The accepted wisdom in selling cars is that customers start looking for their next ride the moment they drive their current purchase off the lot. But the Internet and its research possibilities have added focus to the last eight to 12 weeks of that decision process, making that the most crucial time in which to reach the prospect and convert him or her from a digital tire-kicker to a showroom visitor.
A couple of leading automotive Web retailer networks have taken this time crunch to heart and added recent features to their marketing and promotional programs that should help pull customers off their desktops and onto the lots of their dealer-members.
Atlanta-based AutoTrader.com, majority-owned by Cox Enterprises, bills itself as the
Network
