Black Book(R) Guide Live on Cars.com Site

    CHICAGO, March 14 Cars.com today announced that Black
Book's used-vehicle valuation guide is live on the cars.com site.  Cars.com
visitors now have an online tool to determine how much a used vehicle is worth
based on mileage, vehicle condition and certain factory extras on the vehicle.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000415/CARSLOGO )
    Visitors can access this tool in the "Sell It Yourself" section of the
cars.com site, a marketplace for consumers to sell their own vehicles through
an easy to use interface that produces an information packed ad plus a photo.
When consumers go to the "Build Your Ad" page and click the link "Not sure?
Click to look up this car's value," the cars.com Black Book tool will prompt
them to supply everything needed to obtain the most up-to-date retail and
trade-in valuations available for the vehicle.
    According to Mitch Golub, General Manager for cars.com, "Black Book is the
most popular guide used by dealers to determine trade-in and retail values for
cars.  We believe it's also the best information source.  We are pleased to
now offer this valuable service to our online visitors free of charge."
    The cars.com Black Book database is more than an annual guide of average
vehicle prices.  Updated weekly, the data takes into account mileage, vehicle
condition and factory extras of cars that have sold as recently as the
previous week.  Black Book's team of auto experts harvests fresh data by
visually inspecting the used cars, truck and vans sold at auctions throughout
North America every week.  The mileage and selling price, along with vehicle
condition, equipment and trim levels, are recorded and rushed to Black Book
headquarters.  From there, Black Book editors take into consideration numerous
factors -- including weather conditions at the auctions, number of similar
vehicles on the market and the prices from previous weeks' sales -- before
updating the vehicle values.
    "Black Book is committed to providing the most timely and accurate vehicle
valuation information via printed, electronic and Internet solutions," said
Bob Burnett, president of Black Book.  "We are very pleased that this valuable
information and service is now being offered to cars.com visitors."

    About cars.com
    Cars.com is the link between consumers and dealers throughout the entire
vehicle ownership experience.  Cars.com establishes this relationship through
the cars.com Web site, by leveraging the sales and marketing strength of its
network of 134+ local newspapers, and through the development of dealer
products.
    Cars.com is a destination for consumers, providing them with the tools,
resources and most pertinent information available to make all automotive
decisions -- including the ability to not only choose a car, but also choose a
local dealer.  By providing advertising and direct marketing solutions for
dealers both online and off, cars.com enables dealers to reach customers at
all stages of the automotive decision process -- from purchase to maintenance
to resale.  Cars.com also offers integrated solutions to automotive OEM's, and
advertising and e-commerce partners interested in accessing automotive
consumers through cars.com's media platform.  Offerings include advertising
and sponsorship opportunities, lead management, and an eCRM platform currently
utilized by BMW USA ( http://www.bmwusa.com ) and Subaru of America
( http://www.subaru.com ).

    About Black Book
    Black Book, the industry-leading source of used-vehicle valuations, is a
service of National Auto Research Division, Hearst Business Media Corporation.
Since 1955 thousands of automotive dealerships and lending institutions have
counted on Black Book's data to determine precise values for used vehicles.
This data is presented in printed guidebooks, electronic products and
Internet-based solutions.