“Until today, car owners have not had access to a truly unbiased and comprehensive free auto repair resource that operates both as an advocate to assure that they’re not over-paying for repairs and are finding the best, most affordable shop for their needs -- and as a DIY guide providing them with the information they need to do it themselves,” said Shane Evangelist, President of AutoMD and CEO of US Auto Parts.

While other resources address pieces of the repair puzzle, AutoMD provides superior information for each critical step of the repair process -- all integrated into a complete, intuitive, and user-friendly experience that enables both DIYers and DFMers (Do-It-For-Me) to:

• Diagnose problems with easy-to-use diagnostic tool and visual guide
• Get fair and objective car repair prices on over 10 million jobs, based on geography and vehicle type, including local labor rates and real-time parts pricing
• Find a repair shop from the largest database of over 400,000 local shops matched for geography, specific job type and affordability
• Access over 100,000 easy-to-understand "How-to-Repair" guides with step-by-step instructions, plus “How-To” videos and car expert/owner support

2US car owners spend over $200 billion in car repairs every year," said Evangelist. “Based on our research, we estimate that American consumers are wasting billions of dollars by overpaying for repairs. Now, with a few simple online steps and a print out from AutoMD, car owners can literally ‘know before they go’ to the repair shop -- or, for those who prefer to do it themselves, save even more money by doing car repairs at home."

According to a recent national analysis of repair shops across the country, AutoMD estimates that car owners are, on average, overpaying at the repair shop by at least 10%. And a stunning 88% of car owners recently surveyed say they have felt overcharged when getting their car repaired. Backed by a team of automotive data specialists and certified auto mechanics who are advocates for the car owner, AutoMD enables consumers to come to the repair shop armed with the estimate. Or, for car owners who have already left their vehicle at the shop, AutoMD empowers them to negotiate price before authorizing the work, with easy access to true parts prices, labor rates and alternative shops.

Evangelist noted that online information has long been the car shopper’s trump card to a better deal. This is the cornerstone of AutoMD, which is designed to do for car owners what sites like Edmunds.com and KBB.com (Kelley Blue Book) have done for car shoppers.

How it Works:

AutoMD is designed to be an easy-to-use and seamless process - walking consumers through vehicle diagnosis, repair price estimate, how-to-fix-it and/or finding the right repair shop at the right price.

1) AutoMD Auto Repair Diagnostic Tools:

Car owners can diagnose their vehicle's problems through a series of questions that ask things like "What does it smell like? What does it sound like? What area of the vehicle is the problem located in?" With each answer, car owners narrow down the problem to help ensure the correct diagnosis. Unlike any other free site, AutoMD also provides a step-by-step visual inspection guide, as well as possible reasons for each problem, to reinforce the diagnosis.

2) AutoMD Fair Price Auto Repair Cost Estimates:

AutoMD’s ‘Fair Price’ estimates are formulated for over 10 million possible jobs using specific average labor costs for each zip code, hours to complete and parts pricing data -- down to engine size and sub-model. With an AutoMD Fair Price Repair Estimate, car owners not only gain peace of mind at the repair shop, but can also save significantly on their bills. Unlike any other site, AutoMD also provides Do-It-Yourself costs, including tools needed and parts pricing, saving car owners even more money.

3) AutoMD Right Auto Repair Shop Finder

AutoMD has made it its business to provide geo-specific information on capabilities and hourly rates for over 400,000 repair shops across the country, and has already spoken directly to over 100,000 shop-owners (and counting) to validate their information. Unlike sites that provide generic yellow-pages listings, only shops relevant to a consumer’s specific repair issues and zip codes are listed with each listing detailing average hourly labor costs, contact information, shuttle and payment information, maps and directions, and consumer reviews and ratings.

4) AutoMD DIY Auto Repair-apedia

The AutoMD DIY Repair-apedia is a robust and detailed library featuring over 100,000 step-by-step ‘How-to-Repair’ guides with difficulty ratings, tools needed and estimated length of time for each job, as well as hundreds of DIY videos, and thousands of user postings. AutoMD’s Repair-apedia is seeded by professionals and perfected by the community.

About AutoMD
AutoMD (http://automd.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of US Auto Parts (Nasdaq:PRTS), is the most comprehensive and unbiased free online automotive repair resource designed to empower car owners with the best way to repair their vehicles. Backed by a team of automotive data specialists and certified auto mechanics who are advocates for the car owner, AutoMD integrates unprecedented repair pricing transparency, easy-to-use diagnostic tools and How-to-Repair guides, repair shop listings geo-customized for each issue and a Repair-apedia of consumer-contributed advice into a complete and unbiased online repair experience that shifts the power to car owners.

Its open to the VAG family (VW, Audi, & Porsche), & also crossover brands BMW & Mercedes. The expo includes parts manufacturers, distributors, dealers & resellers. The expo is a 2 day event. Day 1 will feature an industry only afternoon session, and day 2 will take place during the main show for the general public.

