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Cars.com

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Cars.com
Available inEnglish
OwnerCars.com Inc.
URLcars.com
CommercialYes
Cars.com Inc.
Company typePublic
NYSECARS
S&P 400 component
IndustryAutomotive marketing services
FoundedMay 2017
FounderMitch Golub, William Swislow, Alex Vetter[2]
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
U.S.
Area served
U.S.
Key people
Alex Vetter, CEO and President[2]
ServicesAutomotive classifieds
DivisionsAuto.com, PickupTrucks.com, and NewCars.com
SubsidiariesDR Media Holdings, LLC
WebsiteCars.com

Cars.com is a website which was launched in June 1998. It is the second largest automotive classified site.[3] Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois.[4]

History

A 2003 Library Journal survey of automobile-related websites described cars.com as "the most complete car sales megasite", noting staff-written reviews that "are signed, dated, detailed, and richly illustrated".[5] In 2004 the website announced a partnership with Kelley Blue Book and commenced national advertising.[6][7] In October 2007, it announced plans for its largest marketing campaign ever in early 2008.[8] In the same month, Yahoo! announced plans to receive listings from Cars.com for their Yahoo! Autos service.[9]

Cars.com was previously owned by Classified Ventures, LLC, a joint venture between Gannett, The McClatchy Company, Tribune, Graham Holdings, and A.H. Belo. On August 5, 2014, Gannett announced that it would buy out the remaining stakes in Classified Ventures it did not already own, for $2.5 billion.[10][11][12][13][14]

Cars.com was included in the spin-off of Gannett's broadcasting properties as Tegna, Inc. On May 4, 2017, Tegna shareholders approved a plan to spin off Cars.com as a new, publicly-traded company; they received a share of the new company, which began trading on the NYSE beginning June 1, 2017, for every 3 Tegna shares they owned.[15][16]

Marketing

Cars.com has regularly advertised during the Super Bowl, screening adverts in consecutive years.[17][18][19][20]

Television

Since July 1998, Cars.com has been in partnership with Tom and Ray Magliozzi of Car Talk[21] and the website includes a Cartalk advice section.[5]

Cars.com also partners with MotorWeek on PBS to provide online access to MotorWeek reviews.[22]

References

  1. ^ "Cars.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved 2017-04-20.
  2. ^ a b "About Cars.com". Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  3. ^ "Gannett buys the rest of Cars.com for $1.8 billion". Bloomberg Businessweek. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-04. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Company Facts".
  5. ^ a b Caroline Gilman, "Web Watch: Cars", Library Journal, January 15, 2003.
  6. ^ Martin, Chuck (2011). The Third Screen: Marketing to Your Customers in a World Gone Mobile. Nicholas Brealey Publishing. pp. 8–13. ISBN 9781857885644. Excerpts available at Google Books.
  7. ^ "McClatchy-backed car venture launches national TV campaign". Sacramento Business Journal. May 3, 2004. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  8. ^ Elliott, Stuart (18 October 2007). "Super Bowl XLII Is More Than CX Days Away, But..." New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  9. ^ Morrissey, Brian (16 October 2007). "Yahoo! Bets on Open-Network Approach". Adweek.
  10. ^ Hall, Kevin. "McClatchy, media partners confirm deal to sell Cars.com". The Sun News. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  11. ^ Yu, Roger. "Gannett buying rest of Cars.com for $1.8B". USA Today. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  12. ^ Sherman, Alex. "Gannett Agrees to $1.8 Billion Buyout of Cars.com Site". USA Today. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  13. ^ Hill, Kevin. "McClatchy, media partners confirm deal to sell Cars.com". The Sun News. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  14. ^ "McClatchy Announces Agreement to Sell Its 25.6% Stake in Cars.com to Gannett". The McClatchy Company. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Cars.com Spins Off From Parent TEGNA, Goes Through IPO". Search Marketing Daily. MediaPost Publications. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  16. ^ "McLean-based Tegna spins off Cars.com". WTOP. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  17. ^ Tim Nudd, "Cars.com to Get Overly Dramatic in Super Bowl Ad From Mcgarrybowen", Adweek, January 22, 2013.
  18. ^ Cars.com Super Bowl Commercial, "Bring OUt Your Confident You" Archived 2010-02-11 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ Cars.com Cares
  20. ^ Tim Nudd, "Cars.com's Super Bowl Ad Stars a Man and His Excitable Appendage", Adweek, January 26, 2012.
  21. ^ "Company History". Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ "Business Partners". Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)