Auto Industry's First Social Media Summit for Dealers Helping Drive Awareness and Implementation of Social Media Marketing Strategies; Multi-media Summit Presentations Available at DrivingSales.com

Salt Lake City, November 12, 2009 - The DrivingSales Executive Summit today announced that post-summit surveys show that dealer attendees not only enthusiastically embraced its unique format and content (98% ranked the summit good to excellent), but left the summit with new and actionable social media strategies for their dealerships, as well as with new ideas about a broad swath of subjects including media spend, search marketing, ROI, piracy prevention, behavioral targeting, mobile marketing, post-click marketing and DMS data utilization.  The DSES also announced that summit blogs and presentations, as well as the archived conference live twitter feed, are now available to DrivingSales community members on www.DrivingSales.com. The social media-based summit, the first of its kind in the auto industry, was designed to emulate the immediacy, interaction and collaborative benefits of a social media site through live blogging and twitter feeds that enabled the DrivingSales community to 'virtually' participate, as well as through multiple interactive roundtable forums and break out sessions.  Key speakers at the conference included Chris Brogan, Will Travis, Aaron Strout, Skip Streets and Dennis Galbraith. "We are pleased that at our premiere DSES, we inaugurated a completely new approach to the auto industry conference, while at the same time helping to evangelize the significant potential of social media and other cutting edge strategies," said Jared Hamilton founder and CEO of DrivingSales.com, the auto industry's leading B2B social media platform and largest online community.  "In fact, our interactions with dealer attendees at the summit validated our recent dealership marketing study: dealers intend to continue to throw out traditional marketing in favor of social media and SEO strategies." According to study data released at the DSES, dealers ranked social media in the top three advertising options (along with SEO and their dealership sites) that they would invest in if their budget were increased by 10% or more. Joe Orr, General Manager of Dick Hannah Honda, in Vancouver Washington, a DSES attendee, posted:  "I came home from the Summit with an arsenal of information. I am now putting together a comprehensive map of social media for our dealership and hopefully the dealer group. I have been in a holding pattern until I felt a confidence that we would be giving the customers/prospects what "they" are looking for. I now realize that social media is a PR/relationship building media. Thank you to all at Driving Sales for the commitment to quality information and speakers." The DrivingSales Executive Summit was presented by veteran conference producer and Internet/Auto Industry expert Charlie Vogelheim, who was recently named editor and publisher of Intellichoice.com.  According to Vogelheim one of the distinguishing features of the conference was its high ratio of auto dealers to auto industry service providers.  "We wanted this to be the industry's first "unconference," and our survey results indicate that we were successful in accomplishing just that.  Our goal was to breakaway from traditional conference formats where attendees are dominated by vendors, and agendas - dictated by sponsors and conference organizers - result in 'cookie cutter' panels, so we gave the DrivingSales community the opportunity to shape the conference agenda.  This proved to be a very popular and successful approach." "One of the best, most thoughtful and well-planned conferences I've ever attended," commented a dealer attendee on the post-summit survey.  "Appreciated that vendors were acknowledged and provided with their own presentation times, but that they weren't the main speakers. Also enjoyed hearing from speakers both inside and outside the auto industry." The inaugural DrivingSales Executive Summit was held October 13^th and 14^th in Las Vegas.  To view presentations, twitter feeds, blogs and video content from the summit log in to www.DrivingSales.com and join Groups: DrivingSales Executive Summit. For more information about the DrivingSales Dealership Marketing Study and what is says regarding dealership social media use or email melanie@mwebbcom.com. About DrivingSales DrivingSales.com (www.drivingsales.com) is the largest and premiere online community for the auto industry, where its thousands of members, including dealers, dealership managers, manufacturers, industry experts and vendors, collaborate and share best practices in a 20-group style setting. At DrivingSales, members create profiles and communicate with each other; build their networks and knowledgebase; share and rate proven strategies, and have access to relevant content contributed by fellow industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, and more. Dealer members rate and review vendor products - sharing their experiences with the DrivingSales community - while vendors have the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. Created and built from the ground up by third-generation dealer Jared Hamilton, DrivingSales is the auto industry's leading social media custom platform. Media Contact: Melanie Webber (Melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications 949.307.1723

