Chrome Data Corporation today announced the release of Chrome Carbook, a major upgrade to Chrome's legacy Web-based vehicle specification, configuration and pricing tool Web Carbook. This latest upgrade gives dealers and auto e-commerce sites greater control in customizing and branding their Web sites, at no charge to existing clients.
Chrome Carbook is a Web-based vehicle research, pricing and ordering tool that enables dealers, Internet portals and financial institutions to both specify and sell cars online with to-the-penny accuracy. Chrome Carbook relies on the same national database of more than 20,000 new car dealers and facilitates lead generation, enabling transactions between auto dealerships and portals and Web-surfing consumers. Chrome Carbook provides a complete solution; for those dealers or Internet portals without a Web template for automobile sales, the product provides an e-commerce front-end which can be tailored to reflect the customer's corporate brand identity.
"Chrome Carbook represents the 'gold standard' of configured car data, providing 'orderable' vehicle information advantageous to every dealer, insurance company, financial institution and fulfillment channel," said Bob Navarre, Chrome CEO. "The release of Chrome Carbook demonstrates our continued commitment to address the changing needs of our clients as we continue to pursue our goal of removing the barriers to buying and selling vehicles through the provision of accurate, unbiased and timely data."
New Features: Carbook TouchUp, Your Price, Reviews & Research, Lease/Loan Calculator
This latest upgrade provides a number of new features helping automotive retailers customize their Web sites to more effectively support their individual branding efforts. Most of the features are optional; they can be individually activated or disabled by the retailer. The new Carbook TouchUp enables retailers to quickly and easily customize Carbook colors and fonts to match their own Web site branding requirements and those of the manufacturers they represent. The Your Price feature enables retailers to add an additional price column to Carbook to complement the MSRP and invoice prices. This enables retailers to highlight special offers or price promotions. The loan/lease calculator quickly calculates average monthly repayments based on the consumer's input. The new Research & Reviews section of Chrome Carbook provides useful information about specific vehicles the consumer has just specified, using news from USAutoNews.com and ratings and reviews from Deja.comSM. USAutoNews.com, the first and largest automotive industry business portal, provides the latest news and information about the vehicle; Deja.com, Inc., a leading provider of comparison shopping resources, provides consumers' ratings and reviews of the vehicle and allows each user to add his or her own rating and review. And fleet options provide additional flexibility to configure and price fleet-only options.
Chrome: Most Accurate
Independent research from CNW Marketing/Research concluded Chrome to be the most accurate vehicle data and configuration provider available online today. (see "Chrome Data Named Most Accurate Data Provider for Automotive E-Commerce," June 27, 2000). Chrome ranked first in data accuracy with an average price discrepancy of only one-third of one percent of the average new car price - less than the study's margin of error.
About Chrome Data
Chrome Data pioneered the technology behind electronic vehicle configuration and for the past 14 years has collected, analyzed and enhanced "raw" automotive data from all manufacturers. Chrome's flagship product, the desktop research, pricing and ordering tool PC Carbook, is widely accepted as the standard in automotive data. Chrome's Internet-based product, Web Carbook, allows dealers, Internet portals, financial institutions, and insurance and warranty companies to provide visitors to their Web sites with a tool to configure cars online - including specifications on all new vehicle makes and models, standard and optional equipment, vehicle pictures and accurate pricing. This information precisely matches manufacturers' invoice and MSRP pricing, enabling users to configure and order any vehicle sold in the U.S. with the confidence that the delivered product and price are exactly what was expected. The company is based in Portland, Oregon, and may be reached at 1-800-936-8906. Company information is available at www.chrome.com.