Cars.com
Type of site
Online motoring
Available inEnglish
OwnerCars.com Inc.
URLwww.cars.com
CommercialYes
LaunchedJune 1998; 25 years ago (1998-06)
Current statusActive
Content license
Yes
Cars.com Inc.
Company typePublic company
IndustryAutomotive marketing services
FoundedMay 2017; 6 years ago (2017-05)
FoundersMitch Golub
William Swislow
Alex Vetter[1]
Headquarters
Chicago, Illinois
,
U.S.
Area served
United States
Key people
Alex Vetter, CEO and President[1]
Products
  • Cars.com
  • Auto.com
  • PickupTrucks.com
  • NewCars.com
ServicesAutomotive classifieds
Divisions
  • Auto.com
  • PickupTrucks.com
  • NewCars.com
  • DealerRater
SubsidiariesDR Media Holdings, LLC
WebsiteCars.com

Cars.com is an automotive classified website focused on the United States that launched in June 1998 and now is the second largest automotive classified site.[2] Its headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois.[3]

History

A 2003 Library Journal survey of automobile-related websites described cars.com as ranked the site positively, noting staff-written reviews that are signed, dated, detailed, and illustrated.[4] In 2004 the website announced a partnership with Kelley Blue Book and commenced national advertising.[5][6] In October 2007, it announced plans for its largest marketing campaign ever in early 2008.[7] In the same month, Yahoo! announced plans to receive listings from Cars.com for their Yahoo! Autos service.[8]

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.[9][10][11][12][13]

In July 2016, Cars.com acquired dealer and service shop rating site DealerRater.[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 on June 1, 2017, for every 3 Tegna shares they owned.[15][16]

In February 2018, Cars.com announced the acquisition of Dealer Inspire, a digital marketing agency serving automotive dealerships located in Naperville, Illinois.[17][18]

Marketing

Cars.com has regularly advertised during the Super Bowl, screening adverts in consecutive years.[19][20][21][22]

Television

Since July 1998, Cars.com has been in partnership with the Magliozzis of Car Talk[23] and the website includes a Cartalk advice section.[4]

Cars.com also partners with MotorWeek on PBS to provide online access to MotorWeek reviews.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b "About Cars.com". Retrieved 2017-11-06.
  2. ^ "Gannett buys the rest of Cars.com for $1.8 billion". Bloomberg Businessweek. October 1, 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-10-04.
  3. ^ "Company Facts".
  4. ^ a b Caroline Gilman, "Web Watch: Cars", Library Journal, January 15, 2003.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ "McClatchy-backed car venture launches national TV campaign". Sacramento Business Journal. May 3, 2004. Retrieved 2013-07-24.
  7. ^ Elliott, Stuart (18 October 2007). "Super Bowl XLII Is More Than CX Days Away, But..." New York Times. Retrieved 28 April 2010.
  8. ^ Morrissey, Brian (16 October 2007). "Yahoo! Bets on Open-Network Approach". Adweek.
  9. ^ Hall, Kevin. "McClatchy, media partners confirm deal to sell Cars.com". The Sun News. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  10. ^ Yu, Roger. "Gannett buying rest of Cars.com for $1.8B". USA Today. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  11. ^ Sherman, Alex. "Gannett Agrees to $1.8 Billion Buyout of Cars.com Site". USA Today. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  12. ^ Hill, Kevin. "McClatchy, media partners confirm deal to sell Cars.com". The Sun News. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 6 August 2014.
  13. ^ "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.
  14. ^ "Cars.com will buy DealerRater to create review giant". autonews.com. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
  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. ^ "BRIEF-Cars.Com Announces The Acquisition Of Dealer Inspire And Launch Digital Marketing". reuters.com. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  18. ^ "Cars.com acquires Naperville tech firms in $165M deal". builtinchicago.org. 14 February 2018. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  19. ^ Tim Nudd, "Cars.com to Get Overly Dramatic in Super Bowl Ad From Mcgarrybowen", Adweek, January 22, 2013.
  20. ^ Cars.com Super Bowl Commercial, "Bring OUt Your Confident You" Archived 2010-02-11 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ Cars.com Cares
  22. ^ Tim Nudd, "Cars.com's Super Bowl Ad Stars a Man and His Excitable Appendage", Adweek, January 26, 2012.
  23. ^ "Company History". Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
  24. ^ "Business Partners". Archived from the original on 19 April 2011. Retrieved 20 April 2011.
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