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Salt Lake City, UT, August 27, 2008 — DrivingSales (www.DrivingSales.com), the auto industry’s original best practices and social networking community, today announced the opening of the industry’s first vendor ratings system where auto dealers can rate and review their service providers in real time. This unparalleled ratings system offers dealers a neutral, online resource to learn about a wide array of products and services before making important purchasing decisions, via fellow dealers’ first-hand experience using the products. Vendors benefit by getting dealer feedback and the opportunity for dialog on this neutral, third party platform, as well as the chance to showcase their products and services to a broad audience of dealers.

DrivingSales members who are dealers can rate and reviews vendors in the newly launched Vendor Ratings section at www.DrivingSales.com. The ratings will be unveiled for DrivingSales members to view the first week of September.

“Dealers get calls from vendors on a daily basis, and of course, everyone claims that they offer the best solution,” commented John Johnson, owner of John Johnson Dodge of Boonton, New Jersey. “It takes a lot of time and energy on my part to properly evaluate proposals and verify these claims. What DrivingSales Vendor Ratings offers is a way to streamline this evaluation process, and essentially the opportunity to consult with many dealers, in one convenient place, who have experience with particular products and services. This is a great way to make informed decisions.”

While reviewers remain anonymous - only job titles are visible with the reviews - vendors have the opportunity to communicate with their reviewers via the DrivingSales Feedback Manager, which notifies vendors when they’ve been reviewed, among other features. Allowing for both private and public responses to dealer reviews, the Feedback Manager gives vendors the opportunity to reach out to dealers who may have had a sub-par experience and to make improvements, and also the chance to thank dealers for positive reviews and even request testimonials.

“Real time, online user reviews are enough to make any service provider a little nervous,” commented Mark Boyd, president of CarFolks and founding shareholder and board member of Auto Dealer Traffic, Inc. “But any proactive business person today knows the industry is changing with the times and online user reviews are an increasingly important method to aid purchasing decisions, for both consumers and businesses. This is a ‘take the bull by the horns’ opportunity – we’re actively encouraging dealers to join and submit reviews on DrivingSales. And if companies I’m affiliated with ever see less than five-star reviews, I view it as an opportunity to see what’s on the dealer’s mind and to make it right.”

Dealers can currently rate website providers, search engine marketing (SEM) services, lead providers and inventory publishers. Additional categories will be added for reviews in the coming weeks. DrivingSales will present ongoing awards for those vendors who receive the highest ratings in their relative categories.

About DrivingSales.com
DrivingSales is a community of automotive industry professionals, networking and sharing best practices to maximize their success. On DrivingSales.com, members post profiles, share sales strategies, and get access to relevant content contributed by industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, and more. Members who are dealers rate and review vendors, sharing their experience with the DrivingSales community; while vendors get the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. DrivingSales empowers auto industry professionals to take their businesses and careers to a whole new level of success. Get connected at www.DrivingSales.com.

Salt Lake City, UT, August 12, 2008 — DrivingSales (www.DrivingSales.com), the auto industry’s original best practices and social networking site, today announced its newest strategies and best practices contest: “Gas prices are up. Sales are down. What have you done in the last 90 days to increase your bottom line?” The purpose of the contest is to stimulate ideas for improving business in light of the current economic challenges many dealers face. The DrivingSales Strategies competitions invite the best minds in the automotive industry to share their knowledge with the community and provide valuable ideas to help dealers increase profit and improve operations.

“As a dealer and member of DrivingSales, I find the strategy postings by fellow members a great way to get quick ideas and inspiration,” commented Tom White, Jr. general manager of Suzuki of Wichita, Kansas. “You’ll find a dealership in a totally different part of the country, selling a different franchise, who is facing the same exact sales or staffing challenge that you are. And they’ve found a creative solution, which they write about on DrivingSales. It’s a great site to get fresh ideas quickly and easily.”

To contribute an idea or strategy, auto industry professionals must first become a member of DrivingSales at www.drivingsales.com, where they can then post their strategy or best practice in the Strategies section. Once posted, the strategy will be live on DrivingSales.com, where other members can provide a 1-5 star rating and written review, and recommend whether or not their friends would benefit from it. The prize for the winning entry is the new Apple iPhone 3g.

The contest closes and the ratings will be tallied at midnight on Wednesday, September 17, 2008. Members are encouraged to post their strategies as early as possible in order to receive the most ratings by fellow members before the contest closes. The winner will be announced on Monday, September 22, 2008. The first contest successfully generated a plethora of ideas that can benefit all areas of the dealership, including: new and used vehicle sales, parts and service, and Internet and BDC.

“They say necessity is the mother of invention, and we know that many of our members have developed really innovative methods to deal with the current environment of high gas prices and a slow economy,” commented Jared Hamilton, DrivingSales founder and CEO. “We’ve launched the next contest to tap into this wealth of knowledge and help during a particularly challenging time. As a continuously growing resource for dealers and the automotive industry, these contests are a fun way to engage community members and build DrivingSales’ ever-expanding content.”

About DrivingSales.com
DrivingSales is a community of automotive industry professionals, networking and sharing best practices to maximize their success. On DrivingSales.com, members post profiles, share sales strategies, and get access to relevant content contributed by industry experts, including blogs, videos, interviews, and more. Members who are dealers rate and review vendors, sharing their experience with the DrivingSales community; while vendors get the opportunity to provide feedback on reviews and showcase their products and services. DrivingSales empowers auto industry professionals to take their businesses and careers to a whole new level of success. Get connected at www.drivingsales.com.

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