Cars.com Delivers Record Traffic and Leads to Advertisers in January

CHICAGO--Cars.com announced record traffic to start 2008, citing a surge in dealer leads of more than 40 percent for a second consecutive year. The increases stem from consumer site enhancements and increased marketing investments that are driving more value to Cars.com’s 16,000 dealer advertisers.

In 2007, Cars.com launched an aggressive marketing campaign and invested at record levels to improve its consumer website. Growth in awareness drove more shoppers to the site, and new tools, content and features worked to convert those shoppers into buyers, giving them the information and advice needed to take the next step toward purchasing a car. As a result, the majority of Cars.com dealers saw an increase in their individual results.

“Cars.com is committed to the success of our dealers and we are constantly looking for new ways to fuel their business success,” said Mitch Golub, president of Cars.com. “Last year we invested at record levels across all aspects of our business to bring car shoppers to our site and drive confident, qualified buyers to our customers’ showrooms. We are excited to report those efforts are driving record results to our dealer partners in the form of email, phone, website and show floor traffic.”

Cars.com‘s 2008 plans call for continued growth, fueled by further site developments and a $200 million marketing campaign -- the largest in company history. The new campaign kicked off last week with two ads on Super Bowl XLII, where they were seen by a record audience of more than 97 million viewers. Already, Cars.com is seeing the impact with increased traffic and lead activity. Cars.com’s expanded partnership network will also deliver significant traffic, including the site’s recently launched partnership with Yahoo! Autos.

“In 2008, we’ll do more than ever to grow the Cars.com business. Dealers can count on Cars.com to drive results and deliver value,” Golub said. “We stand behind our customers with continuous site enhancements, high-profile marketing sponsorships and leading partnerships that work in concert to bring quality, in-market shoppers to their showrooms.”

About Cars.com

Cars.com (www.cars.com) is the leading destination for online car shoppers, with comprehensive pricing information, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car inventory to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. Cars.com puts more than 10 million unique visitors each month in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions. Cars.com gives dealers the opportunity to connect with these shoppers through advertising solutions that deliver results and minimize cost per sale.

Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo , Gannett Co., Inc. , The McClatchy Company , Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company .