Dealers Want to Spend More on Social Media, Willing to Sacrifice Traditional Media; Peer Recommendations and Ratings Critically Important in Vendor Selection

Las Vegas, Nevada  - DrivingSales (www.drivingsales.com), the auto industry's leading B2B social media platform and largest online community, today announced key findings from a recent study revealing social media's diverse and growing influence on the auto dealer industry.  Released at this week's inaugural DrivingSales Executive Summit in Las Vegas, the study proves that while dealers continue to embrace their website and SEO as their most critical marketing tools, social media is gaining in both importance and effectiveness as part of their marketing mix. Dealer respondents not only plan to boost their spend on social media as their marketing budgets increase, but many of those who have already undertaken social media initiatives report effective lead generation and overall positive ROI from their campaigns.  Furthermore, the study indicated that with the importance dealers place on peer recommendations and vendor ratings, auto-industry-focused, B2B social media sites are set to play an increasingly powerful role in their assessment and selection of vendors. "It's exciting to see dealers discovering the power of social media - not only as a critical tool for improving their business and vendor decisions, but as an effective and cost-efficient way to reach consumers, generate leads and enhance their marketing ROI," said DrivingSales.com Founder Jared Hamilton.  "The dealer industry has lagged others in adoption but as new social media technology specifically targeted to the auto industry continues to emerge, more and more dealers will adopt these new platforms as part of their marketing strategy. Social media is poised to become as much of an industry game-changer as the Internet was 13 years ago." The Dealership Marketing Study, the first in a series of surveys on dealership strategies and best practices, was deployed as part of DrivingSales' overall mission to provide dealers, dealership managers and other industry professionals with a vendor-neutral, online environment where they can collaborate, share and discover best practices, industry trends and news. Social Media Poised For Significant Dealer Spend Gains Study data around future dealer marketing budgets provided the most powerful indication that social media may have a very bright future: when survey-takers were asked which specific advertising options they would invest in if their budget was increased by 10% or more, social media ranked in the top three, following dealer websites and SEO. While 43% of those surveyed intend to hold steady on their marketing budgets over the next six months, 36% are planning an increase. The data suggests this bodes well for social media but, not surprisingly, the picture is not so pretty for traditional media, which is clearly waning in importance.  When asked to identify the first three media they would cut over the next six months (in the event of a 10% budget cut), print media ranked first, at 66% - followed by radio at 57% and television at 44%. Even more alarming for traditional media, over 40% of dealers surveyed no longer use television as an advertising medium. Additionally, over 88% rate their dealership websites as the marketing investment delivering the top ROI, and over one third of those who've adopted social media report they're experiencing a 'good' or 'excellent' return on investment.  Again, while dealers rank their websites as the most valuable source for generating sales leads, 56% reported that social media is a valuable source for generating leads from previous customers. B2B Social Media Poised to Play Increasingly Important Role in Vendor Selection The marketing study findings also reflect the increasing importance the dealer industry's adoption of B2B social media has - and will have - in their business and decisions. 60% reported that real-world customer ratings for dealer solutions now rate as the most important factor in their vendor selection, while 64% indicated that peer recommendations represented the #1 influence in their vendor choices. According to Hamilton, with more and more dealers turning to B2B social media sites like DrivingSales.com to help them make decisions on service providers, the real world evidence clearly indicates that B2B social media is impacting  how dealers make their vendor decisions, while dealer enthusiasm for consumer-focused marketing strategies continues to grow. "Seeing the enthusiastic response by dealer attendees to social media gurus Chris Brogan, Will Travis and Aaron Strout, among others, this week at the DrivingSales Executive Summit - and the number of fingertips tweeting on keyboards during the Summit - I think it is safe to say that dealer adoption of social media as part of their marketing mix is well on its way," concluded Hamilton. The DrivingSales Dealer Marketing Study was conducted over the past 6 weeks to provide a snapshot of dealer marketing spend and strategies to the DrivingSales community.  88% of respondents listed themselves as decision makers or decision influencers. To read realtime reports from the DrivingSales Executive Summit, visit (and join) the DrivingSales Automotive Twitter Directory at http://www.drivingsales.com/home/twitter or search #dses at Twitter.com. About DrivingSales DrivingSales.com (www.drivingsales.com) is the largest and premiere online community for the auto industry, where its thousands of members, including dealers, dealership managers, manufacturers, industry experts and vendors, collaborate and share best practices in a 20-group style setting. At DrivingSales, members create profiles and communicate with each other; build their networks and knowledgebase; share and rate proven strategies, and have access to relevant content contributed by fellow industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, a social news feed and more. Dealer members rate and review vendor products - sharing their experiences with the DrivingSales community - while vendors have the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. DrivingSales was created and built from the ground up in 2003 by Jared Hamilton, a third generation auto dealer, as a private automotive business community to network his NADA Dealer Candidate Academy class.  The site opened nationally in 2008 and is the auto industry's leading social media custom platform. Media Contact: Melanie Webber (Melanie@mwebbcom.com), mWEBB Communications, (949) 307-1723

FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida - (November 10, 2009) - According to a new AutoUSA study (www.autousa.com), 85 percent of auto dealers surveyed consider Internet marketing their most important marketing activity for New Car Sales followed by TV at 19.8 percent, radio at 13.2 percent, Direct Mail at 12.6 percent, Magazines/Newspaper at 12 percent and Public Relations at 10.2 percent. When asked the same question for Used Car Sales, the results were very close with the Internet leading at 88.6 percent. For full results: http://budurl.com/rvf3 Further, when asked "which of the following internet marketing activities generates the highest volume of new car online leads?" 52.7 percent chose third-party websites (Edmunds, Kbb.com, etc.), followed by organic search at 47.3 percent, OEM websites at 26.9 percent and Pay Per Click at 12.6 percent. Of those surveyed, 62.2 percent also chose Third-party websites as the best Internet marketing activity for used car online leads, followed by organic search at 40.9 percent, OEM websites at 10.4 percent and Pay Per Click at 7.9 percent. "With the advent of social media and web 2.0 there is a lot that can be done with online marketing but clearly third party leads still play a very important part in the marketing mix. When it comes to online marketing, it's never been an "either/or" situation.  If dealers want to generate a high volume of Internet leads, they need a comprehensive strategy that drives business in the door in as many ways as possible," said Phil DuPree, president of AutoUSA. The online survey, which was conducted in October, generated 167 responses from dealership employees around the country, including store owners, general managers, BDC managers, marketing managers, Internet managers and sales managers. The study also asked dealers what they are doing now that Cash for Clunkers has lowered inventory. 61.1 percent of those dealers surveyed responded that they are switching buyers to vehicles that are in stock. 45.5 percent said that they are going to auction and buying used vehicles and 41.3 percent are taking orders on inventory. Only 9.0 percent of survey respondents said they were acquiring vehicles from dealerships going out of business. * Survey respondents could provide more than one answer. About AutoUSA (www.AutoUSA.com) AutoUSA, Inc., is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and a subsidiary of AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE: AN), the largest retail automotive company in the United States. AutoUSA is an independent third-party provider of leads to thousands of dealerships nationwide. The company has built its success on a combination of advanced web-based technology and a network that includes the country's most well respected online automotive resources, including Edmunds.com, Kelley Blue Book, AOL Autos, MSN Autos, Yahoo! Autos, NADA Analytical Services Group, AutoVantage.com, AutoNation.com and AutoUSA.com. The vast majority of Ward's Top 100 eDealers use AutoUSA. More information is available online at http://www.AutoUSA.com

