weather.com Helps New Car Shoppers Select All-Weather Features and Options
Leading Weather Web Site Launches Auto Advisor As Part of Popular Driving Section
ATLANTA, April 21 -- Sixty percent of people considering a new car purchase obtain information online at some point in the process.(1) For many of these people, how their automobile will perform under varied weather conditions is a concern. weather.com, the most popular source of online weather information and the Web site of The Weather Channel, today announces the launch of its Auto Advisor, which will assist consumers who are researching an automotive purchase.
Located in the site's Travel section or by logging on to www.weather.com/autoadvisor, the Auto Advisor provides expert reviews about new car options and aftermarket products that are designed to improve the comfort, safety and performance of an automobile in certain weather conditions. Drivers simply select a vehicle type and the relevant driving condition and weather.com provides an expert automobile review specific to their needs. The weather conditions for which consumers can search include snow and ice, rain, fog/night driving and extreme heat.
Eight experienced automotive journalists from "Motor Matters", a prominent syndicate serving newspapers throughout the U.S., contributed the original expert reviews. Users may also submit reviews of their vehicle's weather- related performance and weatherizing products they've used, and view other consumers' comments in the Consumer Review portion of the section.
This summer, the feature will be expanded to include a "Green Vehicle Guide" that allows users to review new auto rankings based on fuel efficiency and emissions, both of which directly impact the environment. Consumers can search for a specific vehicle or can access rankings for all vehicles in a specific class, such as small car, SUV or minivan. In addition, since weather conditions such as rain, ice and fog can create potentially dangerous driving conditions, the Auto Advisor will provide recent crash test results to help drivers who are interested in choosing a safe vehicle.
"So many people come to weather.com before they embark on a road trip, because they know that the weather has a direct impact on driving conditions," said Tom Flournoy, vice president of product management at weather.com. "It makes perfect sense that people in the market for a new car would want to prepare for these conditions in advance and choose options accordingly. Consumers can now come to the most trusted source of weather information for straight talk on what's worth their money when they are buying or improving a car."
weather.com's Driving section, also located within the Travel section, delivers all-weather driving tips, including advice on how to prepare your car for the heat of summer and provides suggestions for safely driving in the rain. In this section, consumers will also find links to weather.com's popular "Interstate Forecast" feature, which highlights weather conditions along well-known routes throughout the U.S. as well as a listing of Scenic Drives across the country.
About weather.com
weather.com, the Web site of The Weather Channel(R) (TWC), is the world's leading source of weather on the Web. weather.com delivers the most comprehensive weather information found on the Internet. The site helps users plan for everyday life by delivering current conditions and forecasts for 80,000 locations worldwide and providing relevant lifestyle content. Averaging 450 million page views and 18 million unique users per month, weather.com reaches an extended network of users through multiple geographies, platforms and strategic partnerships. Consistently, weather.com is ranked the most popular source of online weather information and ranks among the Top 15 of all Web domains according to Nielsen//NetRatings and Comscore. weather.com is also the leading provider of broadband and wireless weather products via high-speed Internet services, cell phones, pagers, Palm Pilots, and other personal digital assistants. Partnerships include America Online, Yahoo!, Excite Networks, MSNBC.com, USAToday.com, AT&T WorldNet, ABCNews.com, Digital City, Road Runner, Verizon Wireless, Cingular, AT&T Wireless, Sprint, Nextel, AvantGo and Palm Computing. The Weather Channel continues to expand its international reach online with the launch of language-specific sites for the United Kingdom (weather.co.uk), Germany (wetter123.com), France (meteo123.com), Latin America (weather.com/espanol) and Brazil (canaldotempo.com).
1. J.D. Power and Associates.
