CarWoo! Fuels Continued Growth With $6M In New Funding

December 14, 2011 – Burlingame, Calif. – CarWoo! announces the closing of a $6M funding round, bringing total funding to over $12M. With the funding, CarWoo! is adding industry veterans Rudi Thun, formerly General Manager of AOL Autos, and Phil Yeh, previously from Dealix.

CarWoo! finalized the additional funding from investors InterWest Partners, Comcast Ventures, Blumberg Capital, Raymond Tonsing and others. Having more than quadrupled its dealer network over the past year to over 11,000 dealers, CarWoo! intends to use this round of funding to continue that level of growth with their consumers, to launch new products, to further develop the team and to cultivate strategic partnerships.

Michael Yang, Managing Director at Comcast Ventures, says, “We are excited to be part of such a fast growing company. The trajectory that CarWoo! is on with regard to engaging car shoppers, dealers, and automotive manufacturers has accelerated over the last year. CarWoo! has positioned themselves as the win-win solution in the industry.”

The addition of Thun as Chief Operating Officer and Yeh as Vice President of Marketing brings additional industry specific expertise and discipline to the existing CarWoo! team.

Thun comes to CarWoo! after over nine years at AOL, where he was responsible for the strategy, product, marketing, editorial, design, and development of AOL Autos and Autoblog.com. During the past several years Thun doubled AOL’s automotive web traffic to over 10M unique visitors per month while also doubling revenue. Thun is a graduate of Cornell University and earned an MBA from the Walter A. Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.

“CarWoo! is the most innovative online automotive company I have seen in a long time,” says Thun. “When the opportunity came to join the CarWoo! team, I was eager to jump on board. I truly believe that CarWoo! will permanently change the way cars are bought and sold and I really look forward to being a part of the change.”

Yeh joins CarWoo! from SpeedDate.com where he was also Vice President of Marketing. Previously, he spent four years at Dealix, the largest lead provider to auto dealers nationwide, where he was Director of Marketing and ran consumer marketing for automotive portals including UsedCars.com. Yeh holds a degree in Business Administration and attended Santa Clara University School of Law.

“Having Rudi and Phil join our team, closing this round of funding, and demonstrating the strong progress to date are all great endorsements of what we are doing,” says Tommy McClung, CEO of CarWoo!. “We have gained significant traction throughout the industry. CarWoo! is supporting over 11,000 dealers, and with our new initiatives in 2012, we are poised to become the foremost online destination for car buyers and sellers alike.”

About CarWoo!
CarWoo! provides the online MarketPlace where buyers get great deals with no games and dealers are able sell cars online using their own unique approaches with a full understanding of the buyers through the CarWoo! transparent MarketPlace. Buyers remain anonymous, get great market prices, save a ton of time and dealers are ensured buyers who purchase within 3.5 days 80% of the time. As seen on The Today Show, CNN Money and other leading national media outlets, CarWoo! is the only true online MarketPlace for car buyers and sellers. CarWoo! was founded in 2008 by serial entrepreneurs, Tommy McClung, Erik Landerholm and Michael Young. With early funding by Y Combinator, CarWoo! is based in Burlingame, CA and is now funded by Blumberg Capital, Comcast Ventures and InterWest Partners, and others. Find us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/carwoo and on Twitter at twitter.com/carwoo.

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CarChat24 will provide hosted Free Advanced Auto Dealer Chat Software for (“All Car Dealer’s NEW or Used”) after final Beta testing. Expected release in late January to early February. Hosted Advanced Chat software designed for Car Dealers FREE!