DubJAM H2O features an indoor European Auto Show, Exhibition Area, Trade Expo, Live Music, Bikini Contest, & a Pro/Am Skate & BMX event in the arena. Plus there’s a motor sports event on Friday that features a Solo 2 autocross, a dyno competition, & a burnout contest.

DubJAM H2O takes place during WinterJAM 2010, a 4 day VW, Action Sports & Music Festival. WinterJAM, now in its 4th year, features 7 automotive events, 3 action sports events, 3 parties & much, much more!

For more info about vending, sponsoring or attending the trade expo & DubJAM H2O please visit dubjam.com for complete details. For more info about WinterJAM 2010, please visit daytonawinterjam.com for complete details.

About VolksVision MediaWerks Inc
VolksVision MediaWerks is an event production company, based out of Daytona Beach, Florida, which produces & promotes automotive & action sports events.

eBay Motors, the No.1 online automotive marketplace worldwide, today announced the 2009 Motors Master Contest, designed to find America’s top vehicle enthusiast in four distinct categories. Winners earn the title of “Motors Master” in their category, receive a trip to Las Vegas to attend the 2009 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) Show and receive an eBay Motors shopping spree.

Entrants will record a short video about their favorite car, truck or motorcycle project and explain why they would make the best do-it-yourself project expert for their category, and upload it to the Motors Master Web site at http://www.motorsmaster.ebaymotors.com. Expert judges and the public will vote for the top entrants in the following categories:

• Muscle cars
• Tuners
• Off-road vehicles
• Motorcycles

eBay Motors will bring the top winner from each of the four categories to the 2009 SEMA Show in Las Vegas from November 4-7, where their winning project vehicle may be displayed for over 100,000 attendees to view at the largest automotive specialty performance products trade event in the world. Each winner also will receive a $2,500 eBay Motors shopping spree to buy parts and accessories for future projects at www.ebaymotors.com, where a part or accessory sells every second.

The top projects will be selected based on the entrants’ videos and their written descriptions of how they used eBay Motors to fuel their projects and why they should be chosen a 2009 Motors Master. The initial round of votes to determine the finalists in each category will be cast by members of the public who visit the site to rate the videos and view the entrants’ descriptions (based on a scale of one to five stars) along with a panel of expert judges. Expert judges from the automotive industry will review the Finalists’ submissions and determine the Grand Prize winner for each category. The celebrity judging panel experts will consist of:

• Famous Rhodes, director of eBay Motors
• Peter MacGillivray, vice president, events and communications, SEMA
• John Neff, editor-in-chief of Autoblog
• Paul Crowe, editor-in-chief of thekneeslider.com
• Rob Einaudi, editor-in-chief of CarDomain

Additionally, eBay users visiting the Motors Master site who rate videos can also enter to win a $1,000 eBay Gift Certificate. Visitors can enter once a day during the six-week contest period.

Entries must be submitted by August 31, and voting will continue through September 14, 2009. Ten finalists will be selected for each category. The celebrity judging panel will choose one grand prize winner from each category and announce the results in early October.

“We encourage anyone who loves wheels, engines, spoilers, instrument panels or any other vehicle add-on to send us a video and tell us why they should be a 2009 Motors Master,” said Famous Rhodes, director of parts and accessories for eBay Motors. “eBay Motors offers the widest selection of parts and accessories anywhere, and we are excited to see the passion from our community come to life through this contest.”
The eBay Motors Enthusiast Contest is open to legal residents of the fifty (50) United States, District of Columbia, and Canada, unless otherwise prohibited, and entrants must be at least 18 years old. Official rules can be found at http://ebay.promotionexpert.com/motorsmaster/rules.html.

About eBay Motors
eBay Motors (www.ebaymotors.com), a part of eBay Inc., is the Internet's largest marketplace for buying and selling all things automotive. The site offers everyday cars for everyday drivers, as well as collector cars, motorcycles, auto parts and accessories. eBay Motors is consistently ranked the No.1 automotive site on the Web by Nielsen//NetRatings (June 2009)*.

About eBay Inc.
Founded in 1995, eBay Inc. connects hundreds of millions of people around the world every day, empowering them to explore new opportunities and innovate together. eBay Inc. does this by providing the Internet platforms of choice for global commerce, payments and communications. Since its inception, eBay Inc. has expanded to include some of the strongest brands in the world, including eBay, PayPal, Skype, StubHub, Shopping.com, and others. eBay Inc. is headquartered in San Jose, California.

The crowd-pleasing Caddy van will be back in the hands of its regular pilot, Peter Wyhinny, for the 2009 season, and with some fine-tuning in the workshops of Volkswagen Racing UK, he hopes to improve on the three podium finishes the turbodiesel van delivered last year.

