AutoTrader.com, which bills itself as the Internet's largest automotive classified marketplace, on Sept. 7 announced that it has broken its own traffic records for August. This

is just after the company set record gains in site traffic, advertising revenue and leads to car sellers in the second quarter 2001.

After breaking two site traffic records in July, and averaging more than 5.1 million

unique monthly visitors for Q2 2001, the company says it just recorded more than 6 million unique monthly visitors for August, a 12 percent increase from July.

In addition to the growth in unique monthly visitors, the company also announced that vehicle searches topped 28 million for August, up 50 percent from the same time last year.

Along with the growing acceptance of AutoTrader.com's online auto classifieds business model, AutoTrader.com attributes its continued growth to new marketing and advertising campaigns, including sponsorships of NASCAR racing on NBC and Turner Sports, ongoing brand advertising and growing partnerships with powerhouses like America Online, FordDirect and other top OEMs.

In August, the company launched an online gaming promotion to target the 18-24 year old market, an important audience for used cars. The

"Car Slide" campaign has generated superior site traffic and brand awareness -- more than 155,000 users in the first week of the promotion, according to AutoTrader.com -- through its affiliation with partner companies like JBL, Gatorade and CNNSI.

Services offered on the AutoTrader.com site include:

* Used and now new vehicles from the largest online inventory of more than 1.5 million listings - approximately 50 percent of all used cars for sale at any one time in the U.S.

* A way for private sellers to list their own vehicles for free, exposing them to more than 5 million unique visitors each month

* Detailed vehicle information, including photos, options, contact information and vehicle history reports

* A Decision Guide to help consumers find the car that best meets their needs

* Car-care and safety tips

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