Vicinity AutoFinder Technology Drives Consumers to Their Ideal Vehicle

4 April 2000

Vicinity AutoFinder Technology Drives Consumers to Their Ideal Vehicle; Manufacturers & Dealers Target Ready Car Shoppers

    PALO ALTO, Calif.--April 4, 2000-- Vicinity Corp. , a leader in Internet-based marketing infrastructure services, has developed a technology called Vicinity AutoFinder to help automobile manufacturers and dealers "drive" consumers from their Web sites to each consumer's ideal car or truck.
    Vicinity AutoFinder allows a consumer to enter in the make, model, color, price range as well as the farthest distance he/she would travel to see this vehicle.
    Vicinity's service offerings are used by many sectors of the automotive industry, including auto manufacturers and dealers, as well as oil companies and automotive maintenance products, including air filters, oil filters, mufflers, antifreeze and tires.
    "We help the automotive industry target customers when they are ready to buy," said Emerick Woods, chief executive officer and president of Vicinity Corp. "We get them out of their homes and into dealerships for test drives and into automotive stores to buy products."
    Vicinity AutoFinder is based on Vicinity's Business Finder technology, which directs consumers from Global 2000, brand-name company Web sites to the nearest retailer or service provider. Vicinity's customers in the automotive sector include Bridgestone/Firestone, CarClub.com, Daimler-Chrysler, Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, NAPA Auto Parts, Nissan, Shell International and Toyota.

    About Vicinity Corp.

    Vicinity Corp. is a leading provider of Internet-based marketing infrastructure services for brand name Global 2000 companies. The company's clicks-and-mortar solutions, available in 14 countries and in 10 languages, enable its more than 300 clients to direct consumers searching for a specific product or service to the nearest brick-and-mortar store that carries that product or service. Vicinity's customers include FedEx, Hewlett-Packard, Hilton Hotels Corp., Marriott, McDonald's, NEC, Pizza Hut, Starbucks, Starwood Hotels, Taco Bell, Toyota, Levi Strauss & Co. and UPS. Its suite of private-label and co-branded content and services -- available via the Internet, cellular phones, WAP phones, wireless devices and landline telephones -- includes Business Finder(SM), Telephone Business Finder(SM), Wireless Business Finder(SM), BrandFinder(SM), SiteMaker(SM), MailMaker(SM), MapBlast!(R) Mapping Services, and Business Directory.
    Publicly traded on Nasdaq under the symbol VCNT, Vicinity's investors include CMGI . Vicinity's strategic alliances include Inktomi , Palm Computing and it is a member of the Phone.com Alliance Program. Vicinity was established in 1995, has headquarters in Palo Alto, and has an office in Lebanon, N.H.
    Vicinity(R)is a registered trademark of Vicinity Corp.