Driveitaway.com Signs Deal with Ford to Auction Used Cars from Maine to North Carolina

11 December 2000
Driveitaway.com Signs Deal with Ford to Auction Used Cars from Maine to North Carolina
Agreement with Ford Dealer Development Places Online Kiosks in 28 Sites; First
                         Kiosk to be in Trenton, N.J.

    PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 11 Driveitaway.com
(http://www.driveitaway.com), the first Web site to focus on dealer-to-consumer used
car auctions, today announced an agreement that greatly expands its dealer
network to include 28 dealerships operated by the Ford Dealer Development
group from Maine to North Carolina.  Consumers can inspect and test-drive the
cars they find on Driveitaway.com at these participating dealers and place
bids from the showroom floor using special Internet kiosks Driveitaway.com is
installing.
    Under the agreement, the first Ford dealership to set up a kiosk will be
Capital City Ford in Trenton, N.J.  Driveitaway.com will install online kiosks
at the remaining dealerships in the region, starting in early 2001.
    This agreement significantly extends Driveitaway.com's geographic reach
while increasing the number of mint used and off-lease autos it offers car
shoppers.
    "Our agreement with the Ford Dealer Development group is a win-win-win
situation," says Darryl Draper, co-founder and CEO of Driveitaway.com.  "It
increases our visibility along the East Coast, provides the dealerships an
opportunity to sell autos at the retail level before selling them at cut rates
to wholesaler auction houses, and offers consumers the chance to bid on cars
they have already seen in person."
    Ford Dealer Development dealers will promote the agreement by featuring
the Driveitaway.com kiosks in dealership newspaper ads, and will display
point-of-sale marketing materials at each site.
    "Driveitaway.com offers our dealers an innovative means of reaching the
public while relieving inventory and creating new revenue at the same time,"
says James Latimer, business management representative, Philadelphia Region
Dealer Development.  "In our business, the Internet has long been considered
more of an interactive advertising medium rather than a sales tool.  I am
excited about the kiosks because dealers can get involved with very little
outlay and the returns can be substantial.  We can sell our out-of-lease
vehicles and use Driveitaway to promote specialty vehicles."
    Stacy Ratner, President and co-founder of Driveitaway.com, agrees.  "Thus
far, automotive dot coms have tended to drive traffic to their own sites and
away from dealers," she says.  "We do just the opposite: promote each of the
Ford Dealer Development dealers and bring customers to them through showroom
kiosks and branded pages."
    At the Driveitaway.com site, consumers go online to search for vehicles
and gain the legal protection, financing options and customer service for
which local auto dealerships are known.  Consumers may preview scores of
vehicles and search by make, model, location and mileage.  They then choose
the car they like and bid online.  The auctions run three to seven days from
the date the car is posted.  During that time, bidders are encouraged to visit
participating dealerships for an inspection or a test drive.
    Ford Dealer Development, a division of Ford Motor Company ,
provides support for minority-owned dealerships by training and financing
locations for otherwise qualified candidates.  Dealers begin with a 10 percent
investment in a dealership, with the remainder owned by Ford.  The dealer then
gains more equity in the site via the profits it generates.