Yet, despite the fender benders, analysts remain bullish about the sector's future. These sites take consumer requests and send them to dealers. The dealers calculate the best price on the vehicle, check their inventory and send an e-mail with a price quote to the consumers. It's for the dealers because we drive traffic through their front doors. That's the biggest differentiation between us and our competition.
All roads lead to the dealer.
Visitors to Autobytel looking for Chevrolet cars and trucks can scout the inventories at 22 participating dealerships in northern Virginia, southern Maryland and the District of Columbia, says Mike Devereux, head of business development at e-GM, the automaker's Internet arm. Autobytel will also provide GM dealers with related training, Web-based customer service applications and other technologies, says Mark Lorimer, president and CEO of the Irvine, Calif., company. Yet, Lorimer predicts Autobytel will be one of the few auto buying survivors. A lot of people who came into this space claiming to close car deals online didn't understand the complexities of the business. If they want to pursue a purchase, the site sends the information to the closest dealer.