IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq: ABTL), the company dedicated to helping dealers and car-buyers connect online, is pleased to announce it will feature the 2011 Ideal Vehicle Awards (IVA) released today by automotive research and consulting firm, AutoPacific. The awards will be prominently featured on Autobytel’s newly designed flagship site, Autobytel.com, whose consumer mission is to serve as Your Lifetime Automotive Advisor™. The new Autobytel.com’s peer-to-peer reviews, exclusive content and user personalization are central upgrades to the recently unveiled site. Adding AutoPacific’s IVA to the site will enhance the new user experience.
Presented by AutoPacific, the IVA are based on owners’ ratings of their new 2011 model year cars and trucks across 15 key vehicle attributes, including: exterior styling, exterior size, passenger roominess, cargo space, driver's seat comfort, driver’s seat visibility, info/entertainment technology, interior lighting, power and acceleration, ease of getting in and out, interior storage compartments, ride, handling, safety features and tires and wheels. The survey includes responses from more than 72,000 consumers who have owned their vehicle for 90 days or more. In addition to identifying segment winners, the IVA also establishes numerical Ideal Vehicle Ratings for virtually every passenger car and light truck in the United States market.
“Featuring the Ideal Vehicle Awards on the newly designed Autobytel.com is a natural fit for us,” said Autobytel Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeffrey H. Coats. “When we redesigned our website, we listened to what consumers wanted from a site like ours, and they repeatedly told us of their desire to hear from other consumers who already own a vehicle they are considering. Given the multitude of features and benefits measured in the IVA by consumers, these awards do just that. We are happy to feature the IVA on Autobytel.com and the Autobytel Facebook page offering true consumer-to-consumer points-of-view.”
“We are excited that Autobytel is featuring the Ideal Vehicle Awards on its flagship site, Autobytel.com,” says George Peterson, President of AutoPacific. “Based on our research, 38% of buyers are influenced by awards won by the vehicle they are considering and awards based on owner input are especially significant. We established the IVA in 2006 as a complement to our Vehicle Satisfaction Award that began in 1997. Featuring the IVA’s on Autobtyel.com provides visibility to millions of new car shoppers and helps them make more informed buying decisions.”
In addition to featuring a complete list of all the IVA winners in the What’s Hot NowSM section on Autobytel.com, the site will include exclusive snapshot editorial content on each vehicle based on the market research provided by AutoPacific and vehicle award descriptions outlining how each vehicle was selected. Autobytel will also highlight IVA winners on the Autobytel Facebook page to further broaden the visibility of awards.
Visit www.Autobytel.com to view the new Ideal Vehicle Awards and explore the site’s all-new online car buying experience.
About Autobytel Inc. (www.autobytel.com)
Autobytel Inc., an online leader offering consumer purchase requests and marketing resources to car dealers and manufacturers and providing consumers with the information they need to purchase new and used cars, pioneered the automotive Internet when it launched autobytel.com in 1995. Autobytel continues to offer innovative products and services to help consumers buy, and auto dealers and manufacturers sell, more used and new cars. Autobytel has helped tens of millions of automotive consumers research vehicles; connected thousands of dealers nationwide with motivated car buyers; and helped every major automaker market its brand online. Through its flagship website Autobytel.com®, its network of automotive sites, including Autotropolis.com®, Autoweb.com®, AutoSite.com®, Car.comsm, CarSmart.com®, CarTV.com®, DealershipJobs.comsm, MyGarage.com® and MyRide.com® and its respected online partners, Autobytel continues its dedication to innovating the industry's highest quality Internet programs to provide consumers with a comprehensive and positive automotive research and purchasing experience, and auto dealers, dealer groups and auto manufacturers with some of the industry's most productive and cost-effective customer referral and marketing programs.
About AutoPacific (www.autopacific.com)
AutoPacific is a future-oriented automotive marketing research and product-consulting firm. Every year AutoPacific publishes a wide variety of syndicated studies on the automotive industry. The firm, founded in 1986, also conducts extensive proprietary research and consulting for auto manufacturers, distributors, marketers and suppliers worldwide. Company headquarters and its state-of-the-art automotive research facility are in Tustin, California, with an affiliate office in the Detroit area. Additional information can be found on AutoPacific's websites: http://www.autopacific.com and http://vehiclevoice.com/