Milestones

AutoTrader.com Milestones

August 1997- Chip Perry becomes President & CEO and the company’s first employee. Prior to joining AutoTrader.com, Chip Perry was Vice President of New Business Development for the Los Angeles Times.

October 1997- Manheim and ADP partner to form AutoConnect.

February 1998- One thousand dealers sign up at the National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) annual convention.

March 1998- AutoConnect signs distribution deal with Lycos and Yahoo.

May 1998- AutoConnect launches with 212,000 vehicles listed from 7,000 dealers.

June 1998- AutoConnect reaches 400,000 visitors and 1 million page viewers per month.

July 1999- AutoConnect and Trader Online merge to form AutoTrader.com, forming the largest online used car automotive classifieds site.

July 1999- AutoTrader.com announces its first partnership, AOL.

July 1999- AutoTrader.com launches Sell Your Car (SYC) functionality.

January 2000- AutoTrader.com launches nationwide advertising and branding campaign during the Super Bowl with an estimated 135 million viewers.

May 2000- AutoTrader.com launches For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Sell Your Car on the consumer site.

November 2000- J.D. Power ranks AutoTrader.com as Leading Internet Destination for used car shoppers.

February 2001- AutoTrader.com launches New Car, fulfilling an unmet consumer need to find both new and used cars in one location on the Internet.

June 2001- Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program launches.

October 2001- AutoTrader.com brings the Sell Your Car (SYC) funnel in house, opening the door to providing more exclusive and innovative tools to private seller customers.

January 2002- AutoTrader.com begins long term partnership with St. Jude by sponsoring the first golf event. Millions of dollars have been raised to date.

February 2002-Consumer site reaches 2 million vehicle listings.

October 2002- Browse by Body Style functionality launches on AutoTrader.com.

January 2003- AutoTrader.com announces partnership with Univision.

August 2003- Company announces a new Monday Night Football advertising and marketing campaign.

September 2003- AutoTrader.com signs its 10,000th paying dealer customer.

March 2004- AutoTrader.com reaches 2.5 million vehicle listings.

September 2005- The company announces a partnerships with Edmunds and NADA Guides.

January 2006- AutoTrader.com kicks off premier presence at auto shows throughout the United States, the first being the Washington Auto Show.

May 2006- AutoTrader announces partnership with Major League Baseball teams.

June 2006- MyAutoTrader (MyATC) launches, allowing consumers more control over their car-shopping experience on the consumer site. My ATC now has more than three million registered users.

October 2006- AutoTrader.com becomes official marketing partner of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

January 2007- AutoTrader.com kicks off new marketing campaign with “Armada” ad.

September 2007- For the first time, AutoTrader.com has highest overall satisfaction among both used and new vehicles services in J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services category.

October 2007- AutoTrader.com awards first annual scholarship to Northwood University automobile management program student.

October 2007- AutoTrader.com announces extension of marketing partnership with the NBA, including serving as the presenting partner of “NBA on TNT Tip-Off” show and the 2008 “Drive to the Finals” playoff promotion with NBA.com.

November 2007- AutoTrader.com announces partnership with MSN Autos and Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com.

February 2008- AutoTrader.com launches “What We Do Works” a new advertising campaign aimed at dealers, car manufacturers and trade associations.

February 2008- AutoMercado joins AutoTrader.com family.

March 2008- AutoTrader.com announces “Drive to a New Start” campaign and partnership with baseball Hall of Famer Goose Gossage.

May 2008- AutoTrader.com launches its New Car Campaign that includes a new TV spot “Big Guy”, radio spots, outdoor signage, homepage promotion and dealer communications.

May 2008- Private Seller provides consumers with even more enhancements including Premium Listings and Spotlight Ads.

May 2008- AutoTrader.com, the Ultimate Automotive Marketplace, celebrates 10 years in business.

November 2008- New Model Showcase launches, a comprehensive, one-stop shop for new-car buyers and enthusiasts.

October 2008- AutoTrader.com sponsors the first NBA outdoor game of the modern era, the AutoTrader.com Open, in which Phoenix Suns took on the Denver Nuggets in Indian Wells, Calif.

January 2009- AutoTrader.com launches expanded media plan to include BCS National Championship game, NFL playoff games, Daytona 500 and MTV Movie Awards.

January 2009- Formerly Collector Car, AutoTrader Classics joins the AutoTrader family, with a new brand and redesigned web site.