Anyone interested in this always free version should go to the appropriate URL below to register. Once we launch we will send a link to all the registered Always Free users. It’s that simple, sign up now, and as soon as it released, you will get the set up link in your email. From that moment on, you will have ALWAYS FREE AUTO DEALER CHAT SOFTWARE. CarChat24 reserves the right to end this Free offering in the future, but will always provide the free version for anyone who registers while the free version is being offered. So register now and lock in this opportunity. This offer is limited to one registration per dealership/business. New Car Dealer Groups can have one registration per dealership brand. Used Car Dealers can only have one registrant per business name. NOTE: If a dealer group has 5 brands, and wants to register each dealership, they will need to have an individual from each dealership register with the URL and their info (5 Registrations).

Dealers in the U.S. http://carchat24.com/contact.html

Dealers in Canada and other countries http://carchat24.ca/contact.html

Select:  (Always Free Software) from the drop down menu, and feel free to ask us any questions. We cannot reveal some of our unique features and benefits until we officially launch (We have some positive surprises), but we can confidently say it will be better than any other Auto Dealer Chat software currently available. It is proactive and offers several ways to engage visitors, and it will offer Real Time advanced analytics with GEO IP data beyond anything currently offered. It can be used in most any language (advanced automated language translation). It will use the current ADF/XML for your CRM, Also Email your leads, be easy to use, and help you sell more cars .

CarChat24 is getting ready to launch its New Automotive Specific Dealer Chat Software!

In December of 2010 we decided to upgrade, and started building our new dealer chat software based on Today’s Technology.  With over 40 years combined experience in the Car business, and three plus years as a Top Rated 24/7 Dealer Live Chat Support provider, we have built what we believe will Change the way Dealers communicate with their dealership website visitors.

We are very happy we can make this available in a free version, and are looking forward to adding even more exciting features including a Developers API that will allow subscribers the ability to build on top of our advanced framework.

About CarChat24
We provide 24/7 hosted Live Chat Support & Chat Software for new and used car dealership websites.

CarChat24 helps dealers sell more vehicles by converting a higher percentage of their website visitors into quality leads. Our well trained friendly staff, using our state-of-the-art live chat software and our proven proactive chat process, creates a positive experience for dealership website visitors. Since June of 2006, CarChat24 has been helping car dealers improve their sales and customer service on the Internet.

CarChat24 has three offerings:  Auto Dealer Chat Software, 24/7 Staffed Back Up service, and a 24/7 Fully Staffed Complete Support service.

Our mission is to empower car dealers with cutting edge live chat technology, and provide the professional staff and superior processes needed to obtain the best possible results. We are committed to helping our clients get the best return on investment from their websites. We strive to make our support service the very best and are always looking for innovative ways to give our dealers the edge over their competition.

URL: http://carchat24.com

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DealerRater® Enhances DealerRater Push™ to Further Help Certified Dealers Boost Positive Review Counts on Google

Waltham, Mass. – December 1, 2011 – DealerRater®, the nation’s premier car dealer review web site, announced today an important update to its DealerRater Push™ product, a key feature of the DealerRater Certification Program. With this new enhancement, Certified Dealer members will be able to further build positive online reviews and associated star ratings from customers on Google.  For every consumer that now posts a positive review of a Certified Dealer on DealerRater, DealerRater Push will prompt the reviewer to copy and paste the review and star rating to Google Places.   DealerRater Push was formerly limited to reviewers maintaining Google/gMail accounts.

“Our Certified Dealer partners are successful in soliciting happy sales and service customers to write online reviews on DealerRater,” said Chip Grueter, president at DealerRater.  “With our DealerRater Push solution, Certified Dealers can expect to also increase positive review counts on Google as they work to build reviews from satisfied customers on DealerRater.”

Through DealerRater Push, DealerRater reviews populate to Google Places immediately, rather than having to wait the four to six weeks it has traditionally taken for Google to index the DealerRater review content into dealer Google Places pages.

DealerRater Push is included within the framework of DealerRater’s comprehensive Certified Dealer Program, a proven online reputation tool for car dealers.  Embraced by more than 4,200 car dealers across the U.S. and Canada, the Certified Dealer Program is designed to help car dealerships grow their online presence and achieve higher SEO rankings across the Web.  Certified Dealers are able to connect with DealerRater’s five million web site visitors while demonstrating an utmost commitment to quality customer service.

