St. Joseph, Missouri-area Mom Makes Internet History as Autobytel's 10 Millionth Customer; Autobytel Community Computer Lab Donation Delivered by Pony Express

    ST. JOSEPH, Mo.--Dec. 13, 2001--St. Joseph, Missouri-area resident Beth Richardson made Internet history by becoming the 10 millionth customer of online car-buying giant, Autobytel Inc. .
    Mrs. Richardson achieved the milestone when she submitted a purchase request to www.autobytel.com for a new Hyundai as a college present from her and her husband Larry for their son, Tim. Autobytel is marking the event by donating a community computer lab to local Neely Elementary School. The donation will be symbolically delivered by a historical Pony Express rider, in honor of St. Joseph's history as the birthplace of the Pony Express.
    The history-making vehicle, a 2002 Hyundai Accent, was purchased by the Richardsons at St. Joseph's Car City Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/Hyundai. Owned by early Internet movers Frank Leone and Carroll Cathey, Car City was the first Autobytel Dealer in the state of Missouri, and among the very first in the entire Midwest. (Autobytel works by providing online car-shoppers with a range of resources to help them make educated vehicle purchasing decisions, and then connecting them with local Accredited Dealers to complete sales transactions.) Car City salesperson Bob Burris, Jr. hand-delivered the new Accent to the Richardsons' doorstep last week.
    Autobytel is memorializing its 10 million-customer milestone by donating a computer lab equipped with 30 computers to one of the St. Joseph school system's innovative community-based Learning Resource Centers. The "Autobytel Computer Lab" will serve students at Neely Elementary School, as well as local residents during after school hours. Autobytel consulted School District COO Rick Hartigan in selecting Neely Elementary, which educates students from some of the lowest-income areas in America. (According to Federal Guidelines, approximately 91% of the students who attend Neely are eligible to participate in a free breakfast and lunch program each day due to their families' financial need.)
    In honor of St. Joseph's history as the birthplace of The Pony Express, a computer representing Autobytel's 30-computer donation will be delivered to Neely Elementary on horseback by John King, whose family is dedicated to preserving the memory and traditions of The Pony Express riders. The event will be held at 11:00 a.m. today at Neely Elementary (1909 South 12th Street ) in a public ceremony attended by Mayor Larry Stobbs, School Superintendent Dr. Dan L. Colgan, Beth and Larry Richardson, and Autobytel representatives.
    "It's hard to think of a more fitting site for our 10 millionth customer than the St. Joseph area, home of another communications revolution, The Pony Express," said Autobytel Inc. President and CEO Jeffrey Schwartz. "Like The Pony Express 140 years ago, Autobytel is all about connecting people with information to improve their lives. The Autobytel Computer Lab can further this ideal by utilizing technology to deliver empowering information to those in St. Joseph who need it most."
    It's emblematic that Autobytel's 10 millionth customer hails from Missouri, one of the most Internet-savvy regions in the nation. J.D. Power and Associates' recent 2001 New Autoshopper.com study found the Kansas City region as having the seventh-highest rate of Automotive Internet Users in the nation -- ahead of New York and Atlanta, among other major urban areas. An April 2001 Nielsen/NetRatings report, meanwhile, named Kansas City and St. Louis among the top-twelve "most wired" U.S. cities -- weighing in ahead of both Los Angeles and New York.
    "Autobytel's 10 millionth customer event underscores the scope and impact of communications technology in America's rural heartland," adds St. Joseph Mayor Larry Stobbs. "We're proud to be a part of Internet history, and grateful to Autobytel Inc. for a tremendous educational resource that will benefit our kids and the entire community."

    About Autobytel Inc.

    Autobytel Inc. , the diversified automotive marketing services company, owns and operates Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com, Autosite.com, and AIC (Automotive Information Center). The company powers manufacturer and portal auto channels with data and tools to help customers buy cars; provides advertising programs for manufacturers and dealers to target customers; built and implemented technology to drive one of the most advanced inventory-based manufacturer's online car selling programs to date and generates billions of dollars in car sales for dealers through the company's popular websites.
    Serving approximately 6,700 subscribing dealers and 25 international automotive manufacturer customers, Autobytel Inc. is the largest syndicated car-buying content network, reaching over 4.5 million unique visitors.(a) Autobytel Inc. content and technology has potential exposure to over 90 percent of total web traffic(aa) and it is estimated that the vast majority of the 60 percent of all Americans who go online to research and shop for a car will encounter Autobytel Inc. content or technology, or an Autobytel Inc. brand, during the process.

    (a) Jupiter Media Metrix October 2001 Custom Report. The car-buying category defined by Autobytel.
    (aa) Jupiter Media Metrix October 2001 Digital Media Audience Report (Autobytel Inc. sites is the unduplicated audience of the Autobytel and Autoweb properties and Carsmart.com. The car-buying and ownership category as defined by Autobytel. Autobytel Inc. provides content to Yahoo.com, AOL websites, MSN.com and Lycos.com. The unduplicated audience of these four sites accounts for over 90 percent of total traffic.)

    http://www.autobytel.com