Lexus First to Sponsor Cars.com Mobile

CHICAGO, July 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com (http://www.cars.com/) today announced Lexus as the first sponsor of its new mobile channel. The luxury automaker will run a campaign in July aimed at connecting mobile shoppers with local Lexus dealers. The sponsorship will connect to Lexus' WAP site where shoppers can find a Lexus dealer.

"Lexus recognizes the importance of simplifying the car-buying process and reaching our customers where they shop," said Andrea Lim, media manager for Lexus. "Working with Cars.com allows us to reach our tech-savvy customers with an on-demand service they want and expect. This is just one more way we strive to make buying a Lexus a simple, pleasant experience so the buyer can enjoy their vehicle faster."

"We have seen a growing demand for mobile advertising opportunities, as more buyers turn to the mobile web for advice and information," said Sharon Knitter, director of product management at Cars.com. "Our new mobile platform continues to narrow the gap car buyers encounter between shopping online for the vehicle they want and visiting the dealership to buy it, offering advertisers such as Lexus a unique way to target true in-market shoppers who are out shopping for a car."

Whether out shopping on a dealer's lot and in need of additional information to make a purchase or trying to take advantage of downtime by reading reviews and automotive news, Cars.com mobile brings shoppers the best of Cars.com. Visitors will be able to search Cars.com's inventory of 2 million new and used vehicles and get more details on the cars that interest them, including photos. Other features allow shoppers to access Kelley Blue Book's Used Car Values, calculate vehicle payments and read expert reviews and the latest automotive news via Cars.com's blog, KickingTires. Mobile shoppers will also be able to quickly find a local dealer through the site's dealer locator, which will also offer maps and directions to the dealership and click-to-call functionality.

Cars.com mobile is accessible through any mobile web browser by entering the URL http://www.cars.com/. Streamlined for the mobile environment, Cars.com mobile provides shoppers access to the most widely used information and tools on Cars.com in a format optimized for their personal device.

About Lexus

Lexus has become synonymous with luxury since its introduction in 1989. By offering some of the finest quality luxury vehicles and providing benchmark customer service, Lexus has remained the top-selling luxury nameplate in the United States for six years in a row. Lexus and its 222 dealers have repeatedly achieved high honors for both the products they sell and the customer service they provide.

About Cars.com

Cars.com (http://www.cars.com/) is the most comprehensive destination for those looking to buy or sell a new or used car. The site lists more than 2 million vehicles from 13,000 dealer customers, classified advertisers and private parties to offer the 9 million unique visitors who log on to the site each month the best selection of new and used cars online, as well as the content, tools and advice to support their shopping experience. Cars.com combines powerful inventory search tools and new-car configuration with pricing information, photo galleries, buying guides, side-by-side comparison tools, original editorial content and reviews to help millions of car shoppers connect with sellers each month.

Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, (http://classifiedventures.com/), which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo , Gannett Co., Inc. , The McClatchy Company , Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company .

Note: If you do not have mobile access and wish to view the Cars.com mobile site from your PC, visit the mobile emulator at: http://emulator.mtld.mobi/emulator.php?emulator=&webaddress=cars.com&emulator= nokiaN70.