ATLANTA, Feb. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- AutoTrader.com is the recipient of a "Top Rated" New Car Leads award in the fifth annual DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards. The award was presented in conjunction with the 2014 National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo at the end of January.

"New car buyers are coming back in a big way this year, as industry forecasters estimate that 2014 sales will reach levels not seen since 2007. We know from our research that the majority of those buyers utilize the internet to shop for vehicles and to help them select the dealership from where they will ultimately purchase," said Alan Smith, executive vice president and chief operating officer at AutoTrader.com. "The satisfaction of our customers is of paramount importance to us, and we are honored to be recognized by the dealer body as having one of the best solutions that helps them connect with those new car shoppers online."

As The Ultimate Automotive Marketplace®, AutoTrader.com brings together over 17 million unique visitors each month with the nearly 20,000 dealers who collectively list more than four million new and used vehicles for sale on the site. Over the past several years, AutoTrader.com has enhanced its new car advertising offerings for dealers, introducing a new-car-specific listing format in 2011 and partnering with select OEMs to bolster co-op support for dealers' third-party advertising. Additionally, AutoTrader.com has worked to share insights and best practices to help dealers get the most out of their new car advertising, particularly in the area of online merchandising.

"We congratulate AutoTrader.com on winning a 'Top Rated' New Car Leads Award and for being recognized by its dealer customers for high levels of excellence and customer satisfaction," said DrivingSales CEO and Founder Jared Hamilton. "In our fifth year of presenting these awards, we feel especially proud that DrivingSales Vendor Ratings continues to help dealers make smart and informed decisions through thousands of peer reviews that lead them to service providers such as AutoTrader.com.  We congratulate them on being recognized for top notch performance by the people to whom their services count the most: the dealer community."

The DrivingSales Dealer Satisfaction Awards measure dealer satisfaction with vendor products and services, and are based on cumulative ratings tallied and verified over the calendar year (January – December) at DrivingSales.com Vendor Ratings.  DrivingSales.com Vendor Ratings is the industry's only neutral, comprehensive vendor rating forum featuring real-time peer reviews and honest competitor comparisons, and provides dealerships with important information from actual customers who have hands-on experience using vendor products / solutions in their stores. Each rating is verified as coming from an actual dealership employee.

Full award results are available online at http://dealersatisfactionawards.com/. Award winners are showcased in the Q1 2014 issue of the DrivingSales Dealership Innovation Guide which, in addition to being distributed at the 2014 NADA Convention and Expo, is delivered to every new car dealership nationwide, as well as to the top 100 used car dealerships. For more information on the Dealership Innovation Guide, please visit: http://drivingsalesinnovationguide.com/.

About AutoTrader.com

Created in 1997, Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com is the Internet's ultimate automotive marketplace. As a leading resource for car shoppers and sellers, AutoTrader.com aggregates millions of new, used and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of dealers and private sellers and provides expert articles and reviews. AutoTrader.com, which also operates the AutoTraderClassics.com auto marketing brand, is wholly owned by AutoTrader Group. Additionally, AutoTrader Group owns Kelley Blue Book (KBB.com®) as well as companies that provide a full suite of software tools that help dealers and manufacturers manage their inventory and advertising online: vAuto®, HomeNet Automotive®, VinSolutions®, AIS Rebates™, Genius Labs® and Haystak™. AutoTrader Group is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. For more information, please visit http://press.autotrader.com.

About DrivingSales

DrivingSales is a professional network serving the auto industry with dealer-driven news and information, online training, and performance data, all to enable dealers to make critical business decisions at their dealerships.  DrivingSales' mission is to connect progressive dealership professionals to the people and information they need to maximize their success.  Founded by a third-generation car dealer, and opened up to the industry in 2008, today DrivingSales has registered users in over 50% of new car dealerships in the US and is active in several other countries around the globe.  To learn more about the DrivingSales community, training or performance analytics visit DrivingSales.com, DrivingSalesUniversity.com and DrivingSalesData.com

Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110425/CL88097LOGO

SOURCE AutoTrader.com