• Torrance, CA  (January 26, 2004)

New Alliances with Leading Automotive Web Sites to Boost Consumer Awareness of and Access to Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles

In a bold move to raise awareness and consumer access to Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicles, Lexus today introduced another first in the automotive industry. The luxury automotive leader has created alliances with seven top automotive web sites to prominently call out "Certified Pre-Owned" as a distinct vehicle category on their home pages, in addition to the current categories of "New" and "Used." The revised sites will begin going live in mid-January 2004.

In response to more than 18 months of in-depth research that showed consumers had limited knowledge-as well as some misconceptions-about manufacturer CPO programs, Lexus approached top automotive sites and proposed the idea of elevating CPO to a third, distinct category alongside new and used. The result: consumers will now be able to learn more about CPO programs and search their favorite auto sites specifically for CPO vehicles. Participating sites include: Autobytel.com, AutoTrader.com, AutoWeb.com, cars.com, CarsDirect.com, Edmunds.com and Yahoo!® Autos.

In addition to providing enhanced access to CPO vehicle listings, these sites will offer information-where consumers can learn about CPO programs. Editorial content will include items such as what defines a CPO vehicle, what to look for when purchasing a CPO vehicle, comparisons of CPO programs and editorial reviews of CPO programs.

"With this new program, Lexus is elevating consumer understanding of the CPO category and broadening awareness. Consumers will now have the opportunity to visit their local dealerships with as much knowledge of CPO programs as they currently have of new and used vehicles," said Marv Ingram, national certified pre-owned/fleet manager for Lexus. "We are helping them become informed at the right time and the right place during the shopping process."

Notably, while Lexus has secured the advertising exclusive for all top-level CPO pages, each site will maintain complete editorial control of the content to ensure that the information is objective, credible and, therefore, most valuable to consumers. This is a key differentiating factor for this marketing effort. Unlike a typical "ad buy," Lexus encouraged the sites to create a whole new category, complete with rich, unbiased educational CPO content for consumers. This move helps build credibility overall for CPO as a category.