CarsDirect.com Signs Pact to Become the Preferred Auto Merchant on Inktomi Shopping Platform; Agreement Brings Online Car Buying to Leading Web Portals

Business Wire, Sept 28, 1999

SHERMAN OAKS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 28, 1999--

CarsDirect.com, the first Internet car company, today announced that it has signed a first-of-its-kind automotive agreement with Inktomi Corp. (NASDAQ:INKT), developer of Internet infrastructure including the Internet's major search engine and shopping platforms.

Inktomi provides the infrastructure that powers search and shopping guides for many top portal sites. The agreement, which establishes CarsDirect.com as the premier car merchant in the automotive category of the Inktomi Shopping Engine, enables Internet users to take advantage of CarsDirect.com's award-winning service in the context of their favorite portals and navigation tools. CarsDirect.com is the first nationwide online source that enables consumers to research, price, select, finance, place an order and take delivery of a new vechicle.

"Our contract with Inktomi anchors CarsDirect.com on some of the most valuable, highly trafficked real estate on the Internet," said Scott Painter, CEO, CarsDirect.com. "Online shoppers now have one-click access to our selection of more than 2,500 makes and models. That's exactly the kind of convenience we were created to deliver."

Inktomi's Shopping Engine will enable Web visitors to make informed car-buying decisions by combining premium content and product offerings such as CarsDirect.com with complementary products and buying information from across the Web.

About CarsDirect.com

CarsDirect.com (http://www.carsdirect.com) is a revolutionary new Internet company that lets consumers complete the vehicle purchase transaction online. With CarsDirect.com, shoppers can research, price, design, order and finance a new car or truck over the Web -- selecting from among 2,500 makes and models by every major manufacturer. Unlike referral services, which point people to a dealer to accomplish the transaction, CarsDirect.com takes the customer from inquiry through financing right up to delivery -- online. CarsDirect.com was recently named the top car-buying site on the Internet by Gomez Advisors of Lincoln, Mass.

Based in Los Angeles, CarsDirect.com is an idealab! company. Its investors include Goldman Sachs, Foundation Capital, idealab! Capital Partners, MSD Capital L.P., and Primedia Ventures, among others.