Autobytel Brings back Honiotes

30-Year Auto Industry Veteran John Honiotes to Manage Dealer Development for Nationwide Network IRVINE, Calif.--Jan. 26, 2002--Online automotive marketing giant Autobytel Inc. today announced that John Honiotes has been named vice president of automotive operations. In this capacity, Honiotes, who has 30 years of automotive experience and was a member of the original Autobytel.com executive team, is responsible for managing the ongoing development of the company's nationwide dealer network. Autobytel's dealer network serves customers generated through Autobytel Inc.'s car-buying websites, Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com and Carsmart.com.

Honiotes is also responsible for continuing to drive high levels of service to Autobytel's dealer network, as well as initiatives to further accelerate dealership sales. The company was responsible for the greatest number of Internet sales or leads sent to dealers last year and generates an estimated four percent -- $17 billion -- of all domestic new car sales through its subscribing dealer network.

``From his early days at Autobytel, John has been dedicated to the idea that to truly realize the marketing potential of the Internet, we must work with our dealers to build a trained, unified and technologically empowered dealer body, while at the same time providing them with marketing services that help minimize customer acquisition costs and maximize market share,'' said Autobytel Inc. President and CEO Jeffrey Schwartz. ``John's deep understanding of dealers' goals and needs, combined with his innate understanding of where our industry is heading, makes him the ideal person to lead our dealer network and programs into the future.''

As the original national sales director at Autobytel.com, Honiotes was responsible for bringing the first Internet dealers in the country online and, in so doing, created the concept of the Internet department. He played a significant role in developing Autobytel University, Autobytel's national dealer training program, which has become an industry model for Internet customer relations and sales. He was also instrumental in the creation of the Internet-based contact management system that Autobytel.com introduced to its dealers in 1996, which then represented the first automotive customer relationship management system on the web.

Outside of Autobytel, Honiotes served as president of Aftermarket Profit-Plus, a company that created customer satisfaction index-driven aftermarket departments for auto dealerships, and also as senior vice president and national sales director for the auto industry's first affinity card program. He was recently recognized by Automotive News as being among the ten most innovative people in the U.S. for building one of the nation's most technologically sophisticated dealerships.

``It's thrilling to be back at Autobytel at such a pivotal point in its history,'' said Honiotes. ``2002 looks to be a tremendous year for Internet automotive marketing, and I'm honored to be part of it.''