Franchise Car Dealers to Reach More Car Buyers through New Nationwide Collaboration between AutoTrader.com and Edmunds.com

NEW ORLEANS January 25, 2009: AutoTrader.com and Edmunds.com, the two most prominent independent automotive Web sites, today announce that they are collaborating to connect more new car buyers to dealers through a nationwide partnership that will put new car listings from AutoTrader.com dealers in front of the millions of new car shoppers on Edmunds.com.

AutoTrader.com is powering new car inventory listings on Edmunds.com so that the millions of car buyers who visit the Edmunds site can choose a new path to research and compare franchise auto dealers’ new car inventory as they make their new car purchase decisions.

“Previously we offered consumers only one option for connecting with a dealer: getting a price quote,” said Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. “But many consumers want to select a specific vehicle before they start negotiating. For these consumers, adding local dealer inventory to the site will be a huge benefit. And for dealers, we expect that they will close more sales because in-market shoppers will know exactly where to go for the cars they want to buy.”

Any dealer whose new car inventory is available on AutoTrader.com will automatically receive basic listings on Edmunds.com. Savvy dealers can maximize the marketing opportunity by upgrading to a “Featured” listing on Edmunds.com that allows them to post photos, information and links to dealer specials, links to dealers’ own sites and more.

This new car inventory solution on Edmunds.com will expose AutoTrader.com’s new-car listings to a huge new audience, as the overlap in site visitors is only about 12 percent, according to the companies.

“Giving visitors to Edmunds.com the ability to view actual dealer inventory is a win-win for the car buyer and the car seller,” said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry. “For the buyers doing research on Edmunds.com, it gives them an opportunity to research and view actual inventory, which is a benefit for the many online car shoppers who prefer not to submit a lead but still want to engage. For AutoTrader.com new car dealers, they have the opportunity to put their inventory in front of the huge new audience of in-market car shoppers who visit that popular site.”

The tool was launched in limited test markets in October: Columbus, Detroit, Greensboro, Lexington, Salt Lake City and Seattle, and results were so strong that the test was extended to include Baltimore and Washington, DC in December. More than 500 dealers have pre-registered in anticipation of the national launch.

Bob King Automotive Group of Winston Salem, NC was among the earliest participants. Tony Morris, Internet Sales Manager at the dealership, reported “Phone and walk-in traffic along with Internet inquiries have increased by about 10 percent in the first month in this tough economic environment.”

Klein Honda of Everett, WA, also gives the program rave reviews. General Manager Rory Klein noted, “We have been very impressed with the increased exposure of our new car inventory. It has helped us outsell our competition.”