AIADA Endorses The Cobalt Group's Automotive Retailing Solutions

SEATTLE--April 28, 2006--The Cobalt Group, Inc., the leading provider of marketing services to the retail automotive industry and an exclusive Affinity Partner of the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) today announced it has enhanced its automotive retailing solutions for AIADA members. AIADA endorses Cobalt's comprehensive suite of marketing services to help member dealers seamlessly manage the entire automotive retail process and leverage every opportunity to drive dealer revenue. AIADA's endorsement includes Cobalt's best-in-class Internet search marketing solutions, PowerSearch(SM) and PowerSearch Complete(SM), with AIADA members eligible for exclusive pricing.

"Cobalt provides a complete product family -- now featuring Internet search marketing solutions, PowerSearch and PowerSearch Complete -- that provides AIADA member dealers with everything they need to increase profits by successfully attracting and retaining vehicle buyers throughout the entire customer lifecycle," said AIADA Chairman Don Hicks.

AIADA, the only national lobbying organization dedicated exclusively to representing the interests of international nameplate auto dealers, researches hundreds of companies serving the auto industry and selects only those that provide the highest value and quality products, sales and service to participate in the Member Benefits Affinity Partner Program.

"We are pleased that AIADA endorses Cobalt's industry-leading products and services. AIADA's 11,000 franchises rely on AIADA to represent their best interests. We look forward to continuing to serve AIADA dealers," said John Holt, president and CEO of The Cobalt Group.

All Cobalt packages and products are available to AIADA dealers under the Member Benefits Partner program, with AIADA members eligible for exclusive pricing on endorsed solution offerings:

Cobalt's PowerSearch is a results-driven Internet paid search marketing solution to drive more visitors to dealership websites. PowerSearch is designed to deliver visitors at the lowest average cost and allows the dealership to use existing processes and tools to convert visitor leads into sales.

Cobalt's PowerSearch Complete is a comprehensive solution for Internet organic and paid search marketing. It positions the dealership's Cobalt website for greater visibility through organic optimization and results-driven paid search advertising on major search engines, resulting in more visitors and improved traffic-to-lead conversion. PowerSearch Complete features a Personal Advocate dedicated to the dealership to assist with fine-tuning the dealer's Cobalt website to convert more incoming traffic into qualified leads; and to work with the dealership's marketing team to align Internet, TV, radio, and print advertising for optimal results.

In addition to PowerSearch and PowerSearch Complete, AIADA endorses Cobalt's Nitra(SM) Websites, as well as the following Cobalt solutions: ProCare(SM), Media Tracker(SM), Lead Manager(SM) Customer Central and Prospector(TM).

Cobalt's Nitra websites have an installed base of more than 7,000 dealers and are the cornerstone of a high-performing Internet advertising / marketing strategy. Tailored to a dealership's needs today and easily scalable for tomorrow, user-friendly Nitra websites are a proven lead generator.

Cobalt's ProCare offers proactive support to super-charge dealerships' Cobalt websites for greater lead conversion. A ProCare Personal Advocate is assigned to the dealership to provide proactive website and lead management analysis and tuning. The Advocate also works with the dealership marketing team to ensure that national print, radio and TV advertising campaigns are reflected on the website so that it is always fresh, current and in sync with all of the dealer's advertising initiatives. Participating dealerships also receive reports tracking lead response time and both the quantity and quality of responses.

Cobalt's Media Tracker is a call management system that helps dealers track the ROI of their advertising campaigns and evaluate the inbound and outbound call handling performance of their sales staff.

Cobalt's Lead Manager Customer Central (LMCC) makes it easy for dealers to capture, track, organize and pursue every single qualified lead the dealership creates or acquires. No matter where the dealership's leads come from, LMCC keeps them on track and moving toward a sale.

Cobalt's Prospector offers a complete customer relationship management (CRM) strategy that helps dealers reach new heights in sales, while achieving 100% employee accountability, boosting customer retention and making every sales and marketing dollar work hard for the dealership. Prospector is the industry's most advanced CRM and showroom management solution because it features automated follow-up, data mining and campaign management tools; real-time showroom control; sales desk management tools; and multiple, configurable reports to help build profitable relationships throughout the customer lifecycle.

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.

About AIADA

Founded in 1970, AIADA represents the 11,000 American automobile dealerships that sell and service international nameplate brands including Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Isuzu, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Maybach, Mazda, Mercedes, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Saab, Scion, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. These retailers have a positive economic impact both nationally and in the local communities they serve, providing nearly 500,000 American jobs. Visit AIADA online at www.aiada.org.

Cobalt and The Cobalt Group are trademarks of The Cobalt Group, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.