CHICAGO — Cars.com has partnered with Edmunds.com and Kelley Blue Book's Kbb.com to provide leads for dealers.

The deal is geared toward NewLeadsPlus customers; however, according to Cars.com officials, the vehicle a consumer purchases largely depends on the consumer's tastes and how much financing he is approved for. After deciding on a certain model and filling out a request, a consumer may discover that the unit he wants is out of the reach, which provides dealers with the opportunity to get the consumer into a certified or used unit.

"In addition to quality leads generated directly from the top search engines, we will provide NewLeadsPlus customers with leads submitted by the millions of unique, ready-to-buy car shoppers who visit Edmunds.com and Kbb.com," explained Mitch Golub, Cars.com president.

"By working with select, premier destination sites in the automotive category, we continue our commitment to only deliver leads from the highest quality sources," he continued.

Golub also explained that leads are processed so quickly that the dealer may even have the opportunity of communicating with a prospect while he is still online.

"Dealers recognize the quality of prospects we deliver with NewLeadsPlus," Golub said.

"These car shoppers have carefully researched the make and model they plan to buy and have raised their hand to take the process to the next logical steps — a test drive and a purchase. In fact, a 2006 Experian Automotive study found that more than 60 percent of NewLeadsPlus lead senders purchased a vehicle," he highlighted.

Cars.com executives noted that more than 2,300 dealer customers have participated in NewLeadsPlus since the program began more than a year ago.