The Cobalt Group Achieves Yahoo! Search Certified Ambassador Status

SEATTLE--Feb. 1, 20061, 2006--The Cobalt Group, Inc., the leading provider of marketing services to the retail automotive industry, today announced that it has attained Certified Ambassador status for Yahoo! Search Marketing. Cobalt is the first marketing solutions provider focused on the automotive industry to achieve this designation.

"We are very pleased to attain the prestigious Certified Ambassador certification," said John Holt, CEO of the Cobalt Group. "Cobalt is working closely with Yahoo! Search Marketing to deliver highly effective, highly targeted Internet paid search engine marketing services to our dealer customers."

Cobalt is launching a series of dealer search products at the NADA Convention that will be distributed by Cobalt's Dealix and web site divisions. Paid search advertising offers automotive dealers the opportunity to transform and reduce their traditional media spend by purchasing measurable, cost-effective advertising on Internet search engines.

Yahoo! Search Marketing offers Certified Ambassador status for top-tier Yahoo! Search Marketing Ambassadors that have obtained certified status on all applicable Yahoo! Search Marketing products (Sponsored Search, Local Sponsored Search, Search Submit, Product Submit, Marketing Console and Search Optimizer). The Certified Ambassador tier offers the highest level of integrity and credibility in the search marketplace. Yahoo! Search Marketing Strategic Ambassadors receive prioritized service for multiple products including Sponsored Search, Local Sponsored Search, Search Submit Pro, Marketing Console and Search Optimizer.

About The Cobalt Group

The Cobalt Group is North America's leading provider of automotive marketing services. For more than a decade, Cobalt's exclusive mission has been to help automobile dealers and manufacturers increase their retailing effectiveness and profits. Cobalt provides marketing services to more than half the automotive dealerships in the United States, Canada and Mexico and is endorsed by more than two-thirds of the world's major automotive manufacturers. Cobalt is endorsed by the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA).

For more information about The Cobalt Group, please call 800-909-8244.

For media inquiries, please contact Cobalt's corporate communications team at 206-219-8022 or email press@cobaltgroup.com.