About DealerRater

DealerRater was founded in 2002 as the first car dealer review website worldwide.  DealerRater is the world’s #1 online resource for anyone seeking third-party information on automobile dealerships.   DealerRater features more than 41,000 U.S. and Canadian car dealers, 500,000 user reviews and over 1,000,000 cars for sale.  DealerRater attracts more than 5 million consumers every year who visit the site to search for car dealerships, read current reviews, write their own descriptive reviews, and find car deals – all for free.  Car dealers are rated on the criteria of customer service, quality of work, friendliness, price and overall experience.  In addition, DealerRater offers qualified car dealers a Certified Dealer Program as a reputation management tool to help them grow their online presence and achieve higher SEO rankings across the Web.  Today, more than 4,200 dealers are members of DealerRater’s Certification Program.  For more information, visit www.DealerRater.com or call 800-266-9455.

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DrivingSales Acquires Revenue Guru; Dennis Galbraith to Head Research and Data for DrivingSales

SALT LAKE CITY, Dec. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — DrivingSales announced today that it has acquired consulting, training and research company Revenue Guru.  As part of the acquisition, Revenue Guru founder and veteran automotive digital marketing expert Dennis Galbraith will join DrivingSales to lead and develop its research and data division.

“Without question, Dennis Galbraith is one of the leading marketing thinkers and analysts in our industry and, along with Revenue Guru, brings further depth and breadth to our training and business intelligence initiatives,” said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton.  “No one understands marketing data research better, has a clearer view of trends (before they unfold), or knows how to drive traffic better than Dennis. That, coupled with his uncompromising integrity and commitment to dealers, will ensure that our research and data initiatives lead the industry in delivering unbiased actionable business intelligence for Tier 3 retailers.”

Hamilton noted that the acquisition of Revenue Guru is part of DrivingSales’ ongoing mission to expedite and improve information flow to car dealers in a digital universe that moves at the speed of light.

Founded in 2009, Revenue Guru provides consulting, research and interactive training programs for dealer groups, manufacturers, and vendors and is guided by Galbraith’s over 11 years of experience at the center of automotive digital marketing, including tenures running the automotive internet division at J.D. Power and Associates and as Vice President of Advertising Products and Training at Cars.com.

“I am proud to join a company driven by a passion for helping dealers, by a belief in the power of data and research to drive informed and profitable decisions and, importantly, a company that doesn’t wait for the market to move but seeks to move the market,” said Galbraith. “Marketing at the Tier 3 level has long needed a research organization dedicated to it — one that can go beyond opinions and deliver the hard facts and actionable solutions from an unbiased platform. The time has come, and DrivingSales is that organization — I cannot wait to start delivering on its promise!”

In addition to his tenure at J.D. Power and Associates and Cars.com, Galbraith has taught marketing for NADA Academy and is widely known for his dynamic speeches and videos as well as his informative writing. Galbraith served the auto industry through the 1990s as the owner of Dennis Galbraith Marketing Services and taught marketing at the graduate and undergraduate level for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

About DrivingSales.com
DrivingSales is the auto industry’s fastest-growing, most influential trade media property focused on delivering actionable profit-building information and business intelligence to auto retailers and industry professionals. Approximately, one in every four dealerships in the United States has a registered member in the DrivingSales community.

DrivingSales’ information network includes flagship property DrivingSales.com , the world’s largest car dealer social network; DrivingSalesTV (www.drivingsalestv.com), an interactive web channel which helps car dealers and auto professionals keep tabs on their industry and emerging technologies 24/7; DrivingSales University, an on-demand training platform where dealerships learn the latest web strategies from top e-commerce experts; DrivingSales Executive Summit (DSES) the industry’s leading conference where progressive dealers collaborate and learn from world renowned experts, and DrivingSales Dealership Innovation Guide, a quarterly free publication featuring case studies of the industry’s most innovative dealerships, solutions and best practices.

