As domestic and foreign car companies and their dealers roll out the 2003 models, the Internet is emerging as an important sales channel — if

not for completing transactions, then for getting consumers far along in the process, according to the New York Times.

Although stories vary by dealer, anecdotal evidence suggests that car sellers can save money online as well, by engaging their customers and remotely executing as much of the transaction as possible before closing the deal in person, according to the Times.

Last year, 62 percent of consumers who bought new cars had used the Internet to research, choose or buy the car, said Scott Weitzman, senior director of J. D. Power and Associates. Notably, those who used the Web saved $300 to $400 on the price, compared to those who did not, he said.

There is an advantage for the dealers, too, however: they spend significantly less time serving their Web customers, "so they feel as if they're at least not losing money," Weitzman said. "And dealers regard this as incremental

business, so even if it's potentially less profitable, that's still business they wouldn't have gotten."