Site Will Provide Consumers With Opportunity To Purchase Car Parts
5 April 2000
New Motor Trend Online Site Will Provide Consumers With First-Ever Opportunity To Purchase Car Parts
With Infrastructure & Massive Selection Provided By CarParts.com,
MotorTrend.com Will Quench Car Enthusiasts' Desire For
Editorial Content & Product Offerings
SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 4 Motor Trend, The World's #1
Automotive Authority, is making a significant addition to its web site,
MotorTrend.com, to allow car enthusiasts a first-ever chance to purchase car
parts online from the leading automotive source for news and information.
Powered by leading autoparts e-tailer, CarParts.com, the site will offer parts
for 60,000 vehicle applications ranging from current models to those dating
back to 1967.
CarParts.com's partnership with MotorTrend.com is the first in a series of
Web site offerings from the emap usa family of publications. CarParts.com's
extensive product selection and powerful online infrastructure will allow
visitors to experience personalized search capabilities to locate and order
online from more than 1.5 million different parts and accessories for cars,
trucks, vans and SUVs. In addition, the Web site will sell replacement parts,
accessories, performance products, body parts, original equipment manufacturer
(OEM) parts and restoration parts along with recycled and remanufactured
parts.
"Motor Trend has always delivered the finest editorial content to its
readers," said C. Van Tune, editor in chief of Motor Trend. "This new online
version will continue that tradition and ring in a new chapter in our history
with the first opportunity for our readers to purchase accessories, without
the hassle of searching all over town for parts. It is really a win-win for
everyone involved."
Motor Trend has delivered the latest information to automotive enthusiasts
for over 50 years including its popular "Car of the Year" and "Truck of the
Year" awards. Motor Trend and MotorTrend.com entertain readers with general
interest information on new models, and are dedicated to car and truck
enthusiasts and general consumers alike. Monthly features include testing of
both domestic and import cars, motorsports coverage, auto industry,
environmental and government news reports, car care, the latest in factory and
aftermarket trends, long-term vehicle test reports and sneak peeks at future
vehicles. More than 230,000 automotive enthusiasts visit MotorTrend.com each
month.
"I see this partnership from two perspectives," said Alan Bennett, CEO of
CarParts.com. "From the enthusiast side, our link with MotorTrend.com means
increased convenience and service-we've created one-stop shopping for
automotive editorial and products. From the business side, MotorTrend.com is
a valuable strategic partner that will help us extend our consumer reach.
Such relationships, both inside and outside the emap family, will change the
way consumers buy auto parts forever."
In the next few months, CarParts.com expects to announce further links
with other titles in the emap usa portfolio, including Truck Trend, Hot Rod,
Car Craft, 4Wheel & Off-Road, Sport Truck and Super Street.
"The CarParts.com business strategy is truly compelling," said Peter
Mills, managing partner @Ventures, the affiliated venture capital arm of CMGI.
"In a market opportunity that is larger than books, pet food and videos
combined, CarParts.com's proprietary technology places them head-and-shoulders
above any possible competition. What truly stands out about the CarParts.com
strategy is the way their technology meets both the demands of the B2C and the
B2B marketplaces. This new strategy is going to dramatically advance the
current way of doing business in the auto parts industry."
With the addition of $42 million through its second-round funding,
CarParts.com plans to aggressively deliver on its growth strategy. By
expanding and leveraging its blue chip list of strategic industry partners,
CarParts.com is positioned to become the central online source for aftermarket
automotive parts including parts from AC Delco, Beck Arnley, Borg Warner,
Accel, Motorcraft, Federal Mogul, Borla and Lund.
CarParts.com, headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., is the Internet's
number one source of replacement parts and accessories for cars, trucks and
SUVs. The easy-to-use Web site (http://www.carparts.com) offers the driving public
the convenience of online access to, and immediate delivery of, more than
1.5 million automotive products from nearly 500 major suppliers.
A leading multimedia marketing solutions and brand development company,
emap usa (http://www.emapusa.com) is a division of Emap plc (http://www.emap.com), one of
the largest consumer and trade magazine publishers in the world. The combined
company is one of the world's foremost media companies with more than 600
magazine titles and multimedia products including television, radio, trade
shows, internet, databases, licensing, consumer events and custom publishing.
With more than 140 general- and special-interest publications, emap usa
delivers over 96 million readers. The Company's internationally recognized
brands include: Motor Trend, Hot Rod, Teen, FHM, Gravity, Sport, Surfer,
Hunting, Skin Diver, Photographic, Stereophile, Mobile Computing and
Communications, Motorcyclist and 4-Wheel & Off-Road. In addition, emap usa
holds more than 50 consumer and trade events annually including Ducks
Unlimited Great Outdoors Festivals, 17 Motor Trend-produced Liberty Auto
Shows, and the Gravity Games, which air on NBC.