Refining Result Sets

Abstract

Billing itself as “the ultimate automotive marketplace,” AutoTrader.com allows consumers in the United States to buy and sell cars. According to census data, the United States has around 250 million registered motor vehicles, so you can imagine that finding the perfect car to buy can daunt even the most intrepid prospective car buyer. To help car buyers cut through the lots of cars they don’t want to find the one they do, AutoTrader.com provides tools on its web site to filter available cars by criteria such as body style, make, model, year, price, and location. Its television commercials tout these filtering tools by such means as showing cars zooming past car shoppers or automotive armadas driving to their homes until only the perfect car appears.