MINNEAPOLIS—CarSoup.com, an online venue for buying, selling and servicing vehicles, has launched its services in the Tallahassee, Fla. and Thomasville, Ga. market. The CarSoup.com Web site can be accessed through www.WCTV6.com (www.WCTV6.com is the local CBS Network affiliate TV Station owned by Gray Television).

CarSoup.com's state-of-the-art Web portal offers comprehensive information for consumers in the Florida panhandle and southwest Georgia looking to buy, sell, and service or research new and used automobiles.

CarSoup reports an enthusiastic response from local car dealerships that were excited about the opportunity to co-op their marketing campaigns with the local CBS Network affiliate. CarSoup.com is now available in 23 states and 44 markets. The Carsoup business model combines local information on vehicles — including cars, trucks, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and RVs — with a network of information on out-of-market vehicles.

In addition to new-used and used-car leads, Carsoup provides referrals to dealers' Web sites, service connections, credit applications and more.

"We firmly believe this is the future of automobile sales," said Larry Cuneo, CarSoup president and CEO. "Despite its ubiquity, the Internet is a largely untapped marketing and sales channel for dealers and manufacturers because there is an education process that rarely takes place. We help with the culture transformation necessary to implement long-term, successful Web strategies."

Jason Gould, president of Inergize Digital Media, a firm that provides interactive Web sites to 42 local television stations added, "Our experience with CarSoup.com has been excellent. Our stations get an immediate lift from increased dealer spending and more online traffic."

Dealers in established CarSoup markets report high satisfaction with the service. "Since signing on with CarSoup in 1998, it has been our number one lead generator," said David Luther, owner of 26 auto dealerships in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.

"Carsoup dominates the Twin Cities market for online vehicle sales and services in large part because of the level of promotion, service, and expertise they provide," he continued. "They are an integral part of our promotional strategy." More than 370 car dealerships in Minnesota have signed on.