Chrome Announces New Release of Chrome Carbook Making It Easier Than Ever to Price and Compare Vehicles Online

    PORTLAND, Ore.--May 20, 2003--Chrome Systems Corporation, provider of automotive data, configuration technology and commerce solutions, today announced the release of version 5.2 of Chrome Carbook(R), a web-based vehicle research and pricing tool used by buyers and sellers. This latest release includes key user interface and performance enhancements.
    Chrome Carbook(R) 5.2 introduces new features such as the ranking of vehicle search results based on high, medium, or low criteria matches; the capability to sort results by make, model, price or mileage; and the automatic pre-selection of standard options.
    Chrome Carbook(R) is very flexible, enabling the clients to easily turn features on or off, depending on the customer experience they want to create for Web site visitors. Dealers decide which vehicle makes and years are displayed, as well as which prices and vehicle features can be viewed. Other customizations include comparisons, colors, fonts and search criteria.
    The product includes both advantage-based and side-by-side comparisons on up to five vehicles at one time. Dealerships have the option of hiding the disadvantages of their own vehicles over the competition, or excluding competitive vehicles from the comparisons altogether.
    An abbreviated Make An Offer form makes it easy for consumers to begin the sales discussion by telling the dealer what price they would like to pay for their selected vehicle.
    "This release is another step in our commitment to the automotive retail industry. We're constantly looking at ways of reducing the gap between consideration and purchase," said David Mingle, President of Chrome Systems.
    Chrome Carbook(R) can be integrated with Chrome Inventory Search(TM), an online tool for searching a dealer's inventory and locating desired matches, giving dealers a seamless "build and find" solution for their Web sites.

    Chrome Carbook(R) 5.2 is available immediately.

    About Chrome

    With more than 13,500 clients, including half of all automotive dealers in the U.S. and Canada, Chrome provides vehicle content, vehicle ordering and inventory management tools, configuration technology and professional services to deliver complete enterprise solutions to all segments of the retail automotive industry. These segments include manufacturers, fleet companies, dealers, Internet sites, supply chain providers, and financial institutions.
    Chrome pioneered the technology behind electronic vehicle configuration and for more than 16 years has collected, analyzed and enhanced "raw" automotive data from all manufacturers. Chrome provides the North American ordering system for General Motors and its 8,300 dealers. Chrome sets the standard in ordering systems for fleet management, serving 9 of the 10 largest fleet leasing companies.