Overland Park, KS -- VinSolutions announced today they have completed an agreement with American Honda Motor Co., Inc. to become an approved vendor. VinSolutions CRM/ILM system will be providing an integrated Lead Management program that will have a secure connection for management of American Honda to fully integrate their customer leads quickly and efficiently. “We made enhancements to our system to ensure we met or surpassed Honda’s approved vendor standards” said Doug Kinney, CEO of VinSolutions. “This collaborative effort between VinSolutions, Honda and their dealers will ensure rapid response times and better lead maximization proficiency.” With becoming an approved vendor for American Honda we are delivering to the dealers who choose VinSolutions as their CRM/ILM provider, the ability to maximize lead proficiency by receiving high-quality leads from the factory in real time, facilitating rapid response times. Using the integration capabilities between inventory, ILM and CRM systems available through VinSolutions, a dealership’s sales staff will be able to send e-mails, vehicle brochures, set appointments and schedule customer follow-up activities with ease. About VinSolutions (http://www.vinsolutions.com) An industry-leading developer of Internet-based desking, customer relations management (CRM) and Internet lead management (ILM) software, VinSolutions provides 24/7 dealership sales and marketing information to their clients anywhere Internet access is available. In addition to automotive CRM, ILM and Inventory control products, VinSolutions builds custom dealership Websites, uploads inventory photos, offers their clients quality training and consulting services, as well as valuable customer support. VinSolutions is Honda, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Subaru and Audi certified and has working relationships, alliances and integrations with several automotive software service providers such as Kelley Blue Book, CarFax, AutoSoft, Inc., Autodata, RouteOne and DealerTrack.

The Dallas 100™ Awards, presented by the Southern Methodist University, recognized the top 100 fastest growing, privately held companies in the North Texas area. AutoRevo received recognition of their 52nd place ranking. DALLAS, TX – November 5, 2009 – In its 19th year, the Dallas 100™ Awards, presented by Southern Methodist University’s Cox Caruth Institute for Entrepreneurship, recognized the top 100 fastest growing, privately held companies in the North Texas area. AutoRevo received recognition of their 52nd place ranking at an awards ceremony at the Meyerson Symphony Center on November 4th, 2009. In order to qualify for the Dallas 100™, a company must be an independent, privately held corporation, proprietorship, or partnership (not a subsidiary of a parent company) as of May 1, 2009; be headquartered in the Dallas area; have had sales of more than $500,000 in fiscal year 2005; have had sales of less than $75 million in fiscal year 2005; have a three-year sales history reflecting growth; and, have a credit report and character satisfactory to the Dallas 100™, determined at the sole discretion of the Dallas 100™. The award winners are selected based on increased growth in sales. “In this tough economy, especially in the auto industry, it’s a challenging task to grow a business. We’re extremely proud to be one of the companies honored with this award,” said Chad Polk, CEO of AutoRevo. “We couldn’t have won this award without our team’s fierce dedication and continued hard work.” About AutoRevo A leader in the automotive industry, AutoRevo is a premier provider of dealer websites and on-demand software for automotive dealerships marketing and selling cars online. AutoRevo has recently released AutoRevo Mobile, the industry’s first-ever inventory management app for the Apple iPhone integrated with Carfax. FastLot, the company's Internet marketing platform, delivers dealer websites, integration with any automotive shopping site, real-time inventory pricing tools, lead management, digital customer delivery documents, advanced reporting and much more. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, AutoRevo was founded in 2003 and has experienced triple-digit growth for the past six years. The company is aligned with the auto industry's leading e-commerce sites, including: eBay Motors, AutoTrader.com, OVE.com, Openlane.com, Cars.com, Craigslist, Google, Vehix, CARFAX, and hundreds more. For additional information or to learn more, visit http://www.autorevo.com and blog http://blog.autorevo.com.

