J.D. Power and Associates and Jumpstart to Host Automotive Internet Roundtable

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif.--Oct. 17, 2005--J.D. Power and Associates, one of the nation's foremost marketing information services firms, will host an Automotive Internet Roundtable in conjunction with Jumpstart Automotive Media, Inc. November 1 to 3 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.

Held concurrently with the SEMA automotive specialty products trade show, the Automotive Internet Roundtable will address all aspects of online advertising for automotive marketers. This unique event for the auto industry is expected to attract senior representation from each of the leading automotive research sites, automotive manufacturers and their advertising agencies, most of the nation's top dealership groups, as well as the technology, marketing and services firms that support the automotive Internet industry.

"Much has changed since the automotive industry first tapped the Internet as a way to reach consumers 10 years ago," said Charlie Vogelheim, vice president of automotive development at J.D. Power and Associates. "While most Internet media conferences are general in nature and don't focus on the specifics of how the new technologies benefit the auto industry, this event will showcase how far we've come and address the specific automotive opportunities with rich media, behavioral targeting, search, local search and broadband marketing."

The Nov. 2 programming is focused largely on the needs of auto dealers while the Nov. 3, 2005 sessions are focused on the needs of auto manufacturers. Scheduled speakers include Curt Hecht, chief digital officer of GM Planworks; Chip Perry, chief executive officer of AutoTrader; Mitch Golub, president of Cars.com; and Nick Pahade, executive vice president of Beyond Interactive (VW).

"J.D. Power and Associates is the gold standard for every type of research related to the automotive industry and is uniquely positioned to move the discussion of how, where, when, and why the auto industry uses the Internet to reach potential buyers," said Mitch Lowe, chief executive officer of Jumpstart. "Participants of this conference will be better informed and armed with new tactics to increase their online share of vehicle buyers."

In addition to co-host Jumpstart, sponsors of the roundtable are Yahoo! Autos, Autobytel, Dealix (a division of Cobalt Group), Kelley Blue Book, CNET and Google.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies. www.jdpower.com

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education and BusinessWeek. The Corporation has more than 300 offices in 40 countries. Sales in 2004 were $5.3 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

About Jumpstart Automotive Media, Inc.

Jumpstart Automotive Media, Inc. (www.JumpstartAutomotiveMedia.com) has partnered with leading Web publishers to create the largest community of online car shoppers. Jumpstart's targeted reach and innovative marketing programs help automotive manufacturers and dealers improve their advertising results and help Web publishers achieve a maximum return on their audience. Jumpstart counts every automotive manufacturer and more than 1,000 automotive dealers as customers. Key partners include NADAguides, Vehix, Consumer Guide Automotive, Google, Yahoo! and eBay.