carOrder.com, World's First Automotive eDealer, Launches Nationwide
9 November 1999
carOrder.com, World's First Automotive eDealer, Launches Nationwide
AUSTIN, Texas-Nov. 9, 1999--New York City Commuters Will Travel For Free as carOrder.com Launches
its Nationwide "Happy Car Buying" Campaign
carOrder.com(tm), the Internet's first and largest automotive eDealer, www.carorder.com, today launched its online car buying service nationwide. In celebration, carOrder.com also announced a happy car buying campaign to span from coast to coast.
carOrder.com is introducing a happy car buying experience with its national launch. To emphasize the company's commitment to happy car buying, carOrder.com is paying the travel costs for tens of thousands of Manhattan commuters during morning rush hour today (November 9). "This initial event in the happy car buying campaign will include paying subway, ferry and bus fares throughout the city in addition to other acts to brighten up the lives of commuters," said Brian Stafford, president and co-founder, carOrder.com. "And with our national launch today we will be bringing similar events over the coming months to other cities including Washington, DC; Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles." The New York event follows a recent $100,000 donation from carOrder.com to support the Golden Gate Bridge's earthquake retrofit project.
carOrder.com's eDealer business model has broken the online car buying mold with plans to purchase a network of 100 dealer franchises throughout the United States and transform them into the distribution and logistics centers for Internet car sales. Through partnerships with traditional dealerships and implementation of a nationwide franchise network, the company will be able to provide cars directly from the manufacturer instead of simply referring consumers to a dealership or acting as a broker in the transaction. In addition to acting as distribution centers, the eDealers will also provide online ordering facilities and test drive services for prospective buyers. These eDealers streamline distribution and facilitate a move to build-to-order. carOrder.com estimates that its eDealer model will reduce the cost per car by $2,000 to $4,000 as compared to the traditional model.
Industry analysts have already welcomed the eDealer initiative. "All our research leads us to the conclusion that increasing numbers of consumers will turn to the Internet not only to research automobiles, but to facilitate their purchase," said Chris Denove of J.D. Power and Associates. "The ultimate winners in the online wars will be those companies that are able to create a system that takes meaningful costs out of the distribution process."
carOrder.com began a successful test market in California in January 1999 and has been expanding into select cities across America heading toward its national launch on November 9. carOrder.com allows customers to research, build, price, finance and order new cars entirely online. The car is then delivered directly to customers' homes or offices. To date, more than 2,000 cars have been purchased on www.carorder.com.
"carOrder.com's mission is to revolutionize the online car buying experience," noted Stafford. "We offer customers the lowest possible price, overall customer satisfaction and ultimately, the complete online car buying solution."
About carOrder.com
carOrder.com, the Internet's first and largest automotive eDealer offers consumers the ability to research, build, price, finance and order new cars via its Web site with delivery direct to customers' homes or offices. As an eDealer, carOrder.com is taking the online automotive industry one step further by allowing customers to buy a car online without ever setting foot in a dealership. carOrder.com is in the process of buying 100 franchises and transforming them into distribution and logistics hubs for Internet car sales. carOrder.com offers vehicles at the lowest price possible, guaranteeing the ultimate in convenience, savings and customer care. Based in Austin, Texas, the company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Trilogy Software Inc.