The Cobalt Group's Dealix Division Ranks Highest in Overall Dealer Satisfaction Among New Vehicle Lead Services in the J.D. Power and Associates 2006 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study

Market Wire, September, 2006

In J.D. Power and Associates' 2006 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study, dealers ranked The Cobalt Group's Dealix division Highest in Overall Dealer Satisfaction among New Vehicle Lead Services. For the third consecutive year, Dealix outpaced competitors in key study factors, including Business Generation -- the most important driver of dealer satisfaction -- which encompasses quality and quantity of leads delivered, incremental business, and gross profit margin, as well as Dealer Support and Service (technical support, amount of contact, and training).

"It's great to see Dealix receiving the highest marks in this study," remarked Paul Miller, Internet director for Capital Ford of Raleigh, North Carolina, the No. 1 online Ford dealership. "Our dealership is a long time Dealix customer because they consistently deliver: Dealix helps us do our jobs better and sell more cars. With Dealix leads, we get a higher closing ratio than with any other lead source, plus they're a great team of people to work with."

"Our objective is to help dealers create and convert opportunities in order to sell more cars more efficiently," said John Holt, CEO of The Cobalt Group. "Providing new and used car leads through Dealix is a key component of our marketing services effort, and it's very satisfying to see that our relentless focus on delivering the highest business value and service in the industry is meeting the needs of our dealer customers."

"We're incredibly honored that dealers have named Dealix their top new car lead provider again this year," added Dean Evans, vice president of field marketing for The Cobalt Group. "Dealer feedback in this survey is very important because it helps us to continuously improve our offerings and deliver the very best products and services in the industry."

The 2006 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study is based on 1,010 dealer evaluations of the online buying services they use.

About The Cobalt Group

The Cobalt Group is North America's leading provider of automotive marketing services. For more than a decade, Cobalt's exclusive mission has been to help automobile dealers and manufacturers increase their retailing effectiveness and profits. Cobalt provides marketing services to more than half the automotive dealerships in the United States, Canada and Mexico and is endorsed by more than two-thirds of the world's major automotive manufacturers. Cobalt is endorsed by the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA).

About Dealix Corporation

Dealix Corporation , a division of The Cobalt Group, Inc ., is the expert and leader in Internet advertising and lead services. Dealix connects thousands of serious vehicle buyers with automobile dealerships, large dealer groups, and automotive manufacturers every day. Dealix owns and operates InvoiceDealers.com , one of the industry's leading new car auto buying portals, and UsedCars.com , the first automotive portal solely dedicated to selling pre-owned vehicles. The Dealix Lead Trading Platform(SM)(LTP) is a suite of proprietary technology products and business services that processes over 2.4 million vehicle shopper requests monthly from Dealix automotive properties and the Dealix Lead Acquisition Network(SM), a collection of preeminent partner sites. Dealix publishes the Dealix Dealer Newsletter , the largest circulation e-newsletter in the industry, uniquely targeted to helping dealers sell more cars via the Internet. Dealix Corporation also provides market intelligence via its data analysis division, Dealix Business Intelligence(SM)(DBI). DBI's concise reports, derived from broad-scale market data, provide insight into what's working in the online automotive industry, giving Dealix partners a distinct competitive advantage.

About J.D. Power and Associates

Headquartered in Westlake Village, California, J.D. Power and Associates is an ISO 9001-registered global marketing information services firm operating in key business sectors, including market research, forecasting, consulting, training and customer satisfaction. The firm's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

About The McGraw-Hill Companies

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, McGraw-Hill Education, Business Week and J.D. Power and Associates. The Corporation has more than 290 offices in 38 countries. Sales in 2005 were $6.0 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com .

J.D. Power and Associates Media Relations Contacts: John Tews Troy, Mich. (248) 312-4119 Email Contact Syvetril Perryman Westlake Village, Calif. (805) 418-8103 Email Contact Cobalt Group Contact: Corporate Communications 206-219-8022 email Email Contact . Dealix Corporation Contact: Kristen Stanton Sr. Marketing Manager 650-599-5548 Email Contact