Edmunds.com
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Edmunds.com is a provider of automotive information via web sites, books, and other media. The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, California and maintains an office outside of Detroit, Michigan. Edmunds.com is privately-held, with Steinlauf family holding a majority stake.
The Edmunds.com web site includes prices for new and used vehicles, a database of national and regional incentives and rebates, vehicle test drive reviews by road test editors, and tips and advice on all aspects of car purchases and ownership. In addition, the company circulates free e-mail newsletters to voluntary subscribers.
Edmunds.com provides data through its "True Market Value" pricing tools, which launched in 2000. The Edmunds.com True Market Value New Vehicle Calculator provides the estimated average price consumers are currently paying when buying new vehicles. The Edmunds.com True Market Value Used Vehicle Appraiser estimates the actual transaction prices for used vehicles bought and sold by dealers and private parties.
In 2005, Edmunds.com launched Inside Line, a free online magazine for automotive enthusiasts. Inside Line delivers automotive content in the form of videos, photos, blogs, news articles, discussion boards and road tests. In 2006, Edmunds.com launched Carspace.com, a social networking site dedicated to car enthusiasts and aimed at competition to established sites such as MySpace, Friendster.com and Cardomain.
[edit] History
Edmunds.com was founded in 1966 as a publisher of printed booklets consolidating automotive specifications to help car shoppers make buying decisions. Peter Steinlauf had owned and operated a billboard company which sold in the mid-'80s, later purchasing Edmunds.
By the '90s Edmunds published its data to CD-ROM while also publishing books such as Edmunds.com New Cars & Trucks Buyer's Guide, Edmunds.com Used Cars & Trucks Buyer's Guide and Edmunds.com's Strategies for Smart Car Buyers. By the mid-'90s, Edmunds began to experiment on the Internet, posting online in 1994 on a gopher site known as the Electronic Newstand. By 1997 the company had created Edmunds.com.[1] Edmunds nolonger prints publications.
Peter Steinlauf's son Avi Steinlauf joined Edmunds in summer of 1998 as the Director of Business Development — turning down a job offer from Intel. Avi Steinlauf had worked with Coopers & Lybrand's Knowledge Strategies Group, a New York accounting and consulting firm, had earned an MBA degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor's degree from Yeshiva College. Today, he is executive vice president of the California company[1], which now has more than 300 employees.[2]
Avi Steinlauf has served as Chief Operating Officer of Edmunds since August 2004, and will retain that title as he assumes the role of President. He and has also headed the company's marketing and revenue management areas.
As of 2004, Peter Steinlauf, held the title of CEO and chairman of the board. Peter's two younger sisters are not involved with the company. A separate board where his mother sits was created a few years ago after Edmunds decided to bring in outside investors, while keeping the company private. As of 2004, the Steinlauf family still owned a majority of the company.[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c When 'business' adds relatives, a 'family business' is born. Leading Edge Alliance, Summer 2004, Ann M. Gynn.
- ^ Maintaining Edmunds' Edge. Business Week, Matt Vella, November 26, 2007.
[edit] External links
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