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To: Olu Emuleomo who wrote (57108)	5/17/1999 4:03:00 PM
From: Mark Fowler	Respond to of 164684

Excellent Olu

To: Olu Emuleomo who wrote (57108)	5/17/1999 8:48:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 164684

CarsDirect.com launches online car buying By Ilaina Jonas NEW YORK, May 17 (Reuters) - CarsDirect.com, an online car dealer powered by some beefy financial backers, officially debuted its Web site that allows people to use the information super highway to buy a new car for traveling the Interstate or Main Street. Unlike other online car sites, which predominately direct users to car dealers, CarsDirect (wwwcarsdirect.com) prices and sells virtually any new car on the market, said Scott Painter, the company's chief executive. "The difference between us and other online car buying services is its as if Amazon.com merely referred you to a book store to buy your book," Painter said. Sherman Oaks, Calif.-based CarsDirect will not only sell the car it will deliver it to the buyer's home or office. CarsDirect.com is the brain child of idealab! founder and frustrated BMW buyer Bill Gross, who put together about $30 million in investments in CarsDirect from Goldman Sachs; MSD Capital L.P., a private investment firm headed by Dell Computer Corp. <DELL.O> chief Michael Dell; Foundation Capital and Primedia Ventures, a subsidiary of Primedia Inc. <PRM.N>, the nation's largest automotive publisher. "This allows us to hit our marks for the next couple of months. I don't think capital is an issue for a year," Painter said. "This is a building year." CarsDirect has allied with Bank One to offer competitive financing, and is working on marketing alliances with other Internet Web sites, Painter said. In addition to car prices and financing, the site also provides research on the models as well as insurance, links to the National Transportation Safety Board's crash tests and maintenance and service partnerships with dealers. But it's the prices and customer service that CarsDirect.com is counting on to snag car buyers. Painter, 30, said car prices at CarsDirect will be lower than 90 percent of the prices on the market. "That means nine out of 10 of the buyers out there would have paid more than you would and that's a guarantee," Painter said. "If we can't find a car at that price we'll eat the difference. But that's part of standing behind the customer satisfaction." Depending upon state laws, CarsDirect is either the dealer or the broker between dealerships and buyers, Painter said. Since launching its test site on Dec. 7, CarsDirect is now averaging about 25 car sales a day, hitting the 600 mark this month and hiring about five employees each day, Painter said. Other features will include e-mail service reminders, online car repair histories, discussion groups and new car-related products. Pasadena, Calif. based idealab! has investments in more than 20 Internet companies including eToys, GoTo.com, and Tickets.com.