Online Auto Shoppers

    PORTLAND, Ore.--Feb. 5, 2002--Chrome Systems Corporation, provider of automotive data, configuration technology and commerce solutions, announced today the Chrome Top 10(TM), national and regional rankings of the most popular vehicles researched online for the month of January.
    Honda continues to dominate the list capturing the top four spots with the Civic at number one, followed by the Accord, Odyssey and CR-V. The Honda CR-V moves up from eighth place last quarter, bumping the Nissan Altima from the number 4 spot. The trend continues from last quarter when the manufacturer dominated the number one, two and three slots.

    Chrome Top 10(TM) Nationwide

             Make           Model
             -----          -----
1            Honda          Civic
2            Honda          Accord Sedan
3            Honda          Odyssey
4            Honda          CR-V
5            Nissan         Altima
6            BMW            3-Series
7            Toyota         Camry
8            Hyundai        Santa Fe
9            Toyota         Highlander
10           Ford           F-150

Most Popular Vehicle by City

Metro Area                Make         Model
----------                -----        -----
Atlanta, GA               BMW          3-Series
Boston, MA                Honda        CR-V
Chicago, IL               BMW          3-Series
Dallas-Ft. Worth          Honda        Accord Sedan
Detroit, MI               Ford         F-150
Los Angeles, CA           Honda        Civic
New York, NY              Nissan       Altima
Philadelphia, PA          Hyundai      Santa Fe
San Francisco, CA         BMW          3-Series
Washington, D.C.          Honda        Accord Sedan

    --  Chrome Top 10(TM) listings by city can be found in the
        research center in Chrome's website, www.chrome.com

    The Chrome Top 10(TM) rankings are compiled from vehicle configurations captured through Chrome's Web-based configuration and pricing tool, Chrome Carbook(TM), which is accessible from more than 1,500 websites. The information captured on Chrome's web servers shows which vehicle configurations consumers are considering, including the vehicle's make, model, transmission, option and color preferences.
    This store of real-time consumer demand data can be extremely beneficial to various departments within an auto manufacturer. Marketing departments, as well as production and planning departments, can benefit by seeing which vehicles consumers are considering, and where those consumers are located.
    "Building a vehicle that consumers desire is just part of the equation. Distributing it to the right place is another," said David Mingle, Chrome president. "Chrome's presence on dealer, Internet portal and manufacturer websites allows us to capture a broad view of consumer vehicle preferences. By including real-time demand data into planning and production processes, auto manufacturers can only improve the traditional methods of forecasting."

    About Chrome

    With more than 12,000 clients, including half of all automotive dealers in the U.S. and Canada, Chrome provides vehicle content, configuration technology, software and professional services to produce complete enterprise solutions for all segments of the retail automotive industry, including manufacturers, fleet companies, dealers and Internet sites. Chrome pioneered the technology behind electronic vehicle configuration and for the past 16 years has collected, analyzed and enhanced "raw" automotive data from all manufacturers. Chrome provides the North American vehicle ordering system for General Motors and its 8,300 dealers. Chrome sets the standard in ordering systems for fleet management, serving 13 of the 17 largest fleet leasing companies. The company is based in Portland, Ore. For more information, contact www.chrome.com, 800/936-8906.