AutoConnect: World's Largest Pre-owned Automotive Site Makes Its Debut on Web Today.ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 1998-- With hundreds of thousands of pre-owned vehicles, complete information on buying or selling , free listings for sellers, and more, AutoConnect aims to lead $365 billion market The world's largest pre-owned automotive site debuts today on the World Wide Web. When AutoConnect (autoconnect.com) opens for business today, it becomes the only dedicated Internet automotive site of national scope to offer classified advertising services free of charge to the buyer and the car seller. Because the site provides free classified ads to all dealers and private parties across America, AutoConnect's enormous inventory of pre-owned vehicles will help prospective car buyers find the car they are searching for more quickly and conveniently. "AutoConnect's goal is to empower car shoppers by providing them with the widest selection of pre-owned vehicles, along with all the information they need to make an informed car buying decision," said Chip Perry, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of AutoConnect. "We believe both car buyers and sellers will benefit from AutoConnect's broad array of interactive features and content." Streamlining the Process, Personalized per·son·al·ize tr.v. per·son·al·ized, per·son·al·iz·ing, per·son·al·iz·es 1. To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner. 2. To attribute human or personal qualities to; personify. Service With its wealth of automotive content and services, AutoConnect streamlines and improves the way consumers currently shop for a pre-owned car. Research shows that the traditional car shopping process involves visiting on average 5.3 sellers and consulting 4 different data sources (from magazines, print advertising, friends and car mechanics.) The new site enables car shoppers to conduct a custom search to find the exact car and a wide range of relevant information that help them make informed decisions on the purchase of their next car - from research and car selection to locating the car and e-mailing the dealer or private party about their interest in it. It also includes an online feature that helps buyers narrow the universe of available cars to find the one that's right For The Lyle Lovett song, see . This article contains information about a scheduled or expected . It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content could change dramatically as the single release approaches and more information becomes available. for their particular needs. The AutoConnect site offers the most comprehensive information available on pre-owned cars to help consumers make an informed purchase decision. This information resource includes individual and vehicle model comparisons; credible third-party reviews from a variety of sources including Consumers' Digest; safety information; Kelley Blue Book values; financing rates; insurance quotes; warranty information, and experienced commentators like Jack Gillis or Lesley Hazelton. In addition, a user can register to have AutoConnect proactively notify him about specific predetermined pre·de·ter·mine v. pre·de·ter·mined, pre·de·ter·min·ing, pre·de·ter·mines v.tr. 1. To determine, decide, or establish in advance: topics, such as automatic notification of vehicles they are interested in and vehicle recall information. AutoConnect offers comprehensive information on pre-owned and new cars alike. "Our approach to new cars is the same as to pre-owned -- we offer consumers the chance to easily reach a broad range of local dealers -- in direct contrast to our competitors who serve as lead brokers for auto dealers and which typically offer only a very limited selection of local dealers," said Perry. "Although we're primarily focused on pre-owned cars, we know many consumers want to consider both types of vehicles." The Market AutoConnect believes consumers are looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. a Web-based service specializing in pre-owned automobiles. More than 40 million pre-owned cars (versus 15 million new cars) were sold in the US last year, with sales totaling nearly $370 billion. Of the one in four Americans who now uses the Internet, an estimated 17 percent will purchase a car within next six months. Over 75% of cars purchased will be pre-owned. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a recent J D Power and Associates study, nearly half (45 percent) of computer-using car buyers will use the Internet to gather information about their purchase. After conducting extensive research regarding consumers' wants and desires, we discovered exactly what it was consumers were looking for -- all the relevant information needed to make a well-informed purchasing decision. Keeping that in mind, AutoConnect has developed a site that provides consumers with the widest selection of pre-owned cars as well as extensive comparative information including reviews, articles, leasing information, insurance quotes and more. "With our no-cost, comprehensive service, we feel we are in the right spot to capitalize on Cap´i`tal`ize on` v. t. 1. To turn (an opportunity) to one's advantage; to take advantage of (a situation); to profit from; as, to capitalize on an opponent's mistakes s>. the booming pre-owned car market," said Perry. "As our name suggests, we connect buyers and sellers more quickly, conveniently and efficiently than any other medium, including traditional classified advertising." Further strengthening AutoConnect's presence on the Web, the company also announced today a partnership with Cox Interactive Media (CIM (1) (Computer-Integrated Manufacturing) Integrating office/accounting functions with automated factory systems. Point of sale, billing, machine tool scheduling and supply ordering are part of CIM. ), a subsidiary of media giant Cox Enterprises Cox Enterprises is the successor to the publishing company founded in Dayton, Ohio, by James Middleton Cox, who began with the Dayton Daily News. The