ATLANTA – December 21, 2009 – AutoTrader.com now powers new and used online automobile classified listings on The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Web site, www.SignOnSanDiego.com. AutoTrader.com has forged similar partnerships with local news organizations owned by its parent company, Cox Enterprises Inc. This new partnership marks the first such partnership with a non-Cox media property.

Visitors to the new “AutoTrader.com” section of www.SignOnSanDiego.com will see a co-branded area featuring vehicle listings and search functionality from AutoTrader.com and auto-themed content, including car reviews by Union-Tribune “Wheels” section editor Mark Maynard.

“We find that these local media properties have very loyal readers – both in print and online,” said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry. “By partnering with local media like The San Diego Union-Tribune, we can expose our auto listings to even more people than we already attract in local markets by tapping into that loyalty. Local automotive dealers win because there are even more people looking at their listings, and visitors to the local media’s site benefit by getting expanded local and national auto listings from AutoTrader.com.”

The AutoTrader.com partnership comes on the heels of a Web site re-design by SignOn San Diego, which now offers a new look, easier navigation and more robust content. Mike Hodges, general manager for SignOn San Diego and vice president for The San Diego Union-Tribune, said the partnership exemplifies the SignOn San Diego vision to be “San Diego’s home page.”

“The content of AutoTrader will make SignOn San Diego the place to go not only for starting your day, catching breaking news while it happens or finding out what to do in San Diego, but also for the largest selection of vehicle inventory from dealers and private sellers. Visitors to SignOn will also see buying and selling tips, comparison tools, reviews, videos and more as a result of the partnership.

AutoTrader.com is negotiating similar partnerships with other media companies to build on this just-announced The San Diego Union-Tribune partnership and the media partnerships the company has with various Cox-owned newspapers and radio stations. In addition to the Union-Tribune, AutoTrader.com supplies vehicle listings to about 80 other media outlets, including more than 70 major-market radio stations and major daily newspapers, including The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Palm Beach Post, The Austin American-Statesman and The Dayton Daily News.

About AutoTrader.com

AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location millions of new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private owners. The site attracts about 15 million unique monthly visitors. Through innovative merchandising functionality such as multiple photos, videos, detailed descriptions and comprehensive research and compare tools, AutoTrader.com unites new and used car buyers and sellers online to improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles. AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.

About The San Diego Union-Tribune and SignOn San Diego

The San Diego Union-Tribune, LLC, is San Diego County’s leading local media company, with products reaching 57 percent of all San Diego adults in a given week, which equates to more than 1.3 million San Diegans. In 2009, The San Diego Union-Tribune won its second Pulitzer Prize, which was awarded to Steve Breen for his editorial cartoons. In 2009, the Union-Tribune also earned the first place award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for General Excellence among major California dailies in 2008. The newspaper has a late week circulation of 282,175, with more than 672,000 daily readers; Sunday circulation is 309,571, with readership of more than 875,000.

The Union-Tribune’s Web site, SignOn San Diego, is the leading online source for local news, entertainment information and classified advertising in San Diego, with more than 31 million page views and 2.6 million unique users in a typical month. Other products include Enlace, the weekly Spanish-language news publication with the largest distribution in San Diego County.

(The San Diego Union-Tribune circulation, readership and online figures are based on information from the Audit Bureau of Circulations.  Source:  As filed with the Audit Bureau of Circulations for the September 2009 Publisher’s Statement.)  

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