AutoTrader.com Refutes Relationship with CompleteAuto

ATLANTA--AutoTrader.com, the ultimate automotive marketplace, today rebuffs reports alleging a business relationship exists with CompleteAuto or its parent company Rocket City Automotive Group (RCAU). Wednesday, April 4, CompleteAuto issued an unauthorized and misleading press release implying a business relationship was in place between CompleteAuto and AutoTrader.com. A subsequent story Friday, April 6, posted on the Market News First (MN1) website erroneously reported an AutoTrader.com spokesperson confirmed a relationship with CompleteAuto.

“AutoTrader.com, Rocket City Automotive and its subsidiary, CompleteAuto, do not have an existing business relationship,” said Clark Wood, vice president of marketing, AutoTrader.com. “Reports to the contrary could not be further from the truth. AutoTrader.com has not fielded a proposal for a partnership from either Rocket City Automotive or CompleteAuto, nor are we interested in any such relationship. AutoTrader.com officials certainly have not pursued a business partnership with either CompleteAuto or Rocket City Automotive.”

About AutoTrader.com

AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location more than 3 million vehicle listings from 40,000 dealers and 250,000 private owners, which provide the largest selection of vehicles attracting more than 11 million qualified buyers each month. Through innovative merchandising products such as multiple photos and comprehensive search functionality, AutoTrader.com unites buyer and seller online - dramatically improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles.

AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor.