Zentropy Partners Helps Launch General Motors' Newly Designed GM BuyPower Auto Web Site; New Site to Focus on Customer-Centric Functions

Business Wire, April 14, 2000

Business Editors & E-Commerce Writers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 2000

Zentropy Partners, a worldwide digital consulting and development company affiliated with The Interpublic Group of Companies Inc. (NYSE:IPG), today announced its part in the launch of the GM BuyPower Web site (www.gmbuypower.com), a comprehensive online automotive buying service.

Working with GM BuyPower, Zentropy Partners redesigned the original site, adding more customer-centric functions to make navigation through the site, and the consumer's entire car-buying experience, easier.

"Consumers are increasingly using the Internet as a tool for finding a new car," said John Connors, chief executive officer of Zentropy Partners. "Working directly with consumers, we have strategically designed, built and implemented a site that addresses all aspects of purchasing a car."

A report from Forrester Research Inc. predicts that by 2003, nearly 8 million new-car purchases will be influenced by the Internet, and nearly half a million new cars will actually be purchased online.

GM BuyPower, entering its second year of e-commerce, worked with Zentropy Partners to develop the reconstruction and additions of new tools to simplify shopping and improve the user experience.

Comprehensive "power tools" let consumers view the exact vehicle on a dealer's lot and request a "dealer's best price" online. A few examples of the new features that are unmatched in the industry include: the configurator tool, allowing consumers to "build" their new vehicle; the comparisons tool, letting consumers compare their configured GM vehicle with other manufacturers' models; the estimate payments tool, letting shoppers compare and calculate monthly payments for different financing options; and the calculate budget tool, advising consumers on how much they can afford to pay for a car and providing a means to apply for credit online.

"Our primary goal with the redesign is to ensure consumers are always in control of the car-buying experience," said Leo Drew, GM BuyPower director of operations. "Whether they're just beginning their online research or know exactly what they want and would like to get the dealer's best price on a vehicle, the consumer controls the process every step of the way."

About Zentropy Partners

Zentropy Partners (www.zentropypartners.com) works with national and global Fortune 1000 and dot-com companies to conceive, build and market digital businesses. Its services include business and technology consulting, Web site development, online marketing and customer relationship management.

The company has headquarters in Cambridge, Mass., and has domestic offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Minneapolis and St. Louis, and international offices in Frankfurt, Hamburg, London, Lyon, Paris and Toronto. Zentropy Partners' clients include General Motors, Microsoft, Nautica Brands, Olympus, Unilever, Brooks Brothers, The Coca-Cola Company, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Reebok International.

Zentropy is affiliated with The Interpublic Group of Companies. IPG's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol "IPG"); more information is available on the company's Web site at www.interpublic.com.

About GM BuyPower

GM BuyPower.com (www.gmbuypower.com) is the industry's most comprehensive buying service, with more than 6,300 participating dealers and 500,000 vehicles available online. With GM BuyPower.com, consumers can configure their vehicle; find it in a dealer's inventory; access finance tools and applicable incentives, including Internet-only offers; and send electronic messages to the dealer of their choice for the best price. GM BuyPower.com generates approximately 690,000 visits per month.