Driveitaway.com (www.driveitaway.com), which bills itself as the first Website to focus on dealer-to-consumer used-car auctions, has announced an agreement that greatly expands its dealer network to include 28 dealerships operated by the Ford Dealer Development group from Maine to North Carolina.

Dealers in one region of Ford's Dealer Development program will test the used-car online auction site to determine if it can be used elsewhere.

Consumers can inspect and test-drive the cars they find on Driveitaway.com at these participating dealers and place bids from the showroom floor using special Internet kiosks Driveitaway.com is installing.

Under the agreement, the first Ford dealership to set up a kiosk will be Capital City Ford in Trenton, N.J. Driveitaway.com will install online kiosks at the remaining dealerships in the region, starting in early 2001.

Randall West, president of Capital City Ford, said he expects to have his inventory on the site today, Dec. 11. West said he likes the Driveitaway.com business model because there's no third party between the dealer and the customer.

This agreement significantly extends Driveitaway.com's geographic reach while increasing the number of mint used and off-lease autos it offers car shoppers.

"Our agreement with the Ford Dealer Development group is a win-win-win situation," said Darryl Draper, co-founder and CEO of Driveitaway.com. "It increases our visibility along the East Coast, provides the dealerships an opportunity to sell autos at the retail level before selling them at cut rates to wholesaler auction houses, and offers consumers the chance to bid on cars they have already seen in person."

Ford Dealer Development dealers will promote the agreement by featuring the Driveitaway.com kiosks in dealership newspaper ads, and will display point-of-sale marketing materials at each site.

"Driveitaway.com offers our dealers an innovative means of reaching the public while relieving inventory and creating new revenue at the same time," says James Latimer, business management representative, Philadelphia Region Dealer Development. "In our business, the Internet has long been considered more of an interactive advertising medium rather than a sales tool. I am excited about the kiosks because dealers can get involved with very little outlay and the returns can be substantial. We can sell our out-of-lease vehicles and use Driveitaway to promote specialty vehicles."

Stacy Ratner, president and co-founder of Driveitaway.com, agreed. "Thus far, automotive dot coms have tended to drive traffic to their own sites and away from dealers," she said. "We do just the opposite: promote each of the Ford Dealer Development dealers and bring customers to them through showroom kiosks and branded pages."

At the Driveitaway.com site, consumers go online to search for vehicles and gain the legal protection, financing options and customer service for which local auto dealerships are known. Consumers may preview scores of vehicles and search by make, model, location and mileage. They then choose the car they like and bid online. The auctions run three to seven days from the date the car is posted. During that time, bidders are encouraged to visit participating dealerships for an inspection or a test drive.

About Ford Dealer Development

Ford Dealer Development, a division of Ford Motor Company, provides support for minority-owned dealerships by training and financing locations for otherwise qualified candidates. Dealers begin with a 10 percent investment in a dealership, with the remainder owned by Ford. The dealer then gains more equity in the site via the profits it generates.