CHICAGO, Oct. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Cars.com, the premier online resource for buying and selling new and used cars, announced today that it has been ranked Highest Third-Party Automotive Mobile Site in J.D. Power's 2013 Automotive Mobile Site Study(SM), a new study that measures the usefulness of third-party automotive mobile sites during the vehicle shopping process. Among nine mobile websites evaluated, Cars.com ranked highest overall, a ranking that was significantly higher than the industry average. Cars.com also ranked highest in each of the four evaluation categories (in order of importance): information/content; navigation; speed and appearance. 

The distinction follows a similar announcement last March that Cars.com's desktop site had been ranked highest third-party automotive site by consumers participating in J.D. Power's Third-Party Automotive Website Evaluation Study(SM).

"Our focus on consumer experience plays a major role in driving value for our manufacturer and dealer-partners, and to see shoppers recognize our efforts in this way is truly an honor," said Barbara Mousigian, Vice President of Product at Cars.com.  "Though mobile is used throughout the various stages of the car buying process, it's often a shopper's most important resource at key moments, especially when visiting dealerships. Our comprehensive mobile offering and breadth of content makes it a true resource for shoppers, giving our advertisers access to a valuable audience, and opportunities to influence shoppers at the most critical decision points."

According to J.D. Power, a large majority (89%) of shoppers expect website content to be available across all of their devices. High-performing OEM and third-party automotive mobile sites are effective at providing rich content and offering intuitive navigation, helping shoppers access essential information during the car buying process.

"I'm especially proud to have Cars.com receive this distinction after having also been ranked highest in J.D. Power's recent study of desktop sites," said Mousigian. "As consumers adopt a multi-device approach to shopping for a vehicle, having leading site experiences across all device types allows us to assist them in their vehicle shopping journey, regardless of which device they choose."

The 2013 Automotive Mobile Site Study examines the features and content of automotive manufacturer and third-party mobile websites and their usefulness in the vehicle-shopping process. The study includes 9,465 evaluations of automotive mobile websites from vehicle shoppers who intend to purchase or lease a vehicle within the next two years. The study was fielded in August 2013. For more details about the study, J.D. Power's press release can be accessed here.

ABOUT CARS.COM

Cars.com is an award-winning online destination for car shoppers that offers information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. Cars.com offers thousands of new and used vehicle listings, consumer reviews, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and many other tools. Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions. Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including A.H. Belo (NYSE: AHC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

SOURCE Cars.com

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