Jeff et al,
Wanted to respond to a few things mentioned here
First, as a unicorn owner I'm a little offended by the implications thereof but seriously there are some good points being made by this thread. I want to clarify the number of web site links refers to all portions of Cars.com so the impact is really on both the used and new car segments not just the 12-13mm annualized new vehicle space-- but the much larger used category as well.
As to creating essentially an intercept offer as a person is clicking over to a dealer's site, I think there's merit there to try something and we are discussing with customers and consumers as to the practicality. One of the more intriguing parts of the idea is translating that to a mobile/app environment where the possibility exists of creating an offer that truly matches up to the timing of the mobile shopper -- latest stage and deciding where to buy.
As evidenced by this thread, it's really tough to judge what will be valued and what won't be by the dealer. Email close rates are still used by many dealers to justify their online ad spend-- yet the number one consumer complaint we receive is lack of response to their email.
We will to continue to innovate to provide more means to drive shoppers to your stores-- our first in the industry leadership in phone tracking and chat are good examples. Stay tuned and keep the ideas coming.
