Ally’s SmartAuction Named Platinum Award Winner in 2011 Auto Dealer Monthly “Dealers’ Choice Awards”

DETROIT - SmartAuction, Ally Financial’s online used vehicle auction, was named the Platinum Award recipient in the Online Auctions category of Auto Dealer Monthly’s 2011 Dealers’ Choice Awards. The honor is the seventh consecutive time SmartAuction has received an award in the Online Auctions category, which is measured by dealer and dealership personnel votes.

“The Dealers’ Choice Awards offer dealers and their employees the opportunity to make their collective voice heard and bring some well-deserved recognition not only to the great products and services that are vital to the day-to-day operations of the dealership, but also to the people behind those products and services,” said Harlene Doane, editor of Auto Dealer Monthly. “Auto Dealer Monthly is honored to be able to recognize some of the best in the industry.”

Steve Kapusta, SmartAuction’s executive director of Dealer Sales, said the secret to the company’s success has been adding industry leading features and value to its customers.

“We’ve always believed that building the trust of dealers is the key to gathering the largest number of buyers and sellers to an online marketplace and we’ve done this by offering industry leading value and innovation through such features as our NAAA compliant arbitration policy to our guide book integration and Dealer eVantage programs,” said Kapusta.

“On any given day, more than 9,000 dealers review SmartAuction’s online vehicle inventory, which averages 13,000 vehicles representing over 40 different vehicle makes,” Kapusta added. “That performance, combined with the energy of the dealers and leading consignors of rental, repossession and independent auctions has formed SmartAuction’s user community and fueled its momentum of success.”

2011 marks the seventh year Auto Dealer Monthly has held the Dealer’s Choice Awards, which recognize the most highly-regarded vendors, suppliers and finance companies in the retail automotive industry, as voted on by dealers and dealership personnel.

About Auto Dealer Monthly, LLC
Auto Dealer Monthly is the day-to-day resource for automotive dealerships of all sizes. It is known for offering business solutions to dealers by providing information necessary to make wise decisions regarding products, services or process changes in daily operations. Auto Dealer Monthly is also the publisher of Auto Dealer Monthly magazine and creator of SpecialFinanceInsider.com and AutoDealerPeople.com.

About SmartAuction
Launched in 2000, more than 3.5 million vehicles have been sold through SmartAuction since its inception. In 2010, approximately 412,000 units were sold in the United States on SmartAuction. Approximately 104,000 units, or more than 25 percent of its volume, came from dealers, leading consignors of rental, repossession, and independent auction inventory. For more information about SmartAuction visit www.smartauction.biz.

About Ally Financial Inc.
Ally Financial Inc. (formerly GMAC Inc.) is one of the world’s largest automotive financial services companies. The company offers a full suite of automotive financing products and services in key markets around the world. Ally’s other business units include mortgage operations and commercial finance, and the company’s subsidiary, Ally Bank, offers retail banking products. With more than $172 billion in assets as of Dec. 31, 2010, Ally operates as a bank holding company. For more information, visit the Ally media site at http://media.ally.com.