The cash for clunkers program or the CAR Allowance Rebate System (CARS) is:
“a $1 billion government program that helps consumers buy or lease a more environmentally-friendly vehicle from a participating dealer when they trade in a less fuel-efficient car or truck. The program is designed to energize the economy; boost auto sales and put safer, cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles on the nation’s roadways.”
Consumers can trade in their car for a credit of $3,500 or $4,500, depending on the car traded and how “green” your new one is.
Read more to find out if you qualify.
An informative how-to guide from our sister site WatchMojo.com:
How to check your tire pressure -
WatchMojo.com gives you the lowdown:
AOL AUTOS LAUNCHES LARGEST SITE FOR U.S. USED CAR LISTINGS
More than 2.5 Million Fully Searchable Listings for Buyers; Sellers can List for Free
DULLES, VA – April 2, 2008 – AOL Autos, http://autos.aol.com, today announced an open marketplace for used cars, providing car buyers with access to more than 2.5 million vehicles for sale in the United States and a new set of search and filter tools to more easily find a car that fits their needs.
The AOL Autos used car marketplace features a new intuitive search function that enables users to search for used, certified pre-owned, and private-seller listed cars using natural language queries (e.g., “black Honda Civic”). Users can filter results based on make, model, price, body style and more, resulting in more relevant listings.
In the coming months, additional enhancements to the site will include Spanish language listings, video listings and more posting services for sellers.
“For the first time, consumers will have completely unrestricted access to the biggest U.S. inventory of used cars on the Web, coupled with user-friendly search tools, enabling buyers to find the exact car they’re looking for,” said Rudi Thun, general manager of AOL Autos. “The development of an open marketplace signifies our commitment to creating an environment in which everyone can participate, resulting in a better experience for both buyers and sellers.”
The AOL Autos used car site now operates on a flexible platform, powered in-part by Vast.com, that allows sellers to post cars for sale, and include details such as photos, comments and even a car’s history. Buyers can contact the sellers directly through the site by email or phone. In addition, dealers and service providers have the option to participate in a pay-for-performance program for the used cars they list.
“AOL is the first major portal to shift to an open marketplace model for buying and selling cars via the web,” said Kevin Laws, CEO of Vast.com. “AOL is able to design their experience around helping the consumer find the best vehicle easily and helping dealers sell more cars in the process.”
AOL Autos, http://autos.aol.com, offers car shoppers a multitude of resources to research and compare prices, features, specifications and photos of new and used cars. The site also features the latest automotive news, including reviews and advice from industry experts on topics such as car buying, ownership and repair, hybrid trends and more.
Dealers interested in putting their inventory into the new AOL Autos used car marketplace can contact their marketing partner or provide a feed directly to Vast (http://www.vast.com/info/submitcontent).
About AOL
AOL is a global Web services company that operates some of the most popular Web destinations, offers a comprehensive suite of free software and services, runs one of the largest Internet access businesses in the U.S., and provides a full set of advertising solutions. A majority-owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., AOL LLC and its subsidiaries have operations in the U.S., Europe, Canada and Asia. Learn more at AOL.com.
Columbus, OH (PRWEB) February 4, 2008 — Auto Dealer Traffic, Inc., a leading automotive Search Engine Marketing (SEM) company, today announced the launch of a used car inventory marketing service that changes the way consumers find used cars on the Internet. The new service optimizes an auto dealer’s vehicle inventory so that it achieves the same high, natural search engine ranking that major automotive portals receive when auto buyers search for used vehicles online. With a high ranking, consumers can easily find and connect directly with their local dealership, eliminating the intermediary step and need for third party lead provider portals.
“This new service takes the control of used car sales away from the portals and puts it back into the hands of dealers,” says Todd Swickard, president of Auto Dealer Traffic, who adds that “dealers will get more used car leads from the service with much higher close rates.”
Dealerships can use this service to wean themselves off of costly third-party lead generating portals
According to a recent internal study by Auto Dealer Traffic, over 60% of the online inventory that appears after a used car search comes from major automotive portals, while less than 40% comes from dealer websites. The data was compiled from 1,500 unique used car searches on MSN, Yahoo and Google that queried vehicle make, model and fifty of the largest metro areas.
Portals are large enough to be easily read by search engines and have their key words rank high in searches, which result in a large volume of traffic. By comparison, search engines have difficulty reading the inventory of dealer websites because of the site’s smaller size and structure.
The new technology developed for Auto Dealer Traffic’s used car inventory marketing service solves this problem by making the dealer’s entire used car inventory search engine crawlable. As a result, dealers can expect their vehicles to appear on the first results page when customers using Google, Yahoo or MSN search for a used car by make, model, year and city.
For the past few months, Auto Dealer Traffic has been testing the new service at Roush Honda in Westerville, Ohio. According to Gary Harkin, vice president of marketing, the dealership has generated more traffic to their web site and more buyers to their showroom than ever before. “Roush Honda’s inventory now commands premium ranking, especially when detailed keywords are entered into search engines. The best part is we’ve had a 25% close rate on these leads, which is significantly higher than any of our purchased leads,” said Harkin, who notes that he no longer has to rely on used car leads from third party providers.
