DealerTrack(SM) on Dec. 20 announced that Asbury Automotive Group, L.L.C., Stamford, Conn., one of America’s largest dealer groups, has selected DealerTrack as its corporate standard for processing business online with financial institutions.

While DealerTrack is already in the majority of its 90 dealerships, Asbury plans to have all of its dealers actively utilizing the system by the end of the first quarter in 2002, according to company officials.

Asbury Automotive joins Lithia Motors as the second Top 10 dealer group in December to announce its selection of DealerTrack as its platform of choice.

“It’s great that someone has developed a technology that enables us to fully conduct business with each of our finance providers from one desktop,” said Tom McCollum, vice president of finance and insurance for Asbury Automotive. “The fact that it is Web-based and allows us to do so from one location is an added benefit. Making the platform free to dealers further proves to us that DealerTrack is a true dealer-centric business. We look forward to getting all of our stores fully operational with this technology.”

Current lender participants in DealerTrack are AmeriCredit Corp., Arcadia Financial Ltd, Chase Automotive Finance, Regions Bank, Subaru Motors Finance, and Wells Fargo Auto Finance. According to DealerTrack, lender participation is expected to grow over the next 30 days with the addition of Capital One Auto Finance and WFS Financial Inc.

Dealers can submit applications to and receive extremely fast responses from these institutions electronically and at no cost, while tracking the progress of all deals within each lender’s pipeline, according to DealerTrack.

Asbury Automotive joins more than 11,000 automobile dealers nationwide who have already implemented DealerTrack to manage their auto loan and lease processing.

“DealerTrack’s continuing goal is to be a partner to the dealer by providing the best and lowest cost solution to all of their financing needs,” said Mark O’Neil, president and chief executive officer, DealerTrack. “Asbury Automotive’s selection of DealerTrack reinforces our position as the industry standard and reaffirms our belief in the lender consortium business model. Relationships with large dealer groups like Asbury, who are open to innovation and embrace technology, enable us to continue to build functionality that better suits dealer needs.”

For more information about DealerTrack, auto dealers may contact Rick Pinto, national dealer development manager, at (631) 486-1655, or e-mail rick.pinto@dealertrack.com; lenders may contact Rich McLeer, national lender relationship manager, at (631) 486-1649, or e-mail richard.mcleer@dealertrack.com.

About DealerTrack

DealerTrack (www.dealertrack.com) is an independent Web-based auto finance enabler for automotive dealers.

The company says it provides an impartial end-to-end loan and lease transaction channel designed to improve efficiencies and profitability for lender and dealer users by automating credit processes, speeding lending communications and improving transaction efficiency through the use of the Internet.

More than 11,000 dealerships nationwide, both individual stores and large dealer groups, currently use the DealerTrack system.

Formed by a lender consortium, DealerTrack is owned by AmeriCredit Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and Wells Fargo & Company.

<.b>About Asbury Automotive Group, L.L.C.

Asbury Autogroup L.L.C. is comprised of nine regional automotive groups located in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia and Texas.

The company operates 132 automotive retail franchises and sells, finances and services foreign and domestic automobile brands.