Auto Dealers Improve Speed, Quality of Internet Quotes to Car Shoppers

Sunnyvale, Calif – November 2, 2009 – ResponseLogix, Inc., the leading provider of automotive digital response management software for Internet leads, today announced the release of SmartQuote™ for pre-owned vehicle leads.  Customers who send requests for information on pre-owned vehicles to auto dealers that use ResponseLogix will now experience the same speed and quality of price quote response as new car buyers have experienced. “To date, SmartQuote has been available only for new car leads.  Now pre-owned leads can receive a comprehensive, multi-vehicle price quote as well,” said Tom Mohr, President and CEO of ResponseLogix.  “Given that gross margins for pre-owned vehicles are higher than those for new vehicles, this is an exciting product extension.” SmartQuote for pre-owned vehicles allows dealers to quickly and efficiently respond to their pre-owned Internet leads in a professional and consistent manner.  The car buyer is presented with a quote that leads with a VIN-specific pre-owned automobile and includes quotes for up to three other comparable pre-owned cars and three more similar new vehicles. “This is invaluable in that it allows the salespersons to spend their time getting customers off the keyboard and on the phone as opposed to constructing a customized response,” said Steven Martin, Internet Sales Director at Sport City Toyota in Dallas, Texas.  “We love this tool!” With the ResponseLogix solution suite, auto dealers are able to deliver to a car buyer a price quote on multiple vehicles, consistent with his or her trim-level request, from the assigned sales representative in less than 10 minutes. ResponseLogix solves the top three challenges facing auto dealer Internet sales departments: increasing the speed and quality of initial response to leads, improving the impact and consistency of ongoing follow up, and through analytics helping the dealer manage the online and person-to-person communications between the customer and the dealer. About ResponseLogix, Inc. ResponseLogix delivers software as a service (SaaS) technology to auto dealers that frees them to better respond to Internet leads.  SmartQuote™ answers Internet leads within 10 minutes, with a price quote on multiple vehicles based on the customer’s make, model and trim level request.  SmartFollow™ helps dealers stay in touch with the customer with dynamically timed, interactive follow-up emails.  SmartFacts™ delivers powerful analytics to help optimize the performance or Internet sales departments.  The ResponseLogix’s SmartQuote product recently received recognition by Automotive News Magazine as one of ten featured products in its annual post-National Automobile Dealers Association convention product review, this year entitled “Cool Stuff at NADA”.  ResponseLogix products are available in 40 US markets for Toyota, Ford, Lincoln-Mercury, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Honda, Lexus, Audi, Honda, Acura, Nissan, Infiniti and Hyundai dealers across the US.  Additional OEM’s will be supported soon.  Additional information is available at www.responselogix.com .

