A Positive Internet Story
With all the bad news about the financial markets and the seeming unlimited number of stories about DotCom implosions, we thought everyone would enjoy a happy Internet story for a change.
This story illustrates what hard work, determination, tenacity, and an experienced management team with real vision can accomplish; even in the face of great odds and formidable competition by some great entities.
THE AUTO CHANNEL has now been online for five years. In fact, we celebrated our fifth anniversary on January 25th. TACH went into the online venture without the backing and support of either a major broadcasting or publishing company. We never went public and never went through endless rounds of investor financing to prop up our company. We didn't piss away tens or hundreds of millions of dollars in search of an "Internet strategy" or to buy Super Bowl commercials in an effort to drive visitors to our website. We simply started out by providing the best and most comprehensive automotive related information. We adhered to sensible business practices and built THE AUTO CHANNEL the way a business should be built. We continue to do so today.
True, we never became flash-in-the-pan IPO trillionaires, but we believe we're in the enviable position of being able to live to tomorrow and beyond, and continue being the best there is. We'd like to share some recent information with you, our audience, information that shows that our effort and determination have paid off.
Recently, ComScore Networks released worldwide Internet usage statistics for January 2001. As January marked the completion of our fifth year we thought these statistics provide a good milestone in our journey. The following numbers are monthly worldwide "unique" visitors to THE AUTO CHANNEL.com and several other well-known websites (in many cases, much more "well-known" than TACH):
TheAutoChannel.com 596,000
CarAndDriver.com 482,000
Auto.com 472,000
Formula1.com 434,000
Intellichoice.com 412,000
MotorTrend.com 377,000
CarTrackers.com 375,000
NADA.com 372,000
Autovantage.com 335,000
CarSmart.com 288,000
Greenlight.com 288,000
MotorCities.com 279,000
JD Powers' CarClub.com 275,000
Hemmings.com 212,000
AutoZone.com 190,000
CarPrice.com 89,000
Manheim.com 80,000
TheCarConnection.com 45,000
CastrolUSA.com 33,000
Information about ComScore Networks and their methodology can be found at http://www.comscore.com.
In addition, PC Data recently released their U.S. "unique" household visitor statistics for February 2001. Here's how THE AUTO CHANNEL stacked up against other Internet entities:
TheAutoChannel.com 325,000
CarAndDriver.com 323,000
NadaGuides.com 318,000
Pontiac.com 316,000
Harley-Davidson.com 307,000
BlueBook.com 303,000
Auto.com 257,000
Yankees.com 256,000
Intellichoice.com 236,000
iSyndicate.com 233,000
GMC.com 225,000
Speedvision.com 211,000
Gannett.com 206,000
Basketball.com 203,000
MotorTrend.com 199,000
PGA.com 189,000
Cadillac.com 188,000
Motorcycle.com 164,000
ThatsRacin.com 141,000
RoadAndTrack.com 140,000
Reuters.com 140,000
TruckWorld.com 135,000
Cart.com 128,000
NCAAbasketball.net 127,000
Golf.com 111,000
Information about PC Data and its methodology can be found at http://www.pcdataonline.com.
From all of us at THE AUTO CHANNEL, we thank you for your continued support and encouragement. We look forward to serving you for the next five years, and the next 50 years after that.
Marc J. Rauch Exec Vice President/Co-Founder THE AUTO CHANNEL 916-852-1956