With the new service, dealers only pay one low monthly service fee to keep their inventory optimized and appearing high in the search engine rankings. Any Inventory changes are immediately captured so that vehicle listings remain current and accurate.
“Dealerships can use this service to wean themselves off of costly third-party lead generating portals,” said Swickard. “They’ll be able to get more and better leads for significantly less money. It’s no longer a quantity game, it’s a quality game.”
About Auto Dealer Traffic Inc: (www.autodealertraffic.com)
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., July 25 /PRNewswire/ — Experian Automotive, a division of global information solutions company Experian® Inc., today announced that the AutoCheck Score, which summarizes information on AutoCheck vehicle history reports into one, straightforward numeric score, is now available to all AutoCheck member customers. The industry’s first and only vehicle history score, the AutoCheck Score helps dealers and their customers more easily interpret the information in a vehicle history report.
Seventy percent of consumers rate a “summary score” as very or extremely useful when making a used vehicle purchase decision. Now, dealers can access the AutoCheck Score to help their customers quickly and easily understand a vehicle’s history as well as when purchasing vehicles for their own lots. Successfully tested by nearly 100 dealerships, the AutoCheck Score is available at no additional cost to all AutoCheck members, including dealers, auto lenders, insurance companies and auctions.
“Used car shoppers demand to have as much information as possible on the vehicle and the market to make their buying choice,” said Dave White of DARCARS Automotive Group. “The AutoCheck Score is the only tool out there that allows us to provide customers with all the information in a vehicle history report, as well as a comparison against all similar vehicles, in a way that everyone can understand.”
The AutoCheck Score — a number between 1 and 100 — accurately summarizes the individual items and events in a vehicle’s history in a way that dealers can quickly communicate and consumers can readily understand. The AutoCheck Score does this by factoring key areas of a vehicle’s history including reported title brands, auction announcements, reported mileage, number of owners, accident, theft and repossession history. By weighing all of these information points, the AutoCheck Score provides a clear understanding of the full vehicle history report, helping to eliminate the need to base decisions on any one particular event that may or may not have an impact on the expected life and favorability of the vehicle.
“Auto dealers need an innovative vehicle history report that is easy to explain and understand while managing risk and increasing confidence though all phases of the used vehicle selling cycle,” said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive. “The AutoCheck Score is a revolutionary step in our continued efforts to provide dealers and their customers with access to the information they need to make their best decisions.”
The AutoCheck Score is offered as an added feature of the full AutoCheck vehicle history report and is available in English and Spanish. It is accompanied by the AutoCheck Score Range(SM) which provides extra information on how that vehicle compares to other cars of similar age and class to better help consumers when evaluating a used vehicle.
AutoCheck vehicle history reports, pulling from Experian’s National Vehicle Database of more than half a billion vehicles, help to disclose important events in a vehicle’s history such as major flood damage, frame damage, or odometer rollback issues, along with other key information that can affects a vehicle’s safety and resale value. Full AutoCheck reports are available in English and Spanish as part of the AutoCheck member service. Dealer and commercial AutoCheck customers can access AutoCheck vehicle history reports with the AutoCheck Score through the AutoCheck Members Web site at http://www.autocheckmembers.com.
Consumers will be able to directly access the AutoCheck Score at http://www.autocheck.com later in the summer of 2007.
CHICAGO, June 5 /PRNewswire/ — Cars.com (http://www.cars.com) has launched a mobile version of its popular automotive website that can be accessed from any web-enabled mobile device. Cars.com is the first automotive site to offer vehicle listings alongside research tools and buying advice in a mobile application, giving savvy car shoppers on-the-go access to the information they need to make smart buying decisions.
“Eighty percent of today’s car shoppers turn to the web to do research at some point in the buying process,” said Sharon Knitter, director of product management at Cars.com. “With wireless web access on the rise, Cars.com sees an opportunity to bring those shoppers practical applications they can use while out shopping for a car. We have found that purchasing a car is still a shopping process where people need to visit a dealer to see and test-drive the vehicle. With Cars.com mobile, shoppers can now take the information found on Cars.com with them, giving them more confidence when they sit down to make their final purchase.”
Whether out shopping on a dealer’s lot and in need of additional information to make a purchase or trying to make the most of a daily commute by reading reviews and automotive news, Cars.com mobile brings shoppers the best of Cars.com. Visitors will be able to search Cars.com’s inventory of two million new and used vehicles and get more details on the cars that interest them, including photos. Other features allow shoppers to access Kelley Blue Book’s Used Car Values, calculate vehicle payments and read expert reviews and the latest automotive news via Cars.com’s blog, KickingTires. Mobile shoppers will also be able to quickly find a local dealer through the site’s dealer locator, which will also offer maps and directions to the dealership and click-to-call functionality.
