Autobyel CEO Jeffrey Schwartz Honored at AeA High-Tech Awards

    IRIVINE, Calif.--May 12, 2003--The Orange County Council of AeA (formerly the American Electronics Association) celebrated the tenth anniversary of its annual High-Tech Awards and honored Autobytel Inc. President and CEO Jeffrey Schwartz as the 2003 Outstanding Executive of a public company. Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the AeA association, over 250 attendees were on hand at the Santa Ana Performing Arts Center as AeA gave special recognition to Schwartz for his outstanding contribution to the Orange County high-technology community.
    "Jeffrey Schwartz was named CEO of Autobytel Inc. in late 2001 and immediately sparked a rapid, dramatic fiscal turnaround for the company, capping 14 months of uninterrupted growth with the company's first profitable quarter in Q4 2002," said Phil Beaudoin, executive director, AeA OC Council. "His accomplishments, vision and leadership stood out among Orange County executives."
    "This was a team effort, all the way," added Schwartz. "It's something everyone here at Autobytel can take pride in -- a wonderful validation of all the dedication and hard work that has made Autobytel the leading Internet automotive marketing services company."
    Schwartz is scheduled to speak at the Fifth Annual AeA MicroCap Financial Conference at the Monterey Plaza Hotel -- Monterey, CA at 1:15 p.m. PDT on Tuesday, May 13, 2003.
    The 2003 High-Tech Awards were sponsored by Deloitte & Touche, Marsh, Silicon Valley Bank and Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth. Public relations support was provided by Lages & Associates. The 2003 High-Tech Awards event was produced by Focus Creative Group. Contributing sponsors included Aetna, Ernst & Young and Unum.

    About AeA

    Advancing the business of technology, AeA is the nation's largest high-tech trade association. AeA represents more than 3,000 companies with 1.8 million employees. AeA's 3000+ members span the high-technology spectrum, from software, semiconductors, medical devices and computers to Internet technology, advanced electronics and telecommunications systems and services. With 17 regional U.S. councils and offices in Brussels and Beijing, AeA offers a unique global policy grassroots capability and a wide portfolio of valuable business services and products for the high-tech industry. AeA has been the accepted voice of the U.S. technology community since 1943. For more information, please visit www.aeanet.org.

    About Autobytel Inc.

    Autobytel Inc. (http://www.autobytel.com), a leading Internet automotive marketing services company, helps retailers sell cars and manufacturers build brands through marketing, advertising and CRM (customer relationship management) tools and programs. The company owns and operates the automotive websites Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com and popular automotive research center, AutoSite.com, as well as AIC (Automotive Information Center), a leading provider of automotive marketing data and technology. Autobytel Inc. is the Internet's largest new-car buying service and, in 2002, generated over a billion dollars a month in car sales for dealers through its services. Autobytel Inc. is also among the largest syndicated car-buying content networks, reaching millions of unique visitors as they are making their vehicle buying decisions. Autobytel Inc. content and technology has potential exposure to over 94 percent of the active Digital Media Universe(a).