AutoConnect and Organic to Build Online Used Car Store
19 May 1998
AutoConnect Partners with Organic to Build World's Most Comprehensive Online Emporium of Pre-Owned VehiclesInteractive Architects Make Shopping AutoConnect's Half Million-Car Inventory
Fast and Convenient
ATLANTA, May 19 -- When shoppers enter AutoConnect
(autoconnect.com) in May 1998, they will have no trouble kicking the virtual
tires of hundreds of thousands of cars and trucks. AutoConnect has partnered
with Organic, the award-winning San Francisco and New York-based interactive
architects, to showcase the world's largest inventory of pre-owned vehicles
on a site that is compelling, convenient and easy to navigate.
"We chose Organic for their top-to-bottom understanding of what makes
consumers want to use a site and tell their friends about it," said Chip
Perry, president and CEO of AutoConnect. "Their strategic approach,
proprietary middleware technology and design expertise ensures that
AutoConnect users are in the driver's seat to find all the information and
services they need to make informed decisions about purchasing the car of
their dreams."
AutoConnect began working with Organic New York in late 1997 to develop
the only Internet site of national scope dedicated exclusively to pre-owned
cars and trucks, including vehicles from dealers and private sellers. With
its huge inventory of hundreds of thousands of cars and trucks, AutoConnect
needed a Web development partner capable of building a site that is at once
enormous in scale and easy to use for even a novice computer user.
AutoConnect found the solution in Organic's proprietary middleware, named
"Borscht," a technology that resides between the user interface and the core
database. Invisible to the consumer, it enables AutoConnect shoppers to
quickly and easily locate vehicles that match their specific search criteria,
including such variables as make, model, price and geographic location.
Organic's Borscht technology also enables AutoConnect shoppers to jump
easily from category to category without a lot of backtracking. For example,
after selecting a particular make and model of car, the user can move directly
to sections on insurance or financing for that vehicle. Competing services,
in contrast, typically require the user to "drill" up and down through
multiple layers to find information in different sections.
"One of our main design goals from the outset was to create a truly
integrated user experience that helps car shoppers navigate quickly and easily
to the content they want," said Perry. "Organic's Borscht technology was
essential in making this kind of seamless environment a reality, not just an
idea."
Famed for its "category leading," business-building Web sites, Organic's
client list includes such blue chip companies as Nike, Starbucks, Harley-
Davidson and Toys R Us. The company views AutoConnect as a "showcase for its
ability to effectively reach customers in an engaging manner while providing a
valuable experience."
"AutoConnect is the perfect vehicle to showcase our technology and
consumer-friendly design principles," said Mike Golden, vice president and
general manager of Organic's New York office. "The large selection of cars
and the unparalleled consumer interaction through free classified listings
really challenged and showcased what our developers and our technology can
do."
Further strengthening AutoConnect's presence on the Web, the company also
announced today a partnership with Cox Interactive Media (CIM), a subsidiary
of media giant Cox Enterprises and the nation's largest provider of local
content on the Internet. With this agreement, CIM will prominently feature
AutoConnect on its 17 popular city sites, as well as five other specialty
sites, substantially increasing AutoConnect's visibility to Internet users.
The CIM deal follows similar agreements with Yahoo!, Lycos and WebCrawler.
About Organic
Organic has been helping industry leaders build businesses online since
1993. With five years of groundbreaking experience and industry leadership,
Organic fuses sound strategic insight, engaging interactive design, and
powerful technology expertise to create successful e-commerce and interactive
solutions for a broad client base. Organic's expertise includes strategic
marketing and technology consulting; online advertising and promotion
development; media planning, placement, and reporting; research and usability
testing; interactive design; turnkey production services; software
development; and secure hosting. Clients range from global brands and
e-commerce category leaders, such as Nike, Starbucks, Harley-Davidson and
Fragrance Counter, to non-profit organizations such as Impact Online.
About AutoConnect
AutoConnect is owned by Manheim Auctions, Inc., a subsidiary of Cox
Enterprises, and the Dealer Services Group of Automatic Data Processing, Inc.
(ADP) offering Internet shopping information and services for pre-owned and
new cars and trucks. Manheim and ADP provide a variety of products and
services to a combined total of more than 90 percent of the U.S. automotive
dealers, making AutoConnect the Internet's largest and most significant
consolidation of automobile dealer relationships and used car listings.
About Cox Interactive Media
CIM was launched in 1996 with the goal of building long-term brands and
audiences on the Internet. Targeting key markets where Cox Enterprises
operates newspapers, television stations, radio stations and cable systems,
CIM has quickly outpaced all other traditional media companies and online
providers, emerging as the nation's most extensive online network of city,
regional and national brands. Fueled by rapid growth, CIM has evolved from a
two-person shop in 1996 to a market leader employing more than 350 people,
with plans to expand to a staff of 450 by mid-1998. CIMnet currently includes
17 city sites and four specialty sites (http://www.cimedia.com).
Cox Interactive Media, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., is
headquartered in Atlanta. A leading media company, Cox Enterprises includes
Cox Newspaper, Inc. (newspapers, direct mail marketing, book publishing), Cox
Broadcasting, Inc. (TV, spot sales, television production, research, publicly-
traded Cox Radio, Inc.) and publicly traded Cox Communications, Inc. (cable
distribution, programming, broadband communications) in addition to Cox
Interactive Media. The company is also the world's largest operator of
automobile auctions through Manheim Auctions, providing financial services,
government auctions, online services and price guides.
About Manheim Auctions & Cox Enterprises
Founded in 1945, Manheim Auctions, Inc. is the world's largest operator of
wholesale automobile auctions with more than 65 locations in North America and
the United Kingdom. In 1997, Manheim handled more than six million vehicles
worth over $28 billion. Manheim leads the electronic commerce industry in
wholesale vehicle sales with Manheim Online, available on the Internet at
http://www.manheim.com.
In support of the core auction business, Manheim also provides vehicle
reconditioning and certification, automated vehicle pricing products, dealer
floor plan financing, dealer business software, and government auctions.
Manheim is a partner with the Dealer Services Group of Automatic Data
Processing, Inc., offering free Internet used car listings to dealers and
consumers via AutoConnect. Manheim is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc.
In addition to Manheim, Cox includes Cox Newspapers, Inc., Cox Broadcasting,
Inc., and publicly traded Cox Communications, Inc. and Cox Radio, Inc. Cox
Enterprises also provides online news, information and entertainment services
via the Internet through Cox Interactive Media.
About ADP
ADP Dealer Services Group provides turnkey solutions to over 18,000 auto
and truck dealers throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Asia and Latin
America. ADP Dealer Services Group is the third largest business unit of
Automatic Data Processing, Inc. , which with over $4 billion in
annual revenue and more than 400,000 clients, is one of the largest
independent computing service firms in the world. More information on ADP and
ADP Dealer Services Group is available via the Internet at http://www.adp.com.
Manheim Auctions and Manheim Online are either registered trademarks or
trademarks of Cox Enterprises, Inc. in the United States and/or other
countries.
ADP is a registered trademark of Automatic Data Processing, Inc. All
other trademarks or registered trademarks are properties of their respective
companies.
Not all features described above may be functional at launch.
