Kelley Blue Book, Reynolds and Reynolds Launch Real-time Dealer Used Car Classifieds
IRVINE, Calif.--Jan. 26, 2002--Kelley Blue Book today announced a new version of kbb.com's popular Blue Book Classifieds, developed in partnership with The Reynolds and Reynolds Company , the leading provider of integrated information management solutions to the automotive retailing marketplace.
Through the agreement, auto dealers will be able to show consumers used cars they have for sale on the same day the dealers place the cars into their inventory. Dealers can also remove cars from consumer view the same day they get sold. This real-time interaction addresses the most common consumer complaint: inaccurate inventory.
Reynolds AutoMark Web Services will provide the technology for Blue Book Classifieds, as well as used vehicle listings from many of its nationwide network of dealer clients.
Blue Book Classifieds has been successful in connecting used car shoppers with auto dealers. Nearly a million car buyers use the service each month.
"Our new relationship with Reynolds and Reynolds will enable us to fulfill the promise of what online classifieds should be about," said Stephen Henson, vice president of marketing and business development for Kelley Blue Book. "The reason car buyers use the Internet is to see more up-to-date and more in-depth information about cars than possible in newspaper classifieds and other publications. kbb.com will become the leader in this important criteria."
Greg Collins, senior vice president, Reynolds and Reynolds, said, "We are pleased to work with Kelley Blue Book in the development of kbb.com's Blue Book Classifieds. Our dealership customers will benefit greatly by being able to tap into the tremendous number of consumers using kbb.com. This relationship extends our vision we articulated earlier this month when we announced the Reynolds Generations Series, our new family of solutions and services -- that of a seamless and convenient approach for consumers in researching and buying a car."
Visitors to kbb.com first select "Buy A Used Car" and then use Blue Book Classifieds to search for the availability of vehicles in their local area. They can then contact the selling dealer. State-of-the-art technology from Reynolds and Reynolds "polls" dealer used car inventories daily to make sure the information consumers are seeing is the most timely on the Web. The new user interface will also enable consumers to see "closest matches" to their search and other "fuzzy logic" capabilities.
ABOUT REYNOLDS AND REYNOLDS: Reynolds and Reynolds, headquartered in Dayton, Ohio, is the leading provider of integrated information management solutions to the automotive retailing marketplace. The company's services include a full range of retail and enterprise management systems, networking and support, e-business applications, Web services, learning and consulting services, customer relationship management solutions, document management and leasing services.
ABOUT KELLEY BLUE BOOK: Based in Irvine, Calif., Kelley Blue Book is relied on by both consumers and the automotive industry, as the trusted resource for car-buying research and information. The company is currently celebrating its 75th anniversary. Its website, kbb.com is the number one automotive site in the nation, according to Nielsen//NetRatings and Jupiter Media Metrix. Over four million unique visitors generate nearly 30 million pricing reports per month. For the 4th year in a row, kbb.com is also the most visited site by consumers who go on to buy both new and used vehicles, according to research by J.D. Power and Associates.