The Cobalt Group Announces Alliance with Universal Computer Systems -- UCS
SEATTLE--April 10, 2001--The Cobalt Group , a leading provider of e-business products and services to the automotive industry, and Universal Computer Systems, Inc. (UCS), a leading supplier of in-house dealership management systems, announced today an alliance that will allow Cobalt's IntegraLink division to receive new and used vehicle inventory data contained in UCS dealers' dealer management systems and automatically post it to the dealers' Cobalt-built Web sites and leading consumer portals.
As a result of this relationship, the two companies are leveraging their industry-leading technology to provide UCS dealers with automated inventory postings on the Internet, ensuring that vehicle listings are current and saving dealers from manually entering the listings.
"Accurate inventory listings are one of the most important components of a dealer's Web site. This new alliance greatly enhances UCS' dealers abilities to market their new and used vehicle inventory online and attract new customers," said Mike Martinez, vice president of marketing for The Cobalt Group.
Each vehicle listing includes make, model, year, color, options and price. Dealers can use Cobalt's AutoShow inventory management tool to add detailed descriptions and photos to the listings. In addition to being posted on dealers' Web sites, the inventory will be posted on DealerNet.com, Cobalt's consumer automotive portal, and DriversSeat.com, the consumer automotive portal operated by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).
"By teaming with Cobalt, we are now offering our dealers automated and seamless vehicle inventory data transfers to their Cobalt-built and managed Web sites and major consumer portals," said Trey Hiers, senior marketing manager of Universal Computer Systems. "Additionally, our dealer clients can now take full advantage of Cobalt's NADA-endorsed e-business product offerings to enhance dealership customer satisfaction and increase car sales."
Cobalt's IntegraLink division leads the industry by collecting vehicle inventory, service history, parts inventory, and other automotive data from more than 13,000 North American automotive dealers. With the addition of UCS, Cobalt can now collect data from dealership management systems in more than 90% of the nation's dealerships.
ABOUT THE COBALT GROUP
The Cobalt Group(TM) , headquartered in Seattle, is a leading provider of e-business products and services that help automotive dealers and manufacturers effectively manage their businesses online. Cobalt's suite of e-business solutions includes Web services, Web site hosting, e-commerce applications, Internet-based customer relationship management applications, data management, and best practices training and consulting.
Nearly half of the nation's auto dealers use Cobalt's technology, including 8,500 Web services clients, and approximately 9,300 PartsVoice(R) (www.partsvoice.com) clients. Cobalt's e-business products and services are endorsed by 14 automotive manufacturers and more than 50 of the 100 largest dealer groups in the United States. Cobalt is the only e-business provider endorsed by the National Automobile Dealers Association.
Cobalt operates MotorPlace.com(TM) (www.MotorPlace.com), an online business management and industry information resource for auto dealers. At MotorPlace.com, dealers utilize Cobalt tools to manage their Web sites, buy wholesale used vehicles through MotorPlace Auto Exchange, locate and market OEM parts, purchase leads through Pick-or-Pass, and access industry information, news, events, and stock quotes. Cobalt also operates DealerNet(R) (www.dealernet.com), one of the most widely visited consumer automotive information portals on the Web. IntegraLink Corporation, a Cobalt company, is the auto industry's premier provider of automotive data collection and reporting services.
Cobalt has offices in Seattle, Wash.; Portland, Ore.; Detroit, Mich.; Columbus, Ohio; and Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit www.cobaltgroup.com or call 800/909-8244.
ABOUT UNIVERSAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS
Universal Computer Systems (UCS), based in Houston, Texas, supplies comprehensive software solutions specifically designed to meet the needs of automobile dealerships. Founded in 1970, UCS has built a solid reputation as being the industry leader in innovation. UCS offers client/server technology and open systems architecture, while providing the most integrated suite of software applications available for dealerships. For more information on UCS, please visit www.universalcomputersys.com or call the UCS Marketing Department at 800/231-6347.