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Letter to the Editor

Parts.com to Open European Headquarters; Adds Dealerships to USA Distribution Network

SANFORD, Fla. -- Parts.com, Inc., a marketplace and software solutions provider for the automotive parts industry, has announced that it will be opening an office in Europe, either in France or Germany during Q1, 2001. The Company also reports that it added 306 new dealerships to its growing distribution network here in the United States, which has resulted in over 1700 new dealerships added since December 18, 2000.

Parts.com's extensive research of the European market over the past year has provided for a solid basis which will result in a number of major strategic alliances, as in the case of Cap Gemini Ernst Young. The European market represents a natural extension for the TradeMotion suite of technology solutions. The high level interest and in a number of instances, mature stage of negotiations presently require parts.com to commit to an official presence as soon as possible. Parts.com anticipates definitive announcements and details regarding European programs forthcoming.

Parts.com North American Dealer Network Climbs to Over 2300

The parts.com North American Dealer Network [NADN] continues to expand its distribution network here in the United States with the addition of 306 new dealer franchises in the past ten days. The new dealership lines added include: 81 Chevrolet, Pontiac, GMC, Buick, Oldsmobile and Cadillac dealerships; 47 Chrysler/Plymouth, Dodge and Jeep dealerships; 38 Ford, Lincoln, Mercury dealerships; 137 import dealerships and 3 Saturn dealerships.

Since the GM, Daimler Chrysler, Ford and Bell & Howell announcement in December, parts.com has added more than 1,700 new dealerships to its network of suppliers.

"Parts.com continues to add dealerships to the NADN's rapidly growing distribution community and we anticipate an average of 600 to 1,000 new dealers per month to sign up for TradeMotion Solutions through the first half of 2001," stated Shawn D. Lucas, CEO and President. "Our goals for first quarter are simple; consistently increase distribution; increase the volume of OEM parts order flow to our dealer partners; and increase the adaptation of our Direct2DMS localized and national parts locating system. I am pleased to report that we are accomplishing all three of these goals, and this will only increase order flow and stickiness to our backend solution," stated Mr. Lucas.

"After deliberating with the parts.com executive management team and assessing the value propositions regarding the upcoming NADA convention in Las Vegas, we unanimously agreed that the interests of our shareholders would be better stewarded by focusing on the emerging opportunities in Europe," stated Mr. Lucas. "Parts.com, in December 1999, committed to a major presence at the NADA at a time when we were receiving subscription fees from our dealer suppliers. Since that time parts.com has removed all economic barriers, by offering TradeMotion Solutions as a free 12-month trial to those same suppliers. In light of our new marketing campaign, we simply couldn't justify the ROI to our shareholders," continued Lucas.

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