DriveThere.Com Set to Launch the Motor Club for the New Economy
14 September 1999
DriveThere.Com Set to Launch the Motor Club for the New Economy
Site Will Consolidate All the Services and Information Motorists Need On and
Off Road
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 14 -- Renewing a driver's license, buying or
selling a car, paying a parking ticket, getting the best price on car
insurance, or planning a weekend getaway to watch the fall color
change -- all of these activities have been or will soon be revolutionized by
the Internet. Now one company plans to drive millions of motorists to one Web
site for all of these services.
Pure-play Internet company DriveThere.com announced today its plans to
launch the first vertical-interest Web portal to gather the vast resources of
the Internet for motorists in a single site. The site, at
http://www.DriveThere.com , will aggregate numerous existing sites for
motorists and add new services that will provide a single source for every
product, service, or convenience a motorist will ever need.
Conceived and incubated by a joint venture between Internet development
company Influence and highway travel information company Ultradata Systems
, DriveThere.com will serve the over 170 million motorists that
until now have had to search across dozens of sites to find travel
information, auto services, and online communities that cater to their
interests. (The joint venture company, Influence Data, is currently
negotiating with a major strategic partner which will be announced at launch.)
"The Web is at its most powerful when it can attract a large community and
offer all the products, services and information the people in that community
need," said Craig Kaminer, president of DriveThere.com. "We recognize the
needs of the millions of motorists in this country, and we're using the Web to
create a new level of service for them."
Scheduled to launch on October 29, DriveThere.com will connect content and
commerce with community by providing a suite of highly convenient services
motorists will find very useful while on and off the road. These services
will include driving directions, information about roadside stops, roadside
assistance phone numbers, listings of events and attractions around the
country, free fax and e-mail services, and links to regional and national news
sites. The site also will help motorists quickly find pre- and post-travel
services such as auto maintenance tips, online reservation systems and travel
discounts. All these services will be free.
Soon the site will feature information specially formatted for viewing via
PDAs and cell phones as well as laptops, catering to the new mobile Internet-
enabled devices that are quickly gaining in popularity. It also will include
information users can download onto their PDAs and take with them.
"We intend for this site to provide for motorists' every need, from the
day they get their drivers license until they're too old to drive," said
Kaminer. "No one has taken the motor club model and upgraded it for the
New Economy. Most motor clubs are doing things the same way they did 30 years
ago. We're updating this model and using the Internet to make it
exponentially better for motorists."
DriveThere.com will feature useful services in a number of categories:
-- The Basics of Vehicle Ownership. DriveThere.com will make vehicle
ownership more convenient and cost-effective. Among other services,
the site will help users buy and sell vehicles, buy insurance, sign up
for emergency roadside service, find reputable repair shops, and buy
auto parts and accessories.
-- Convenient Travel. The site will include a wealth of services designed
to make every road trip, for business or pleasure, as enjoyable as
possible. DriveThere.com will offer users a variety of services
including maps; turn-by-turn driving directions; information about
roadside services along every highway in the country; reservations at
great hotels and campgrounds; and travel discounts. The site also will
feature products to make highway travel more convenient, such as
handheld road navigation devices from Ultradata, as well as services to
help travelers stay in touch, including free fax and e-mail and links
to national and local news sites.
-- Online Communities for Highway Travel Enthusiasts. RV clubs,
motorcycle clubs, classic car clubs and other groups will all have a
single home on the Web where they can post listings of their events,
find new groups to join, and share information on bulletin boards.
They will also find links to great Web content just for them, such as
information about campsites, listings of events, driving trips and
guides to enjoying fall foliage.
About Influence
Influence is an e-business solutions firm specializing in offering clients
integrated consulting and development services related to the conception,
design, launch, support, and marketing of their Web-based business
initiatives. The company also conceives, incubates, and brings to market
leading-edge vertical-interest portal Web sites. Influence focuses on market
leaders (Fortune 1000) and potential market leaders (high-growth companies)
who want to build market- and mind-share of their companies in the New
Economy. Some of Influence's clients are today's market leaders who are
developing new game skills to stimulate thought leadership, coaching a
workforce of knowledge workers and adopting e-commerce as a new channel of
distribution. Others are the up-and-comers who are challenging the industry
leaders and are more willing and flexible to take advantage of new
opportunities. Influence's client roster includes market leaders such as
Express Scripts, Edward Jones, Solutia, Compaq and Ralston Purina; as well as
next-generation companies such as Haystack Toys, WorkNet Communications and
PaylinX. Influence has worked on strategic projects with leading systems
integrators such as IBM, CSC and SSE; and with consulting firms such as Arthur
Andersen, Grant Thornton and Ernst & Young.
About Ultradata Systems
Ultradata Systems, Inc. is the leading supplier of handheld portable
databases for travel and has sold over two million handheld travel computers
through a variety of channels including DriveThere.com, QVC, retail (The
Sharper Image, Brookstone, Office Max, etc.), catalogs and mass merchants such
as Kmart. Its products utilize its patents and proprietary databases. The
company's latest product is the AAA TripWizard, containing AAA information and
Ultradata Systems proprietary data, including turn-by-turn directions to AAA
lodging and restaurants. Ultradata is the winner of several Consumer
Electronics Show Innovations Awards for its products, which include in 1999,
the portable TravelStar 24 GPS Driver Navigation System; and owns 25% of a
leading Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver company, Talon Research and
Development, Ltd. of New Zealand, with Fortune 1000 clients.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning
of applicable federal securities laws. The company undertakes no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events, or other changes. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Risk factors include but are not limited to consumer acceptance of new
products; the ability to secure contracts for travel-related products
discussed in this release; consumer acceptance and use of automotive
aftermarket navigation products using global-positioning satellite technology
and the ability to successfully promote the Web site; the overall retail and
economic climate; the long-term financial performance of the Influence Data,
LLC members, the company's ability to find channels for its key products,
long-term relationships with suppliers and favorable pricing and materials
contracts with outside manufacturers. Additional information relating to
historical financial and operational performance, the company's strategies,
competitive risks, and market conditions are available in Ultradata's reports
for Form 10K and 10Q on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.