January 2009- AutoTrader.com launches “We Work For You” trade media campaign.

January 2009- “Drive to a New Start” Finale; Chevy Tahoe auctioned at Barrett-Jackson for $100,000. The program raised $200,000 for youth baseball programs in six cities.

February 2009- AutoTrader Latino officially launched its new name and brand.

March 2009- AutoTrader.com hits a record 16.07 million unique monthly visitors.

April 2009- ATC launches ATC Access, a proprietary advertising network that allows advertisers to reach in-market car shoppers.

May 2009- AutoTrader.com launches new consumer site homepage.

September 2009- AutoTrader.com made the 2009 Information Week 500, an annual listing of the nation’s most innovative technology users.

October 2009- AutoTrader.com’s two MLB sponsorship teams (Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees) make it to the World Series.

November 2009- For the sixth consecutive year ATC was the ‘most useful automotive site’ by JD Power.

February 2010- AutoTrader.com begins national roll out of unique Trade In Marketplace, which provides car sellers a guaranteed price for their old car.

April 2010 – AutoTrader.com launches new mobile site to provide consumers with a streamlined experience when they’re searching for and comparing cars on a mobile device.

May 2010 - AutoTrader.com hits more than one million unique visitors in one day for the first time.

June 2010 – Providence Equity Partners gains 25% equity in AutoTrader.com.

June 2010 – AutoTrader.com launches Online Marketing Handbook, a free resource designed to help dealers improve their web-based marketing efforts.

July 2010 – AutoTrader Classics celebrates site traffic milestone, recording over 1.1 million monthly visitors.

September 2010 – AutoTrader.com is named to the 2010 Information Week 500, an annual listing of the nation’s most innovative technology users.

October 2010 - AutoTrader.com is awarded the Automotive Website Awards (AWA) top prize in the "Website Design" category among all independent auto shopping web sites.

October 2010 - AutoTrader.com completes transaction to acquire vAuto, the automotive retail industry's leading provider of advanced software tools for used vehicle management, pricing and inventory optimization.

November 2010 – For the seventh consecutive year, AutoTrader.com was “the most useful automotive site” according to J.D. Power.

December 2010 - AutoTrader.com completes transaction to acquire Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com), the leading provider of new car and used car information.

December 2010 - AutoTrader.com acquires HomeNet, the leading provider of inventory merchandising, management and marketing solutions, led by its flagship product, Inventory Online (IOL) Internet Marketing Suite.

January 2011- AutoTrader.com announces it will now include Kia Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) inventory prominently on its site. The collaboration will allow Kia and Kia CPO program dealers the opportunity to reach a highly focused audience of in-market car shoppers and influence their consideration of Kia CPO as they make their next vehicle purchase.

February 2011- AutoTrader.com hits an all-time traffic record in January of 17 million unique visitors.

February 2011- AutoTrader.com announces its partnership with the National Basketball Association’s Golden State Warriors.

March 2011- Trade-In Marketplace traffic hits a new weekly record of more than 29,000 unique visitors.

April 2011- AutoTrader.com launched today a new advertising campaign aimed at reminding consumers about the huge number of new cars listed for sale on AutoTrader.com and of the robust search and research functionality AutoTrader.com offers to help shoppers locate the perfect new car.

June 2011- AutoTrader.com, the Internet's leading automotive marketplace and consumer information website, announced today the completion of its acquisition of VinSolutions, a leading provider of end-to-end solution platforms for dealers including Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Internet Lead Management (ILM), inventory management tools, dealer websites, sales management and desking tools, social media and direct targeted marketing campaign tools.

September 2011- AutoTrader.com's Drive Away Hunger Campaigns in Atlanta and Chicago raise more than $80,000 and collect over 25,000 pounds of food.

October 2011- AutoTrader.com introduces new application on its Facebook page allowing consumers to search for cars.

October 2011- AutoTrader.com and Kelley Blue Book join forces to bring the Trade-In Marketplace to KBB.com.

November 2011 - AutoTrader.com announces partnership with Shaw Suburban Media (Chicago).

December 2011 – AutoTrader.com and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announces new multiyear extension of their marketing partnership. As part of the partnership, AutoTrader.com will continue to serve as the presenting partner of the NBA Tip-Off show on TNT, as well as be the presenting partner of all pregame shows on NBA TV.