Industry-first My Showroom tool lets car shoppers get their friends’ opinions on cars they’re considering while they shop

LOS ANGELES – CarsDirect (www.carsdirect.com), the company that pioneered online car buying, today announced a major evolution in the way consumers can shop for cars online: social car buying. Social car buying is the centerpiece of CarsDirect’s My Showroom, a new tool that combines a suite of social features to advance the car buying process.

“Since the early days of online car buying, the process of researching, configuring, and buying a car on the Internet has been a mostly solitary experience,” said Curt Cozadd, Vice President of Marketing at CarsDirect. “We know our customers today are active in social networks, and they are constantly telling us that they value their friends’ opinions highly when it comes to which car they choose. CarsDirect’s My Showroom lets car shoppers finally bring their friends into the online car buying process, making it more useful, more efficient – and a lot more fun.”

CarsDirect’s My Showroom brings together several social technologies to provide a fast and seamless social car buying experience:

• Fast social log-in. Quickly sign into CarsDirect and configure a personal showroom using an existing social network account such as Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.

• Save vehicles. As you browse vehicles, save an unlimited number of new and used vehicles that you’re considering to your personal showroom with one click.

• Share vehicles. Share your list of saved vehicles with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks.

• Get friends’ votes. Get your friends to vote and comment on the vehicles you’ve chosen to help you make a purchase decision.

The concept of social car buying was inspired by CarsDirect customer surveys that consistently revealed that opinions of family and friends were the two of the top sources of advice used by CarsDirect shoppers when making a buying decision. Additionally, a recent study of 8,000 in-market car buyers by Capgemini found that “family and friends” was one of the top five information sources consulted by shoppers, ahead of sources such as automotive magazines and news websites.

More information about social car buying through CarsDirect’s My Showroom, including a video demonstration and the ability to set up and use a My Showroom account, can be found at www.carsdirect.com/social.

About CarsDirect
CarsDirect (www.carsdirect.com) is a leading multi-brand online car buying service and research portal, providing new and used automobiles and related products and services. As the pioneer of the direct online car buying model more than a decade ago, CarsDirect has become the natural choice for consumers who demand objectivity, selection and upfront pricing.

09/21/12