'The Caddy is now entering its fifth full season of competition,' said Wyhinny, 'and it's fair to say it's now treated as a very serious competitor. We still have a smile on our faces but our rivals are no longer looking on the racing van idea as a "bit of a joke".

'Last year the Caddy took a real step forward in performance. Our objective is to score better results than in 2008; we are aiming for the podium, to be a real thorn in the sides of the cars and may even be looking for our first win.'

The Caddy can more than handle the best of the car opposition thanks to its 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine, which produces 260 PS and maximum torque of 377 lbs ft with the help of Volkswagen Racing UK/Superchips mapping. A six-speed gearbox is fitted as well as a bespoke Milltek exhaust system.

Wyhinny, whose day job is at the helm of SEAT UK, says that the twistier tracks on the calendar - and in particular the Knockhill circuit in Scotland - will suit the Caddy's well-balanced chassis and handling characteristics.

The first rounds of the Volkswagen Racing Cup take place at the Oulton Park circuit in Cheshire on 11 to 13 April and across the UK until September. Full details of the race programme and the Volkswagen Racing Cup are available from www.vw-cup.co.uk.

The Caddy is the smallest model in the van range from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. It offers a load volume of 3.2 m² and payload of up to 724 kg, with diesel engines available producing 69 PS, 104 PS and 140 PS. Retail prices start from £10,750 (plus VAT).

The Caddy Racer inspired Volkswagen's stylish Sportline van range, which now includes the Caddy, Caddy Maxi and Transporter. The Sportline features colour-coded bumpers, exterior mirrors and door handles, a lower front spoiler with integrated front fog lights, rear spoiler, bespoke alloy wheels, plus chrome grille and side rails, and leather upholstery.

If you are looking for some part or accessory for your car, to improve performance, looks or comfort then we suggest taking a look at the VW tuning store.

Now, there is an answer to this question: the TÜV Rheinland Group’s Pedestrian and Passenger Protection Laboratory
in Cologne now offers conclusive and officially accepted test methods. As one of the first in the tuning industry, ABT Sportsline submitted themselves to this time- and material-consuming and conclusive method. The result: The add-on parts by the world’s leading tuner of cars by the VW group are not only sleek, but also safe.

During spectacular tests, dummy legs weighing about 15 kilos hit the ABT vehicles AS4, AS5 and Tiguan at a speed of 40km/h and demonstrated best possible performance regarding risk of injury. “We are proud to have stayed well below the maximum values prescribed by law. That shows once again that our products meet highest quality standards”, emphasizes Hans-Jürgen Abt.

It has been a tradition of this long-established Kempten-based company to spare no effort whenever it comes to offering the client a premium product complying with the most recent safety standards. And as requirements by law and regulations constantly change and also people have ever increasing demands concerning active and passive safety, already today the engineers with ABT are thinking about solutions to the challenges of tomorrow.

So, it’s only logical that products which comply with highest safety regulations and are manufactured according to highest standards cost a little bit more, as they are the result of constant development. Buying a car or add-on components from Kempten means getting fully developed technology. ABT stands for driving pleasure in its most beautiful and safest form.

HPA Motorsports’ T-shirt Design Contest

It’s time to produce our next run of T-shirts to be distributed at this season’s events, and we are inviting you to participate. We are looking for designs that are eye-catching and creative and reflect the spirit of HPA Motorsports’ current line up of project cars, products, performance, etc.

PRIZES

Winner will receive a $150 gift certificate to HPA Motorsports (and, of course, a copy of the final t-shirt!)

People’s Choice winner (as voted on by VW Vortex users) will receive a $50 gift certificate to HPA Motorsports (and a copy of the final t-shirt)

RULES

1) The design must be your original work and you must own the rights to it.

2) Placement of the design on the shirt is up to you. Front, back, sleeve, whatever your creative heart desires. Maximum two imprint locations per design

3) The design must incorporate our logo (available for download here)

4) Ideally, design should be suitable for printing on White or Black t-shirt. Maximum of 8 colors are to be used. Hint: our corporate colors are blue and orange!

5) Submit as many designs as you like. Remember, we're looking for a good design, so we encourage multiple submissions because that gives us more to choose from.

6) By submitting your design you grant HPA Motorsports the exclusive right to publish your work on our website and/or use the image on t-shirts and/or for other HPA promotional materials.

7) Submit design to: tshirtcontest@hpamotorsport.com as jpegs or gifs, at 72 dpi, no larger than 500X500, along with your name, email address, phone number and a short description of your concept.

Designs that are selected as finalists will need to be available as Illustrator/vector artwork or high-resolution raster files in CYMK or spot colors for printing, so please bear this in mind when creating your designs. 300dpi at final print size is optimal.

* we reserve the right to print our own design should none of the submissions be deemed appropriate…

Deadline for Entries: April 30th. Winner will be selected by Mid May. Have Fun, and Good Luck! More information on http://www.hpamotorsports.com