Car Talk(SM) Survey at Cars.com Reveals Most Loved Vehicles and Dealers CARS-COM INTERNET VENTURE CARS.COM INTERNET VENTURE Times Mirror, Tribune and Washington Post launch online venture with cars.com internet company. The cars.com website will offer consumers the most complete source of online information about new and used vehicles as well as the largest,most current inventory of vehicles for sale, both locally and nationally. (PRNewsFoto)[KI] CHICAGO, IL USA 04/15/2000

6 September 2000

    CHICAGO, Sept. 6 Fifty-five percent of owners would buy
the same car if they had it to do all over again, according to a survey on
cars.com conducted by National Public Radio's Car Talk hosts, Tom and Ray
Magliozzi.  The online survey asked 95,000 respondents to consider all
factors, which include buying experience, maintenance costs, comfort and
performance, in deciding whether or not they'd make the same car-buying
decision again.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000415/CARSLOGO )
    Porsche led the pack with over 65 percent who responded that they'd buy
the same car again.  At the opposite end, only 29 percent of the respondents
named Kia.
    Of the top 10 most loved vehicles, five were from Asian manufacturers and
four were European.  Saturn, which ranked tenth, was the only one American
company that made the top 10.
    "We're supposed to be greatest industrialized nation in the world, and
this is the best we can do?  Tenth?  You don't even get a ribbon for tenth!"
said Car Talk co-host Tom Magliozzi.  "What's next?  Will Fiat bump Saturn out
of the top ten?"

    Most Loved Vehicles
    (All Factors Considered)
    Top
    1. Porsche
    2. Honda
    3. Lexus
    4. Toyota
    5. Saab
    6. Acura
    7. Volvo
    8. Subaru
    9. Volkswagen
    10. Saturn

    When it came to evaluating dealerships, only 32 percent were satisfied
with their dealer experience.  The top 10 in this category included four Asian
makes, three American and three European.  Saturn led the pack with a whopping
59 percent.  In addition to Saturn, Cadillac and Lincoln were the other two
American makes in the top 10.

    Satisfied With Dealer Experience
    Top
    1. Saturn
    2. Infiniti
    3. Lexus
    4. Acura
    5. Chrysler
    6. Dodge
    7. Mercury
    8. Geo
    9. Subaru
    10. Honda

    The dealership that left respondents least satisfied was AM General, the
manufacturer of sport utility behemoth, the Hummer, which is a cousin to the
US Army's Hum Vee.  "But, that's less of a problem than you might imagine,"
says Tom, the self-professed older and more handsome brother.  "Just pull into
the nearest Army base.  Unless we're at war, they'll have plenty of time to
fix it for you."
    The authors of the study point out that of the 40 or so manufacturers
represented in the database, only six made it to what they call the "Double
Ten Best List," manufacturers that appeared on both overall satisfaction and
dealership satisfaction top ten lists.  Those that made the cut included
Acura, Honda, Infiniti, Lexus, Saab and Saturn.
    For more additional findings and analysis, see the Car Talk section of
cars.com, at http://www.cars.com .

    About Car Talk:
    Car Talk, hosted by brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, is a weekly, one hour
radio show broadcast on over 500 National Public Radio station and heard by
more than 3 million listeners each week.  Tom and Ray's weekly syndicated
column, "Click and Clack Talk Cars," is carried by more than 300 newspapers.

    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, Inc. creates nationally branded online marketplaces
that are the Internet's leading destination for buyers and sellers of cars
( cars.com ) and homes ( HomeScape.com ).  The company also owns Marketdrive
Interactive, Inc., a leader in e-customer relationship management.  Based in
Chicago, Classified Ventures is owned by six leading media companies: Gannett
Company, Knight Ridder, Inc., The McClatchy Company, The New York Times
Company, Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company.