CarSpace - Social Networking With an Auto Flair

Online social networking sites are sweeping the Web at remarkable speed making it easier for people to connect and reconnect with friends via cyberspace. We knew it wouldn't be long until someone picked up on the trend and figured a way to tie into the automotive sphere. Edmunds.com, a well-known automotive online resource, recently announced the launch of CarSpace, an automotive lifestyle social networking Web site for anyone with an interest in automobiles. At CarSpace, each member can express an automotive identity and meet friends who share automotive interests.

"Online social networks like FaceBook, Friendster, LinkedIn and MySpace are very popular, yet none specifically taps into the automotive world the way CarSpace does," said Matthew Kumin, executive vice president and general manager of Edmunds.com Media. "Last year's successful launch of our online automotive enthusiast magazine Inside Line demonstrated just how active the automotive community can be in response to an exciting product. We're confident CarSpace will garner a massive following of consumers and industry insiders."

Edmunds.com has been a leader in online automotive "community space" since the launch of its Town Hall Forums, a place where automotive hobbyists and enthusiasts share their experiences. In introducing CarSpace, Edmunds.com leverages nearly a decade of online community-building experience to offer members a variety of exciting options that have been unavailable until now.

"CarSpace introduces more functionality and innovation to the online automotive community," said Sylvia Marino, senior director of CarSpace. "Our vision for CarSpace is that everyone interested in automobiles and the Internet will link together and share photos, opinions and information about their favorite cars through this dynamic new medium."

Features of CarSpace include:

Friends — This favorite feature of social networking sites allows members to create and manage their own network of automotive friends. Members can invite an unlimited number of friends to join and link to friends found in the system, then can share experiences and easily send and receive friends' messages.

Searchable Member Profiles — Profiles of members can include cars they currently own, cars they are interested in, automotive interests, hobbies and demographic information. Member profiles are searchable based on all these criteria so new friendships can be forged. In addition, members will also be able to provide user IDs for their AOL and Yahoo! instant messaging screen names in order to achieve instant online availability status.

Groups — Discussion groups are focused on specific vehicles of interest, vehicle types and themes such as car safety and performance modifications. These groups are built upon the foundation of Edmunds' popular Town Hall Forums.

Blogs — CarSpace hosts four blogs, each of which invites member participation:

- "The Driving Women," by the female editors at Edmunds.com, discusses best cars, dealing with dealers, family safety and a wide variety of other topics

- "Strategies for Smart Car Buyers," by the Edmunds.com consumer advice editors and industry analysts, discusses tips and advice on buying, selling and leasing

- Photos - Members can upload photos and create photo albums, and browse and search other members' photo albums.

- Mailbox - Each registered user will be provided with a personalized e-mail account (username@carspace.com), along with 50 MB of storage space for photos and messages.

For more information or to begin building a network of automotive friends, visit www.carspace.com.

About Edmunds.com, Inc.
Edmunds.com is the premier online resource for automotive information. Its comprehensive set of data, tools and services is generated by Edmunds.com Information Solutions and is licensed to third parties and used by over 15,000 cars dealers including 98 of the 100 dealers named to the Ward's Dealer Business "e-Dealer 100" list. Perhaps the most popular consumer product, Edmunds.com True Market Value® pricing, is relied upon by millions of people seeking market-reflective valuations for new and used vehicles. The company also supplies content for the auto sections of NYTimes.com, AOL, CNN.com and About.com; provides weekly data to Automotive News; and delivers monthly data reports to Wall Street analysts. In addition, Edmunds.com publishes Inside Line (www.insideline.com), a free high-speed online magazine for auto enthusiasts, and CarSpace (www.carspace.com), an automotive lifestyle social networking Web site for anyone with an interest in automobiles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com StudySM, was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated number one in Keynote's study of third-party automotive web sites. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.