Car Buying Alliance Links Autobytel and Priceline.com

    IRVINE, Calif. & NORWALK, Conn.--Oct. 3, 2002--Autobytel Inc. , the Internet's largest new car-buying service and an online automotive information authority, and priceline.com(R) , the Internet's leading name-your-own-price(SM) car-buying service, today announced a joint marketing agreement.
    According to the terms of the agreement, priceline.com shoppers will now have access to Autobytel's extensive nationwide dealer network for new and used vehicle purchases, as well as its extensive online classified listings of quality pre-owned cars and trucks.
    As a result of the Autobytel agreement, priceline.com visitors now have three distinct car-buying options to choose from. In addition to "naming their own price" for a new car or truck, priceline.com shoppers can now also receive a low, no-haggle/no-hassle new or used vehicle price quote from one of Autobytel's thousands of member dealers, or shop for a pre-owned vehicle in Autobytel's consumer classifieds. In turn, Autobytel can refer its website visitors to priceline.com for a "name your price" car-buying experience.
    "We're very pleased that priceline.com recognizes the value of Autobytel's consumer automotive services," said Andrew Donchak, Autobytel Inc. Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. "Both companies have built their businesses on using the Internet to help consumers get better prices. By offering our respective site visitors access to each other's buying models, we can provide one of the most flexible, consumer-friendly car-buying experiences on the Web."
    "This alliance with Autobytel enhances priceline.com's service by enabling us, for the first time, to present customers with a choice of the Internet's most popular car-buying experiences," said priceline.com Vice President Paul Hennessy. "With Autobytel's extensive dealer network, vehicle inventory and web traffic, we're able to dramatically extend our consumer offering and marketing reach."

    About Priceline.com

    Priceline.com offers products for sale in four categories: a travel service that offers leisure airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, vacation packages and cruises; a personal finance service that offers home mortgages, refinancing and home equity loans through an independent licensee; an automotive service that offers new cars; and a telecommunications service that offers long distance calling services. Priceline.com also owns the Internet domain names and trademarks of LowestFare.com, another Web-based travel site. Priceline.com licenses its business model to independent licensees, including pricelinemortgage and certain international licensees.

    About Autobytel Inc.

    Autobytel Inc. , a leading Internet automotive marketing services company, helps retailers sell cars and manufacturers build brands through marketing and CRM (customer relationship management) programs. Autobytel Inc. owns and operates the popular websites Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com and Autosite.com, as well as AIC (Automotive Information Center), a leading provider of automotive marketing data and technology. Autobytel Inc. generated an estimated four percent of all domestic new vehicle sales - $17 billion in car sales in 2001 - for dealers through its websites. Autobytel Inc. is the largest syndicated car-buying content network, reaching millions of unique visitors as they are making their vehicle buying decisions. Autobytel Inc. content and technology has potential exposure to over 90 percent of total web traffic(a).

    (a) 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! Inc., AOL websites, MSN.com and Lycos.com. The unduplicated audience of these four sites accounts for over 90 percent of total traffic.)

    Information About Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict; therefore, actual results may differ materially from those expressed, implied or forecasted in any such forward-looking statements. Expressions of future goals and similar expressions including, without limitation, "may," "will," "should," "could," "expects," "does not currently expect," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "targets," or "continue," reflecting something other than historical fact are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The following factors, among others, could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements: adverse changes in general market conditions for leisure and other travel products as the result of, among other things, terrorist attacks or hostilities; adverse changes in the Company's relationships with airlines and other product and service providers including, without limitation, the withdrawal of suppliers from the priceline.com system; the effects of increased competition; systems-related failures and/or security breaches; the Company's ability to protect its intellectual property rights; losses by the Company and its licensees; final adjustments made in closing the quarter; legal and regulatory risks and the ability to attract and retain qualified personnel. For a detailed discussion of these and other factors that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's most recent Form 10-Q, Form 10-K and Form 8-K filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Unless required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.