Auto Dealer Monthly Magazine is the daily operations publication serving the retail automotive industry. This automotive publication serves dealer principals, officers and general managers with the latest best practices.
Issue link: http://autodealermonthly.epubxp.com/i/117504
ON THE C OV E R AND THE WINNERS ARE... NEW-VEHICLE INTERNET LEAD PROVIDER AutoTrader.com took Diamond honors in the New-Vehicle Internet Lead Provider category afer fnishing in second place the last two years. Te third-party retailer has consistently earned high marks in the Dealers��� Choice Awards and has taken home a prize every year since the awards were established. Te Platinum award was won by Cars.com, which fnished out of the Top 3 last year afer winning the Diamond award in 2011 and Platinum in 2010. Dealix rounded out the category for the third straight year, earning distinction as the Dealers��� Choice Awards��� only current Triple-Gold Winner. USED-VEHICLE INTERNET LEAD PROVIDER AutoTrader.com completed its climb to the top of the Used-Vehicle Internet Lead Provider category. Te online retailer won Gold in 2010 and Platinum in 2011 and 2012, fnishing just behind its chief rival, Cars.com, two out of three years. Second-place fnisher Cars.com will have a year to work toward unseating AutoTrader.com in dealer satisfaction in the New- and Used-Vehicle Internet Lead categories. Last year���s Diamond winner was Autobytel, which fnished out of the running in 2013. Tere was no Gold award winner in this category. SPECIAL FINANCE LEAD PROVIDER DealerLink ranked highest among special fnance lead providers for the second year in a row, earning Double-Diamond Winner status for the frst time. Remarkably, the subprime specialists fnished outside the Top 3 in 2010 and 2011 before taking the category by storm last year. CarsDirect and Auto Credit Express fnished second and third, respectively. Te pair switched places in 2013; CarsDirect was last year���s Gold winner and Auto Credit Express took Platinum honors. CarsDirect took top honors in 2011, the only year in which Auto 28 AUTO DE ALE R MONTHLY ��� APRIL 2013 Credit Express fnished outside the Top 3. Look for another tight race in this important category next year. WEBSITE DESIGN PROVIDER Dealer.com and eBizAutos dominated the Web Design category for the fourth straight year, earning Diamond and Platinum honors, respectively. Dealer.com took the top spot in 2010 and 2011, relegating eBizAutos to second place both times; eBizAutos was the Diamond winner last year. Te pair face tough competition in a market crowded by web design providers, but none of their rivals qualifed for Gold honors this year. In fact, the only other provider to notch a win in this category in the past few years is TK Carsites, which fnished in third place in 2010. CHAT PROVIDER ActivEngage reclaimed Diamond status in the Chat Provider category this year. Te dealer chat specialists won the same prize in 2011, the frst year for this emerging category, but fell behind rival Client~ConneXion in 2012. Client~ConneXion did take Platinum honors this year afer winning the category in 2012 and taking Gold the year before. Tird-place fnisher Contact At Once! also won Gold in 2011 but ranked outside the Top 3 last year. Te landscape for this category could change as new competitors join the fray and third-party retailers continue to add chat capabilities to their own sites. ONLINE INVENTORY LISTING MANAGEMENT eBizAutos continues to dominate the Online Inventory Listing Management category, notching its third Diamond award in four years. Te automotive marketing and reigning Platinum award-