CarsDirect.com Named Best Car Buying Site on the Web for Fourth Consecutive Quarter; Fourth Win Sets New Record for Gomez Quarterly Internet Auto Buying Scorecard
10 July 2000
CarsDirect.com Named Best Car Buying Site on the Web for Fourth Consecutive Quarter; Fourth Win Sets New Record for Gomez Quarterly Internet Auto Buying Scorecard
LOS ANGELES--July 10, 2000--CarsDirect.com, a leading direct online automotive provider, today announced that the company was honored once again by Gomez(TM) as the top Internet Auto Buying site. This win marks the first time a company has taken the top spot in the Online Car Buying category for four consecutive quarters.The award underscores CarsDirect.com's commitment to provide consumers with an easy and haggle-free way to buy vehicles online. CarsDirect.com was commended by Gomez on its "dominating" customer service, and recent Web site enhancements including 360 degree automobile views and advanced search functions that allow consumers to shop by manufacturer, type of vehicle and price.
"CarsDirect.com is again truly honored to be singled out by Gomez as the best place to buy a car on the Internet," said Bob Brisco, CEO of CarsDirect.com. "This fourth award illustrates that CarsDirect.com continues to deliver on its promise of putting the consumer in control of the car buying process and making the purchase easier and more enjoyable."
Each quarter, e-commerce authority Gomez issues an Internet Auto Buying Scorecard(TM) that evaluates and ranks online car buying sites based on a set of comprehensive criteria. Available for review at www.gomez.com, the Scorecard evaluates the online experience according to the following categories: Ease of Use, Customer Confidence, On-Site Resources, Relationship Service, as well as offering an Overall Score.
Scorecards can additionally be viewed by buyer profile: Serious Shopper, Tire-Kicker, First-Time Buyer and Enthusiast. CarsDirect.com again maintained a considerable lead over its nearest competitor, showcased by its number one ranking in the Customer Confidence and Relationship Services categories.
According to Gomez.com, to be included in this quarter's Internet Auto Buying Scorecard, companies must accept no-fee online consumer purchase requests for new automobiles, and have national or virtually national dealer coverage for all major car makes. Each site then was evaluated against more than 100 criteria that define the online car buying experience.
Gomez experts determine whether a site meets specific criterion via various data collection methods, including: direct examination of the site; performance monitoring of secure and non-secure pages; customer service interaction over the telephone and through the Internet, and supplemental questionnaire completed by the individual companies.
About CarsDirect.com
CarsDirect.com (http://www.carsdirect.com) is a leading direct online provider of new automobiles and related products and services, such as loan and lease financing and extended warranties. CarsDirect.com allows consumers to research, price, configure, order, purchase and finance a vehicle online.
The company's user-friendly, intuitive Web site offers consumers product information for nearly every make, model and style of new automobile available in the United States today, as well as the ability to simultaneously compare the specifications of competing vehicles.
CarsDirect.com offers an online shopping experience that features competitive, up-front, no-haggle pricing on new vehicles which, in many cases, can be delivered directly and conveniently to a consumer's home or office.
The company sources vehicles through a priority dealer network of more than 2,500 automotive dealer franchises nationwide.