---

Internet Shopping from General Motors Dealer Equipment

2 November 1998

Internet Shopping from General Motors Dealer Equipment - Coming to a Car Service Bay Near You

    WARREN, Mich., Nov. 2 --  The service department of your
local GM dealer can now shop online for the service equipment to fix your car.
    General Motors Dealer Equipment (GMDE) has launched a Web site
(http://www.gmde.com) featuring a "shopping cart" area where dealer service managers
or dealership owners can browse quarterly equipment specials and place an
order for GM-approved products through the Internet.  The shopping cart keeps
a running total of items to be purchased.  When the service professional is
finished shopping, an order form is completed and sent through the Internet.
There are over 8,400 General Motors dealers.  Over half of the dealerships
have their own Web sites.
    In addition to online equipment purchases, the Web site features the
latest service and equipment news and information about free assistance in the
design and layout of new or expanded dealership service facilities.  Field
consultants also can be reached via an interactive map on the Web site.  A
toll-free number (1-800-GM-TOOLS) connects service professionals with a dealer
consultant at General Motors Dealer Equipment.
    "Service is a critical element in building and maintaining customer
loyalty in the car business," according to Charlie Yankitis, general sales
manager for General Motors Dealer Equipment.  "In order to offer quality
service, a dealership has to have the latest equipment.  Online ordering of
service equipment is quick and easy.  It can be done anytime it's convenient.
It allows our customers, the GM service professionals, to remain focused on
their customers, the consumers," Yankitis added.
    The global reach of the auto industry is another reason for offering Web
shopping for automotive service technicians.  General Motors dealers anywhere
in the world can shop for equipment online 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
    The GMDE Web site has generated over 60 thousand "hits" in its first 90
days of operation.  Forecasts from the U.S. Commerce Department and private
research firms indicate E-commerce on the Web will surpass $300 billion by
2002, and nearly two-thirds of those transactions will be business-to-
business.
    General Motors Dealer Equipment offers over ten thousand service equipment
items from nearly 125 suppliers.