Autos.com Expands to Offer Industry-First Consumer Ratings and Best-in-Class Used Vehicle Rankings
LOS ANGELES--March 17, 2005--| Rapidly Growing Website Expands Content and Audience; Passes One Million Monthly Visitor Milestone |
Autos.com (www.autos.com), the fastest growing automotive research website, today announced the addition of two industry-first decision-making tools - best-in-class Used Vehicle rankings and "Hot or Not?" consumer ratings. Autos.com offers the most comprehensive rankings of vehicles and is a premier website property of CarsDirect, a leading operator of Internet media and ecommerce sites for "large ticket" consumer categories.
With the debut of this all-new Autos.com content, shoppers can see how used vehicles, back to the 1992 model year, stack up from best to worst and can compare how they perform in 12 individual categories, such as safety or resale value. And, anyone who wonders whether his or her favorite vehicles are held in equally high esteem by others will enjoy the new "Hot or Not?" section, where shoppers can rate the sizzle factor of today's newest vehicles, then see how others voted.
"First, we made car buying a better experience," said CarsDirect CEO Bob Brisco. "Now, we are making the whole shopping experience better by revealing which vehicles are best and worst in all ways."
Hot or Not?
With the new "Hot or Not?" functionality, shoppers can judge a model's sex appeal. These fun, dynamic ratings are updated with new votes on an ongoing basis, keeping pace as consumer preferences change over time.
Unique Ranking System Now Includes Used Vehicles
Still in its first year of operation, Autos.com is already attracting over 1 million unique visitors per month, thanks to its popular best-in-class ranking system. In the newly added Used Vehicle Expert Reviews rankings, shoppers can see what leading auto journalists and industry experts said about their vehicle choices, without spending hours researching back copies of magazines and other review sources. Autos.com is truly a one-stop resource center for time-conscious shoppers who demand instant access to the latest and most accurate vehicle data. This information is readily available on the website, already sorted, grouped and ranked from best to worst in 12 categories that matter most to buyers - such as comfort, performance, invoice price and fuel economy.
Autos.com's unique ranking system was developed by a team of editors and automotive data experts who continuously produce and distill the best and most current automotive research data available. These experts determine which features are most important to buyers, and then develop custom ranking formulas for each category, adding expert reviews and opinions from the country's most respected auto reviewers and publications. The result is a resource center that has the rich and objective content that only multiple information sources can provide.
About CarsDirect
Los Angeles-based CarsDirect is a leading operator of a growing portfolio of Internet media and ecommerce sites for "large ticket" consumer categories. Through the company's two automotive website properties, CarsDirect.com and Autos.com, the company offers product and pricing information, new and pre-owned automobiles and related products and services.
The CarsDirect.com website has been named one of the "50 Best Websites" by Time Magazine, chosen a "Forbes Favorite" three times by Forbes Magazine and selected as a "Top 100 Internet Site" for three consecutive years in PC Magazine.
In recent months, CarsDirect has added to its rapidly growing portfolio of consumer services designed to take the hassle out of high-value, complex consumer transactions on the Web. In Fall 2004, the company extended its award-winning service and technology expertise to the home mortgage lending market with the launch of CheckInterestRates.com and LoanStore.com, providing constantly updated loan rates from hundreds of lenders, easy-to-digest consumer information about mortgage terms and loan types, and access to a full-service brokerage. In January 2005 CarsDirect acquired the well-known and award-winning consumer brands BestRate.com and LoanApp.com from Myers Internet Inc., the leading provider of website and back office technology to the mortgage and real estate industries.