AutoTrader.com Posts Big Gains in Two J.D. Power and Associates Studies

Company Continues to Dominate Online Used Vehicle Classifieds in Site Visitation and Used Car Purchases

ATLANTA, Jan. 20 -- AutoTrader.com, the world's largest automotive marketplace, today announces important placements in two J.D. Power and Associates studies, the 2003 Used Autoshopper.com Study and the 2003 Dealer Satisfaction With Online Buying Services Study.

AutoTrader.com continues to be top of mind with consumers. The 2003 Used Autoshopper.com Study shows that 30 percent of all automotive Internet users (AIUs) purchasing vehicles they found online located them on AutoTrader.com. This percentage is greater than AutoTrader.com's online competitors. Additionally, the largest percentage of AIUs (sixteen percent) rank AutoTrader.com the most useful of all auto classified sites, which marks the third consecutive year of increases in this category for the company. The company was found to be the most visited classifieds site, and, according to the study, use of online classifieds continues to grow.

AutoTrader.com made several double-digit gains in factors in the 2003 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study. The company ranked highest with dealers in the Advertising category, meaning AutoTrader.com ranked first out of all independent sites included in the study in terms of exposure to in-market car shoppers.

Additionally, AutoTrader.com's overall satisfaction score ranked second, tied with Dealix, and increased by 11 points since the 2002 study. The company made its largest leaps forward in the Business Generation and Dealer Support/Service categories -- up 11 points and 43 points, respectively, over 2002. Dealers demonstrated the greatest loyalty to AutoTrader.com, stating it was the least likely out of all independent sites to be discontinued within six months.

"The amount of consumer activity we generate supports our significant gains in dealer satisfaction," said Chip Perry, AutoTrader.com's president and chief executive officer. "We are proud of the results of both studies because they demonstrate we drive online sales for dealers."

Overall, AutoTrader.com's more than 40,000 dealer customers have access to the largest online auto classified site, with the most in-market car shoppers, as well as a powerful set of cost effective and targeted advertising and auction-style listings products. November 2003 site traffic was up 21 percent over the same month last year. October 2003 saw AutoTrader.com reach a record 550,000 unique visitors to the site on one day, and the site is currently averaging more than 7 million unique visitors per month who perform 40 million vehicle searches and view 80 million individual vehicles.

About AutoTrader.com

AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location more than 2.4 million vehicle listings from 40,000 dealers and 250,000 private owners, which provide the largest selection of vehicles attracting more than 7 million unique visitors every month. Through innovative merchandising products such as multiple photos and auction-style listings and comprehensive search functionality, AutoTrader.com unites buyer and seller online -- dramatically improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles.

AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Manheim, the world's leading provider of automotive services to commercial sellers and automobile dealers. Manheim is a wholly owned subsidiary of media conglomerate Cox Enterprises, Inc., and AutoTrader.com's principal stockholder and a key investor along with Landmark Communications, ADP, Inc., and the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. For more information, visit http://www.autotrader.com/ or call 1-800-353-9350.