ALEXANDRIA, VA (Nov. 2) – The American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA) today announced a new affinity partnership with Financial Transaction Services (FTS), designed to provide dealer members with exclusive pricing on end-to-end payment processing solutions for credit, debit, EBT, gift card/loyalty, biometric authentication, and ACH check-processing. First Transaction Services is partnered with First Data, the global technology leader in information commerce. “The ability to easily and securely accept any type of payment has become a fundamental element in maintaining dealership customer satisfaction and a critical component to closing deals,” said AIADA President Cody Lusk. “Financial Transaction Services offers a secure, low-cost solution to this problem, allowing our dealers to focus on what they do best: selling cars.” FTS has over 15,000 clients with annual card volume exceeding 2.5 billion transactions. By partnering with FTS, AIADA dealers will have access to an exclusive pricing structure, a wide array of hardware and software solutions for payment processing, and unparalleled 24/7 customer and technical support to meet their unique needs. As an added bonus, FTS’ virtual payment processing technology, FTS Connect, allows dealers to do business online safely and efficiently. “It is a true win/win,” says Matt Tanzy, president of the AIADA BankCard Program. “The dealers save money on their credit card processing, usually no less than $2,500 annually, and every time they accept a credit card for payment, money is funded back into the industry. I don’t know why a dealer would process with any other processor.” With the addition of Financial Transaction Services, AIADA is adding another world-class provider to its Member Benefits Program. AIADA researches hundreds of companies serving the auto industry and selects only those who provide the highest value and quality products, sales, and service to participate in the Member Benefits Program as an Affinity Partner. ### About AIADA: Established in 1970, AIADA is and continues to be the only association whose sole purpose is to represent America’s 10,000 international nameplate automobile franchises that sell and service the following brands: Acura, Aston Martin, Audi, Bentley, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Infiniti, Isuzu, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Lexus, Maserati, Maybach, Mazda, Mercedes, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Saab, Scion, Smart, Subaru, Suzuki, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo. These retailers have a positive economic impact both nationally and in the local communities they serve, providing more than 500,000 American jobs. Visit AIADA online at www.aiada.org. About Financial Transaction Services Financial Transaction Services is a full service provider of electronic transaction processing services for Merchants, Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs) and Financial Institutions. Financial Transaction Services offers a comprehensive line of solutions for credit and debit cards, gift cards, electronic check conversion, verification and guarantee as well as terminal services and online Payment Gateway Solutions. Hannah VanderBush I Communications Coordinator American International Automobile Dealers Association 211 N. Union Street I Alexandria, VA 22314 I (703) 519-7800

Clifton Park, NY (November 03, 2009) - Auto/Mate Dealership Systems (www.automate.com), a leading dealership management system (DMS) provider, today announced that the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) has ranked Auto/Mate the industry's top DMS in its 2009 Bi-Annual Survey of Dealership Satisfaction with Dealer System Providers' Products and Services (link: http://www.nada.org/Technology/DSPVendorsSurvey/).  The survey results which were based on responses from dealers and dealership employees nationwide, showed Auto/Mate ranked higher than any other DMS vendor in overall DMS products and services satisfaction. Auto/Mate ranked number one in 12 of the 16 DMS satisfaction categories - more than any other DMS vendor: -Overall customer service department satisfaction -Availability of customer service representatives -Maintenance of the dealer's daily business with minimal interruption -Prompt follow-up to handle the needs of dealership staff -The ability to access data through common software applications such as Microsoft Word® or Excel® -The ability to integrate with Internet-based DCS applications -Technical training provided on system use -Flexibility of software to adapt to business needs -Third-party vendor integration and sharing of information capabilities -Data storage ability -Satisfaction with the length of time data is stored When asked if they plan to switch to another DMS provider when their contract is up, 100% of the Auto/Mate users surveyed said no. "We couldn't be happier with the NADA findings.  Our goal is to provide dealers with the Best Software and Best Service in the DMS market. These results validate the work we've been doing to improve our customer service. While other vendors might be content with modest gains, we remain focused on improving our software and customer service and staying number one," said Mike Esposito, president and CEO of Auto/Mate. Auto/Mate recently reported a 17% increase in new auto dealer clients since end-of-year 2008, which the company attributes to the growing number of dealers moving from expensive, legacy DMS solutions to more flexible, cost-effective systems like the company's Automotive Management Productivity Suite (AMPS). "We're having our best year ever. These results are a real endorsement from our customers," said Esposito. AMPS is an easy-to-use comprehensive DMS with over 20 integrated modules to help dealers more efficiently and effectively manage their business.  It supports an unlimited number of users, workstations and printers, and can be implemented in any size dealership.  AMPS is available as both an in-house and ASP solution. About Auto/Mate

Auto/Mate Dealership Systems was established 25 years ago with a simple goal: to provide an efficient and reasonably priced computer system to increase dealers' profitability. Designed by former auto dealer executives, AMPS (Automotive Management Productivity Suite) by Auto/Mate offers more than 20 fully integrated modules to suit any size dealership and to address every need, including Sales, F&I, Fixed Operations, Accounting, CRM, Fleet Sales and more. Auto/Mate's success has led to a continuous growth rate of more than 30% per year, with its system currently in use by more than 400 dealers. In three combined surveys conducted by NADA, Auto/Mate has ranked the highest in customer satisfaction over any other dealer system. AMPS by Auto/Mate Dealership Systems is powerful, scalable and has a unique, graphical interface that makes it familiar and easy to use. AMPS is an open system and will run on most computer hardware that a dealer has in place. When compared to other systems on the market, AMPS offers the most value per dollar, allowing dealerships to operate more efficiently and profitably. For more information, please visit www.automate.com.