company is private, 98% controlled by the octogenarian daughter of Cox, Anne Cox Chambers, and the two children of her late and the nation's largest provider of local content on the Internet. With this agreement, CIM will prominently feature AutoConnect on its 17 popular city sites, as well as five other specialty sites, substantially increasing AutoConnect's visibility to Internet users. The CIM deal follows similar agreements with Yahoo!, Lycos and WebCrawler. About AutoConnect AutoConnect is owned by Manheim Auctions Manheim Automotive Services is the largest and highest volume wholesale automobile auction company in the world. As a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., Manheim provides services including financing, title work, transportation, recovery, auto body repair, dealership management , Inc., a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, and the Dealer Services Group of Automatic Data Processing Same as data processing. , Inc. (ADP (1) (Automatic Data Processing) Synonymous with data processing (DP), electronic data processing (EDP) and information processing. (2) (Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Roseland, NJ, www.adp. ) offering Internet shopping information and services for pre-owned and new cars and trucks. Manheim and ADP provide a variety of products and services to a combined total of more than 90 percent of the U.S. automotive dealers, making AutoConnect the Internet's largest and most significant consolidation of automobile dealer relationships and used car listings. About Manheim Auctions Founded in 1945, Manheim Auctions, Inc. is the world's largest operator of wholesale automobile auctions with more than 70 locations in North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and the United Kingdom. In 1997, Manheim handled more than six million vehicles worth over $28 billion. Manheim leads the electronic commerce industry in wholesale vehicle sales with Manheim Online, available on the Internet at http://www.manheim.com. In support of the core auction business, Manheim also provides vehicle reconditioning and certification, automated vehicle pricing products, dealer floor plan financing, dealer business software, and government auctions. Manheim Auctions is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. About ADP ADP Dealer Services Group provides turnkey solutions to over 18,000 auto and truck dealers throughout the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. , Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin America Latin America, the Spanish-speaking, Portuguese-speaking, and French-speaking countries (except Canada) of North America, South America, Central America, and the West Indies. . ADP Dealer Services Group is the third largest business unit of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :AUD AUD In currencies, this is the abbreviation for the Australian Dollar. Notes: The currency market, also known as the Foreign Exchange market, is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average volume of over US $1 trillion. ), which with over $4 billion in annual revenue and more than 400,000 clients, is one of the largest independent computing service firms in the world. More information on ADP and ADP Dealer Services Group is available via the Internet at www.adp.com. About Cox Interactive Media CIM, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., was launched in 1996 with the goal of building long-term brands and audiences on the Internet. Targeting key markets where Cox Enterprises operates newspapers, television stations, radio stations and cable systems, CIM has quickly outpaced all other traditional media companies and online providers, emerging as the nation's most extensive online network of city, regional and national brands. Fueled by rapid growth, CIM has evolved from a two-person shop in 1996 to a market leader employing more than 350 people, with plans to expand to a staff of 450 by mid-1998. Headquartered in Atlanta, CIMnet currently includes 17 city sites and four specialty sites. For more information, contact CIM via the Internet at www.cimedia.com. About Cox Enterprises A leading media company, Cox Enterprises is headquartered in Atlanta. Properties include Cox Newspaper, Inc. (newspapers, direct mail marketing, book publishing book publishing. The term publishing means, in the broadest sense, making something publicly known. Usually it refers to the issuing of printed materials, such as books, magazines, periodicals, and the like. ), Cox Broadcasting, Inc. (TV, spot sales, television production, research, publicly-traded Cox Radio Cox Radio NYSE: CXR is a publicly traded company that holds a number of radio stations. Private company Cox Broadcasting, Inc., a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises owns all of the company's super-voting Class B common stock, and thus controls the company. , Inc.) and publicly traded Cox Communications Cox Communications is a privately owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises providing digital cable television and telecommunications services in the United States. It is the third-largest[2] cable television provider in the United States, serving more than 6. , Inc. (cable distribution, programming, broadband communications), Cox Interactive Media, and Manheim Auctions. More information about Cox is available at www.cox.com. -0- * Study conducted by Leiberman Research Worldwide (1998) Manheim Auctions and Manheim Online are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Cox Enterprises, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. ADP is a registered trademark of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are properties of their respective companies. Not all features described above may be functional at launch. CONTACT: Access Communications
Access Communications Co-operative Ltd. Dave Karraker or Anne Magor, 415/904-7070, ext. 265/288 dkarraker@accesspr.com amagor@accesspr.com |
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