DrivingSales encourages innovation and excellence in the industry with its annual Dealer Satisfaction and Innovation Cup Awards, whose winners are determined solely by the dealer community. Founded by Jared Hamilton, a third generation car dealer, DrivingSales won a “Top 25 Under Five” award from the Utah Valley Entrepreneurial Forum (UVEF), was named a 2011 Fast 50 “Emerging Eight” company by Utah Business magazine, and received an Interactive Media Award (IMA) in 2011 for Outstanding Achievement in the ‘Automobile’ website category. Additionally, DrivingSales was named one of ten social media gambits for 2009 by Automotive News and one of the Top 10 Companies to Watch in 2010 by Auto Success Magazine.

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WALTHAM, MA – November 14, 2011 – DealerRater, the premier car dealer review web site, today announced continued expansion with the launch of a Canada-specific web site dedicated to auto consumers and car dealers throughout Canada.  The new site will serve as a central collection point for consumer reviews of Canadian car dealerships.  Using DealerRater’s new site, Canadian auto consumers will be able to search for car dealerships, read existing reviews of car dealers, or post their own descriptive review of a car dealership experience.

“Our new Canada site addresses the immediate need for auto consumers across Canada to be able to easily research and find Canadian car dealers that are committed to quality customer service,” said Chip Grueter, president of DealerRater.  “With the launch of this Canada-specific dealer review site, we are excited to expand the DealerRater community and build lasting partnerships with additional Canadian dealerships.”

DealerRater was founded in 2002 as North America’s first review web site dedicated solely to automotive dealerships.  In the last two years, the site has demonstrated record growth in the number of dealer reviews as well as web site visitors.  In addition, the volume of Canadian dealers and reviews represented in DealerRater’s database has grown at a rate of 3,711% and 1,342%, respectively, over the past year.

Dealers throughout the U.S. and Canada have embraced DealerRater as a third-party review site and trusted partner that is critical to their online reputation management efforts.  The DealerRater Certified Dealer Program, created in 2008, is a certification program and reputation management tool offered to qualified car dealers.  The program is designed to help car dealerships connect with automotive consumers at the most critical phase of the buying process, while demonstrating an utmost commitment to quality service.

“DealerRater gives a simple and effective conduit to represent the dealerships brand and experience through a rating online,” said Mitch Gallant, internet department manager of Capital Ford Lincoln, which was the first dealership in Saskatchewan to qualify for and embrace the DealerRater Certified Dealer Program.  “As a Certified Dealer, we now have a tool to focus on not only building reviews but sharing them through our website, RSS feeds and staff pages.”

DealerRater maintains more than 4,100 dealer partners through its Certification Program, and has experienced a 327% increase in Canadian dealers joining the program over the past year.  As auto consumers increase their reliance on online reviews when selecting a car dealer, building third-party reviews and defining a proven strategy to manage and leverage those reviews is becoming a critical component of a successful sales process for car dealerships.

About DealerRater
DealerRater was founded in 2002 as the first car dealer review website worldwide.  DealerRater is the world’s #1 online resource for anyone seeking third-party information on automobile dealerships.   DealerRater features more than 41,000 U.S. and Canadian car dealers, 460,000 user reviews and over 1,000,000 cars for sale.  DealerRater attracts more than 5 million consumers every year who visit the site to search for car dealerships, read current reviews, write their own descriptive reviews, and find car deals – all for free.  Car dealers are rated on the criteria of customer service, quality of work, friendliness, price and overall experience.  In addition, DealerRater offers qualified car dealers a Certified Dealer Program as a reputation management tool to help them grow their online presence and achieve higher SEO rankings across the Web.  Today, more than 4,100 dealers are members of DealerRater’s Certification Program.  For more information, visit www.DealerRater.ca or call 800-266-9455.

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