In a recent Cars.com survey, 30 percent of consumers indicated they would access the site from a dealership lot.(1) As mobile internet access grows at a rate of one million subscribers a month, Cars.com expects that number to rise quickly.(2)
Cars.com mobile is accessible through any mobile web browser by entering the URL http://www.cars.com. Streamlined for the mobile environment, Cars.com mobile provides shoppers access to the most widely used information and tools on Cars.com in a format optimized for their personal device.
Cars.com is powered by Crisp Wireless, a leading content management services company that builds, hosts and maintains mobile websites for major media and entertainment companies. Crisp Wireless’ core product, the mLogic(TM) platform, enables companies to efficiently deploy mobile websites that offer rich media features including audio and video; commerce solutions to sell ringtones, wallpapers and subscriptions; text messaging; and integrated data feeds for content management.
About Cars.com
Cars.com (http://www.cars.com) is the most comprehensive destination for those looking to buy or sell a new or used car. The site lists more than 2 million vehicles from 13,000 dealer customers, classified advertisers and private parties to offer the 9 million unique visitors who log on to the site each month the best selection of new and used cars online, as well as the content, tools and advice to support their shopping experience. Cars.com combines powerful inventory search tools and new-car configuration with pricing information, photo galleries, buying guides, side-by-side comparison tools, original editorial content and reviews to help millions of car shoppers connect with sellers each month.
TORONTO, May 28 /PRNewswire/ — CarProof Vehicle History Reports and the New Car Dealer’s Associations of Ontario today announced a partnership designed to provide tools to dealers that will give consumers peace-of-mind when they buy a used vehicle.
The Toronto Automobile Dealers Association (TADA) and the Ontario Automobile Dealers Association (OADA) announced today that they have selected CarProof Vehicle History Reports as their official report. Members of the associations will now be able to purchase CarProof reports through their association web site at www.tada.com and www.oada.com. Each report will provide details about a car’s complete history including where it has been registered, any accident claims that may have been made and whether or not the vehicle is stolen.
“We selected CarProof because we are of the opinion their reports provide the most accurate and comprehensive information on Accident Damage, Vehicle History and Liens in the marketplace today,” said TADA Executive Director, Barry Gee.
CarProof is a Canadian company and the only service of its kind that is connected “live” to each motor vehicle and lien jurisdiction in Canada so that it can deliver the most up-to-date information available in the Canadian automotive industry. CarProof is also the only online reporting service that is connected “live” to the Canadian insurance industry to report real time vehicle accident damage. In addition, CarProof accesses U.S. vehicle history information from a database consisting of 20 billion records through its partnership with Experian Automotive. CarProof also recently took steps to add another layer of protection for their customers, adding a national stolen record search of the Canadian Police Information Centre. All CarProof Verified and Claims reports will now include data used by law enforcement and government agencies across Canada to identify stolen cars.
“We believe providing this tool to our members, one that will generate the most complete information available, will allow our members to show their consumers that they have taken great care to sell pre-owned vehicles that are accident-free and have clean histories,” said Geoff Wilkinson, Executive Director of the OADA.
“At CarProof, our goal is to provide consumers and the automotive industry with critical, reliable and current information so that they can make confident and informed decisions about any used vehicle transaction,” said Paul Antony, President of CarProof. “We are excited that the OADA and the TADA have chosen CarProof as the official Vehicle History Report provider for its members. Consumers purchasing a car from one of their members will have greater peace-of-mind seeing the CarProof report that was run on the vehicle before they buy it. And that will result in greater sales revenue for the dealers and better buyer loyalty.”
About CarProof
CarProof, a London, Ontario company, was started in 2000 to provide the most comprehensive, accurate and timely Used Vehicle History Reports available in Canada. In addition to being the Official Report of the OADA-TADA New Car Dealers of Ontario, CarProof is used by the government of Alberta and PEI as part of their provincial registry, endorsed by the Motor Dealer Council of British Columbia - Vehicle Safety Authority and the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and by many major motor vehicle manufacturers in Canada. CarProof is also the sole supplier of vehicle history reports to both Manheim Canada and the ADESA Canada auctions for all of their U.S. import vehicle and arbitrations. For more information about CarProof, please visit their web site at www.carproof.com.
CNN Money brings you seven lists:
- Safest
- Most fuel efficient
- Best resale values
- Insurance efficiency
- Most stolen cars
- Best selling cars
- Best selling SUV
For hundreds of more car top 10 lists, click here.
If there is one certainty these days, it’s the world’s weather cycles and patterns are off. Where I live, you would never know it’s December. One reason of course is our dependency on cars, which in turn pollute the air around us and cause havoc on the environment.
With that in mind, we bring you the Greenest Cars:
According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) Green Book, an annual environmental rating of the best and worst cars, Honda and Toyota models led the pack as the world’s “greenest” automobiles for 2006. Not surprisingly, top honors went to a hybrid gasoline-electric vehicle, Honda’s Insight, which pairs an efficient electric motor with a gasoline engine to save gas and minimize emissions. Unfortunately, the Insight, launched in 1999, will soon be discontinued due to declining sales.
Read more.
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