CarsDirect.com Ranked No. 1 Car-Buying Site On the Web; Just Three Months After Launch, CarsDirect.com Takes Leadership Position In Gomez Advisors Quarterly Ranking.SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 2, 1999-- CarsDirect.com, the first Internet car company, Thursday announced it has earned the ranking of best overall car-buying Web site, 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 just-released quarterly ranking published by e-commerce authority Gomez Advisors of Concord Concord, cities, United States Concord (kŏng`kərd, kŏn`kôrd'). 1 city (1990 pop. 111,348), Contra Costa co., W central Calif.; settled c.1852, inc. 1906. , Mass. CarsDirect.com is the first nationwide online source that enables consumers to research, price, select, finance, place an order and take delivery of a new vehicle. "Barely 12 weeks after our public launch, we're honored to debut on the Gomez scorecard as the highest-ranking car-buying Web site," said Scott Painter, chief executive officer of CarsDirect.com. "Our goal is to provide buyers with a complete -- and completely enjoyable -- car-buying experience. The guiding principle of our company is to give the online buyer the most objective information possible, an absolutely great price, unbeatable convenience and, ultimately, true control over the purchase process." Prior to issuing its rankings, Gomez Advisors extensively evaluated a variety of Internet auto retailer Web sites and created a scorecard. Available for review at www.gomez.com, the scorecard evaluates the online experience according to the following categories: ease of use, customer confidence, on-site resources, relationship service, as well as offering an overall score. Scorecards can additionally be viewed by buyer profile: Serious Shopper, Tire-Kicker, First-Time Buyer first-time buyer n → persona que compra su primera vivienda first-time buyer n → personne achetant une maison ou un appartement pour la première fois first-time buyer and Enthusiast A person who enjoys using computers and electronic equipment. Enthusiasts like technology and are willing to learn more of the ins and outs of a product than the average consumer, who just wants to use it. An enthusiast is more like a "prosumer." See consumer and prosumer. . Each site was evaluated against more than 150 criteria that, according to Gomez Advisors, define the quality of auto-related services delivered over the Internet. Among the criteria:
-- Does the site respond to anonymous e-mail questions
satisfactorily within 24 hours?
-- Is the customer able to "build" an automobile quickly in a
consumer-friendly process?
-- Is there a link to customer service from the home page?
The Internet continues to grow as a major car-buying information resource and, with the launch of CarsDirect.com, has become a place to complete the purchase transaction itself. In the past year, the percentage of people who use the Internet in the car-buying process has risen from 25 to 40 percent, according to industry figures. CarsDirect.com is now reporting monthly sales volumes in excess of 1,000 vehicles, making it one of the top 20 automobile retailers 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. . Last month, CarsDirect.com acquired the Canadian firm Autodata Marketing Systems, which will provide U.S. online car shoppers with a level of customer service, choice and relevant information never before offered in this category. Autodata is the leading source of information on vehicles, creates software solutions and develops Web-based businesses and products for automobile manufacturers, fleet management companies and auto dealers in Canada and the United States The United States and Canada share a unique legal relationship. U.S. law looks northward with a mixture of optimism and cooperation, viewing Canada as an integral part of U.S. economic and environmental policy. . About CarsDirect.com CarsDirect.com (http://www.carsdirect.com) is a revolutionary new Internet See Web 2.0 and Internet2. company that lets consumers complete the vehicle purchase transaction online. With CarsDirect.com, shoppers can research, price, design, order and finance a new car or truck over the Web -- selecting from among 2,500 makes and models by every major manufacturer. Unlike referral services, which point people to a dealer to accomplish the transaction, CarsDirect.com takes the customer from inquiry through financing right up to delivery -- online. Based in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , CarsDirect.com is an idealab! company. Its investors include Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., or simply Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) is one of the world's largest global investment banks. Goldman Sachs was founded in 1869, and is headquartered in the Lower Manhattan area of New York City at 85 Broad Street. , Foundation Capital, idealab! Capital Partners, MSD (MicroSoft Diagnostics) A utility that accompanied Windows 3.1 and DOS 6 that reported on the internal configuration of the PC. A variety of information on disks, video, drivers, IRQs and port addresses was provided. Capital L.P., and Primedia Ventures, among others. |
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