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Autobytel.com, the Internet's Premier Automotive Purchasing Program, Maintains Dominance with New Se
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| Online Financing and Used Car Cyberstore Top the List of New Services Annou |
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| Updated |
Jun 10, 2004 22:41:50 |
| Rating |
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Description:
Irvine, CA, October 31, 1996 - A number of new and innovative services announced
at the first-ever Autobytel.com Satellite Summit give consumers
the power to perform every aspect of the car-buying process online.
Announcements made via satellite to Autobytel.com's Subscribing
Dealers included the introduction of low-cost online financing
through an exclusive Internet relationship with Chase Auto Finance;
online leasing through GE Capital Auto Financial Services; the
formation of a Used Car Cyberstore; and the implementation of
a high-tech Real-Time communications system. This means that in
addition to low-cost new-car buying and auto insurance through
AIG, consumers now have easy access to online financing and low-cost
used-car buying.
"Autobytel.com's goal is to ensure that our Subscribing Dealers
lead the pack in today's rapidly changing automotive marketplace
by providing consumers with low-cost, pain-relieving car buying,"
said Pete Ellis, Autobytel.com's President and CEO. "The programs
announced at the Satellite Summit place our dealers firmly on
the cutting-edge of the automotive revolution."
Speaker Michael Fuchs, former Chairman and CEO of Home Box Office
(HBO), equated "Autobytel.com's position in the automotive industry
to HBO's unprecedented success in cable television. Fuchs declared,
"The automobile business is being revolutionized and Autobytel.com
is the HBO of that revolution."
Addressing that change, James David Power III, founder of J.D.
Power and Associates, told the ABT Subscribing Dealers in attendance
that the most recent J.D. Power study of new vehicle buyers in
the U.S. found that 68% have and use computers. The same study
revealed that high-income households account for 55% of new vehicle
sales, a number that's expected to reach 66% in the year 2000.
Since high-income households typically own computers, Power concluded
that "Autobytel.com Dealers have the tiger by the tail."
Autobytel.com's success is based on two general principles: (1)
giving consumers an easy and painless way to purchase and finance
a new or used vehicle at a low cost; and (2) providing ABT Subscribing
Dealers with the tools necessary to compete in today's rapidly
changing automotive industry by substantially lowering their cost
of doing business.
Autobytel.com engaged high-tech methods-a closed-circuit interactive
conference beamed to 47 locations across the U.S. and Canada via
satellite-to discuss its future plans with Subscribing Dealers.
Highlights of the new services include:
Autobytel.com Acceptance Corporation (ABTAC)
ABTAC, Autobytel.com's new financing subsidiary, will introduce
online leasing through GE Capital Auto Financial Services as well
as online financing through Chase Auto Finance beginning next
year. Autobytel.com customers will now be able to complete applications
for financing online and, ultimately, receive a response within
minutes.
Sandy Derickson, President of GE Capital Auto Financial Services,
told ABT Dealers, "Today's car buyers are the most informed consumers
ever. We believe Autobytel.com has designed a powerful marketing
system on the Internet that will bring modern car buyers directly
to your sales desk."
Chase Auto Finance's automotive online financing is offered exclusively
through the Autobytel.com website and Autobytel.com dealers. Jim Brew,
President of Chase Auto Finance, said, "Chase is delighted to
have the opportunity to work with ABTAC and its dealers to take
the lead in providing Internet-based automotive financial services
to this large and fast-growing market."
Used Car Cyberstore to Offer Largest Inventory of Used Vehicles
Autobytel.com will implement the largest and most comprehensive
online used-car network during the first quarter of 1997. Autobytel.com's
Used Car Cyberstore will outdistance today's used car superstores,
namely CarMax and AutoNation, in terms of volume and number of
easily accessible locations. The program will be exclusively available
to members of Autobytel.com's new-car Subscribing Dealers.
"The ABT Subscribing Dealers will form the single largest network
of used car centers in the world and will offer hundreds of thousands
of certified, quality used vehicles to millions of consumers across
the U.S. and Canada," said John Honiotes, National Sales Director.
Dealer Real-Time Communication System
Availability of new technology will enable the real-time processing
of Autobytel.com Purchase/Lease Requests by Subscribing Dealers.
Dealers that adopt the Real Time system will be informed of a
Purchase/Lease Request the moment the consumer submits it, translating
into better customer service and potentially more sales. |
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