Cars.com Closes Strong in 2002, Anticipates Continued Growth and Greater Market Presence in 2003.Automotive Writers SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2003 Attributes Success to Local Market Presence and "Focus on Consumer" Approach Cars.com Cars.com is a website which launched in June 1998. It is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is in turn a joint venture by major media companies including the Gannett Company, the McClatchy Company, the Washington Post Company and the Tribune Company. , an online resource that connects car shoppers with information, vehicle listings and local sellers, announced today that 2002 year-end results exceeded original expectations and demonstrate significant growth despite the continued downturn Downturn The transition point between a rising, expanding economy to a falling, contracting one. downturn A decline in security prices or economic activity following a period of rising or stable prices or activity. in the economy. One of the key highlights among the company's 2002 successes is a report from J. D. Power and Associates J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services firm founded in 1968 by James David Power III. The firm conducts independent and unbiased surveys of customer satisfaction, product quality, and buyer behavior for industries ranging from cars to restaurants. that shows cars.com as the leader in dealer satisfaction among independent Web sites for the second consecutive year, validating val·i·date tr.v. val·i·dat·ed, val·i·dat·ing, val·i·dates 1. To declare or make legally valid. 2. To mark with an indication of official sanction. 3. cars.com's award-winning products and unparalleled local support for dealers. (2002 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study(TM)) Year-over-year site traffic to cars.com grew 23 percent in 2002, demonstrating that consumers increasingly visited cars.com to access information and vehicle listings and to connect with dealers in their communities. Annual dealer sales increased 25 percent while new and used car traffic to dealers surpassed 2.4 million, a record for the cars.com network. Telephone leads to dealers, supported by cars.com's dedicated "800" phone number and unique Call Whisper feature, accounted for nearly 50 percent of all dealer/consumer contacts. The total number of dealers in the cars.com network exceeded 3,500 in 2002, demonstrating 28 percent year-over-year growth. Additional year-end successes included a revenue increase of 105 percent for the newly redesigned Sell It Yourself, an online-only for-sale-by-owner product. Average monthly listings grew to a rate of 10,000, indicating that private sellers too are viewing the Web as an effective medium for connecting with local car shoppers. Last year also marked the launch of cars.com's IndependentAdPackage (IAP (Internet Access Provider) See ISP. IAP - Internet Access Provider ) offering. Designed to complement the successful OnlineAdPackage, the IAP caters to car shoppers by enhancing the selection of vehicle listings available on cars.com and helps independent dealers showcase their used-car inventories to local consumers. "Cars.com saw tremendous growth in product sales, visitors to our Web site and traffic to our dealer network in 2002," said Mitch The name Mitch can mean:
In line with its local-presence approach, cars.com expanded its affiliate network An affiliate network acts as an intermediary between publishers (affiliates) and (merchant) affiliate programs. It allows publishers to find affiliate programs, which are suitable for their website and it helps websites offering affiliate programs reach its target audience. in 2002 with the launch of cars.com on 11 Belo Interactive newspaper and television Web sites in 10 key markets. Cars.com also partnered with KLAS-TV in Las Vegas Las Vegas (läs vā`gəs), city (1990 pop. 258,295), seat of Clark co., S Nev.; inc. 1911. It is the largest city in Nevada and the center of one of the fastest-growing urban areas in the United States. , the top-rated station in this fast-growth market. Together, these partnerships extended cars.com's network to 23 of the nation's top 25 media markets and 40 of the top 50. About cars.com Cars.com is a comprehensive online resource for buying, selling and owning a vehicle. Cars.com pulls vehicle listings from thousands of dealer inventories and classified ads nationwide to offer consumers the best selection of new and used cars. Cars.com combines powerful used-car search and new-car configuration with pricing information, photo galleries, buying guides, side-by-side comparison tools, original editorial content, and reviews to help more than three million consumers research cars and connect with local sellers each month. Cars.com is the best partner to help dealers increase sales, manage prospects and drive repeat business. Partnered with more than 170 leading metro newspapers For other newspapers with the same name, see . Metro Newspapers is an American newspaper company based in San Jose, California. It currently publishes three free alternative weekly newspapers, Metro Silicon Valley, Metro Santa Cruz and the and television stations across the nation, cars.com helps dealers promote their dealerships and connect with informed, ready-to-buy local consumers. Cars.com also offers advertising solutions to automotive manufacturers and e-commerce e-commerce, commerce conducted over the Internet, most often via the World Wide Web. E-commerce can apply to purchases made through the Web or to business-to-business activities such as inventory transfers. partners interested in accessing consumers through cars.com's media platform. Launched in June 1998, cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC Classified Ventures, LLC ("CV") is a joint-venture owned by five large media partners whose main focus is in the real estate and automotive online advertising. Classified Ventures, LLC ("CV") is a joint-venture owned by five large media partners whose main focus is in real , (http://classifiedventures.com), which is owned by six leading media companies. To become a cars.com dealer or learn more about cars.com products and services, visit www.dealers.cars.com. |
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