Cars.com and CarsDirect.com Announce Joint Promotional Agreement; Provides Consumers with Choice of Shopping Methods
24 January 2000
Cars.com and CarsDirect.com Announce Joint Promotional Agreement; Provides Consumers with Choice of Shopping Methods
ORLANDO, Fla Jan. 24, 2000--Cars.com, a leading online automotive shopping service, and CarsDirect.com, the leading automotive e-tailer, today announced a joint promotional agreement that will provide visitors to the cars.com national Web site with new and expanded choices for online auto shopping. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.Cars.com simplifies local new and used car shopping. Through cars.com, shoppers submit an online vehicle purchase request to an automotive retailer of their choice. Shoppers who want to purchase a new vehicle direct can click through to CarsDirect.com from a tab located on the cars.com national web site. CarsDirect.com works with its dealer partners to locate the desired vehicle and fulfill the sale.
"Our business is to help car shoppers find car sellers online," said David G. Israel, president and chief executive officer of Classified Ventures, Inc., parent company of cars.com. "Our agreement with CarsDirect.com meets the needs of a group of consumers who are interested in purchasing a vehicle online. CarsDirect.com currently is the leader in providing this service."
Cars.com provides comprehensive information to help car shoppers make an informed purchasing decision. It has been the second most visited automotive retailing Web site over the past six months, according to Media Metrix, a leading Internet audience measurement firm.
CarsDirect.com is the first nationwide online service that provides consumers a complete car buying experience - from research, pricing, customization and financing to flatbed delivery of the car to a home or office.
"Our site is the fastest and easiest way to buy a new car at a great price," said Bob Brisco, chief executive officer, CarsDirect.com. "This partnership will allow even more buyers to experience our exceptional customer service, low upfront prices, and the option of home or office delivery."
About CarsDirect.com
CarsDirect.com (http://www.carsdirect.com) is a new Internet company that lets consumers complete the vehicle purchase transaction. With CarsDirect.com, shoppers can research, price, customize, order and finance a new car or truck over the Web -- selecting from among 2,500 makes and models by every major manufacturer. Unlike referral services, which point people to a dealer to accomplish the transaction, CarsDirect.com takes the customer from inquiry through financing right up to delivery.
Based in Los Angeles, CarsDirect.com is an idealab! company. The company is also funded by idealab! Capital Partners, Primedia Ventures, Foundation Capital, MSD Capital LP, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Hambrecht & Quist, E*O Investors, LLC, Oracle Corp., Liberty Digital, TMCT Ventures, East Peak Partners, L.P, Hikari Tsushin and Soros Private Equity Partners LLC.
About cars.com
Cars.com simplifies local new and used car shopping on the Internet. With Inventory in 26 of the top 30 U.S. markets, cars.com is the only automotive Web site to provide daily updates of dealer inventories. Cars.com allows consumers to search vehicle listings by zip code, vehicle make, model and year and easily submit a quote request to a car dealer by e-mail, fax or telephone. In addition to vehicle pricing, cars.com provides consumers with trusted automotive information, including rich editorial content pertaining to real-life issues such as how to purchase a vehicle and tips for parents of young drivers. The site also provides consumers with tools such as an auto loan calculator, news and reports on new and used vehicles, more than 3,500 independent vehicle reviews (from 1983 to the present), vehicle performance data and vehicle recall information. Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, which is based in Chicago.
About Classified Ventures
Classified Ventures provides nationally branded online services for the developing e-commerce opportunities in the classified advertising marketplace that build upon the local capabilities and expertise of .com simplifies local new and used car shopping. The company currently operates the national Web sites Apartments.com(TM), www.apartments.com, auctions.com(TM), www.auctions.com, cars.com(TM), www.cars.com, MovingCenter(TM), www.movingcenter.com and NewHomeNetwork.com(TM), www.newhomenetwork.com. Classified Ventures also operates HomeHunter(TM), a local resale real estate service.
Classified Ventures, Inc., based in Chicago, was formed by eight leading media companies - Central Newspapers, Inc., Gannett Co., Inc., Knight Ridder, The McClatchy Company, The New York Times Company, The Times Mirror Company, Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company.