Identifix Launches a New Direct-Hit

ST. PAUL, Minn.--Nov. 8, 2005--Identifix, one of the nation's premier sources of online and hotline diagnostics, today announced the launch of a major upgrade to the award-winning Direct-Hit(TM) system. The upgrade includes the addition of four robust new features:

-- preventive maintenance plan

-- complete maintenance specifications

-- super search technology

-- new user interface

Direct-Hit is a renowned online diagnostic database offering real-world, proven diagnostic developed from more than 2 million Identifix Repair Hotline calls to the company's 37 ASE master certified technicians.

Identifix continually develops new offerings to assist the automotive industry with increasing profits, efficiencies and knowledge. The new Identifix preventive maintenance plan helps independent repair shops capture additional revenue using professional, customer-friendly and easy-to-understand reports that are based on the year, make, model and mileage of the customer's vehicle.

The reports contain:

-- Definitions of preventive maintenance items written in plain English and reasons why these items are important to maintain.

-- "Catch up" preventive maintenance recommendations of major service items that consumers often overlook.

-- Vehicle reliability reports that inform the customer of probable future problems, based on repair problems that have been reported frequently to the national Identifix repair hotline by technicians working on vehicles with the same year/make/model/engine.

-- Technician reports with all related specifications including parts and labor times.

"Surveys show that $67 billion of automotive maintenance goes unperformed each year. With continual increases in average vehicle age and miles driven annually, we saw a need to help our subscribers capture revenue from this often overlooked business opportunity," said Jeff Sweet, president of Identifix. "Our mission is to look to the future and continually design products that enable shops to find fixes faster, excel in their businesses and earn more money."

Identifix has expanded its database to offer maintenance specifications for all years, makes and models directly from the OEM manufacturers.

In addition, Direct-Hit now offers a lightening-fast super search technology, which makes searching for information easier and more advanced. The new keyword search will auto-complete the request by including a dropdown list of most frequently typed words. In addition, a list of automotive synonyms provides the user with common automotive terms that may help them better identify the problem. For example, if "misfire" is typed in to the keyword search, the user receives the following suggestions under "Also Try": buck, cuts out, engine misfire, engine miss and jerk miss. These options all contain diagnostic shortcuts or fixes specific to the year/make/model/engine selected. Thousands of automotive terms have been added to the database to create an easier interface.

Finally, Direct-Hit has also under gone a significant facelift. To correlate with the company's new branding, Direct-Hit displays a new user interface. A new company logo, enhanced colors and layout add to the overall Direct-Hit improvement.

"We are very proud of the new Direct-Hit. We asked our customers what would make a difference in their job and developed a quality product that addressed their requests," stated Sweet. "By incorporating these great features, we have achieved a significant milestone in this strong 18-year-old company."

About Identifix

Founded in 1987, Automotive Service Information, which operates under the brand name Identifix, has evolved into the nation's best source for knowledge of what breaks on vehicles, what vehicles it breaks on, and how to fix those vehicles correctly. Identifix has built this knowledge base through continual analysis of data. Its knowledge base is created from data gathered from the nearly 250,000 annual calls it receives from technicians seeking diagnostic assistance for vehicle repair problems; its staff of 37 master technicians (with over 600 years combined years of experience performing vehicle diagnostics); and the nation's most comprehensive onsite library of factory vehicle service information. The Identifix products and services include: Repair Hotline(TM), Direct-Hit(TM), Repair Trac(TM) and consulting services to automotive equipment manufacturers. Identifix's most recent awards included 2003 MOTOR TOP 20 Tool and 2004 ASA Benefit of the Year.