AutoRevo Releases Auto Industry’s First iPhone Inventory Management Application Integrated with Carfax DALLAS, TX – October 29, 2009 – AutoRevo, the premier provider of auto dealer websites and on-demand software for automotive dealerships marketing and selling cars online, today announced the release of AutoRevo Mobile, an application that allows dealers to manage their inventory on their iPhone. “The technical barriers to a true mobile solution for dealers have now been removed with the latest iPhone. This is a great opportunity for our industry to flourish with a drastically increased speed of business,” said Chad Polk, CEO of AutoRevo. AutoRevo Mobile allows dealers to decode a VIN from a photo of the VIN barcode, edit vehicle information, update prices, shoot and upload unlimited photos, run Carfax Vehicle History Reports™, and manage leads, giving dealers the ability to manage their inventory from anywhere, at any time. “We had several dealers buy out their existing contract and upgrade to the iPhone in order to be an early adopter of AutoRevo Mobile,” continued Polk. “That tells me we have a game changing product that will move the industry forward.  You can literally have a car advertised on your site before the ink dries on the bank draft.”

OAKBROOK, IL (October 27, 2009) – There is a lack of understanding of the metrics that measure if a store’s used vehicles online merchandising is hitting the mark, according to author and industry expert Dale Pollak.

 

During the upcoming Digital Dealer Conference and Expo in Nashville, TN, Pollak, the chairman and founder of vAuto, will share and explain the first pixel scoring system that answers the “how do we know we’re doing a good job with our online merchandising” question.  Pollak’s system provides dealers with a quantified measure of their current performance and raises awareness of factors that drive success. Pollak tracked the online metrics of 100 dealers during a 3-month study and will present his findings and the pixel scoring results at the conference.

 

“An SRP is equivalent of drive by traffic and a VDP is the equivalent of an up,” says Pollak. “We would never dream of managing our physical lots without measuring these, but that is what is being done every day on our virtual lots. Dealers need to manage what they can’t see. It is imperative that every dealer systematically review their Search Result Pages (SRPs), Vehicle Detail Pages (VDPs) and VDP conversion rates.”

 

In addition to Pollak, vAuto’s Vice President of Performance Management, John Griffin, will be presenting industry stocking trends and processes at the Digital Dealer Conference. Rafi Hamid, vAuto’s Sr. Director of Digital Marketing, will be conducting a conference workshop focusing on the tactics for becoming a successful Internet dealership.

 

More than 45 exhibitors and 500 attendees are expected for this year’s Digital Dealer Conference to be held November 1 – 3 in Nashville, Tennessee.

 

About vAuto

 

Headquartered in the Chicago suburb of Oak Brook, Ill., vAuto also maintains a research and development center in Austin, Texas. The company’s “Live Market View” technology currently allows more than 2,000 dealers to manage their used-car inventories based on comprehensive supply-and-demand information mined by vAuto for their specific market area. Details on millions of pre-owned vehicles are maintained and updated on a daily basis within vAuto’s database.

 

The nation’s five highest-volume franchised dealerships by brand currently use vAuto pricing, appraisal, stocking, and merchandising systems. vAuto was recently ranked number 22 in Inc. Magazine’s 2009 annual ranking of the fastest-growing, privately held companies in America. The company’s chairman and founder, Dale Pollak maintains a blog for the discussion of used-car trends at www.dalepollak.com. More information on vAuto is available at www.vAuto.com.