Autobytel Inc. Receives CIO-100 Award for Second Year in a Row; Award Acknowledges Online Car-Selling Leader's Technology and Process Integration.

Business Editors & Automotive/E-Commerce Writers

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 15, 2002

Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL) is a winner of the prestigious CIO-100 award from IDG's CIO magazine for the second year in a row. The 2002 CIO-100 award recognizes organizations around the world that excel in positive business performance through integrated processes and technologies. Other award recipients this year include Cisco Systems, Dell Computer Corp., General Motors and Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp.

To provide a vision of ever-changing business trends, the focus of the CIO-100 changes each year. This year CIO honors 100 companies that demonstrate integrated technologies and procedures to improve products, services and relationships with partners and clients.

"Now, more than ever, companies rely on integrated applications that freely share information," says Abbie Lundberg, Editor in Chief, CIO magazine. "This year's CIO-100 award recipients are being honored because their companies developed an integrated enterprise to enhance their business, from improving relationships with customers to creating a seamless value chain."

"It's extremely gratifying to receive this prestigious award two years in a row. We are very proud of our technological achievements and believe that our successes in this arena have been a key factor in our position as a leader in the online automotive marketing industry," said Jeffrey Schwartz, Autobytel Inc.'s President and CEO. "We thank CIO for this honor."

The recipients of this year's CIO-100 were selected by a team of CIO editors and writers. The judging objectives were to recognize positive business performance through integrated technologies and procedures. Complete coverage of the 2002 CIO-100 is featured in the August 15 issue of CIO magazine and at www.cio.com.

About Autobytel Inc.

Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL), a leading Internet automotive marketing services company, helps retailers sell cars and manufacturers build brands through marketing and CRM (customer relationship management) programs. Autobytel Inc. owns and operates the popular Web sites Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com and Autosite.com, as well as AIC (Automotive Information Center), a leading provider of automotive marketing data and technology.

Autobytel Inc. generated an estimated four percent of all domestic new vehicle sales -- $17 billion in car sales in 2001 -- for dealers through its Web sites. With approximately 9,400 dealer relationships and 30 international automotive manufacturer customers, Autobytel Inc. is the largest syndicated car-buying content network, reaching millions of unique visitors as they are making their vehicle-buying decisions. Autobytel Inc. content and technology has potential exposure to over 90 percent of total Web traffic (see note).

Note: Jupiter Media Metrix October 2001 Digital Media Audience Report (Autobytel Inc. sites is the unduplicated audience of the Autobytel and Autoweb properties and Carsmart.com. The car-buying and ownership category as defined by Autobytel. Autobytel Inc. provides content to Yahoo! Inc., AOL Web sites, MSN.com and Lycos.com. The unduplicated audience of these four sites accounts for over 90 percent of total traffic.)