RoadLoans.com® Named Preferred Auto Lender for Cars.com™ Customers

DALLAS, April 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Online automotive research site Cars.com has selected RoadLoans.com as its exclusive lender for its online customers. Visitors to Cars.com, newcars.com and pickuptrucks.com can get pre-approved for auto financing as part of their automotive shopping experience.

RoadLoans.com is a leading online auto lender specializing in new and used auto financing for customers with all types of credit seeking a direct lending experience. RoadLoans.com also offers customers the opportunity to refinance an existing auto loan. Founded in 1997, RoadLoans.com is owned by Santander Consumer USA Inc., a leading automotive finance company in the U.S.

Consumers shopping at Cars.com will have the option to select financing as part of their search for a particular vehicle. Once at the Car Financing Center, shoppers can complete a secure online loan application and receive a loan decision in less than a minute. Consumers may customize their auto loan, selecting their preferences for Annual Percentage Rate ("APR"), loan term (months) and down payment amount. Consumers will also benefit from educational tools such as payment calculators, car videos, online chat with an auto loan specialist, and contact information for the dealer selling the vehicle.

"Cars.com and RoadLoans.com are leaders in the online car shopping market, and are uniquely positioned to connect approved consumers with participating dealers," says Lana Johnson, vice president of originations for Santander Consumer USA.

"RoadLoans has helped hundreds of thousands of people receive auto financing before they ever set foot in a dealership, which removes much of the anxiety consumers feel when they purchase a car," adds Johnson. "Cars.com is a trusted brand by millions of people, and their Web presence coupled with our finance capabilities allow us to help more customers purchase a car."

"Cars.com is thrilled to work with RoadLoans.com to offer real-time finance decisions to our customers by a trusted, global banking leader like Santander," says Mark Seaton, director of new business for Cars.com.

"Cars.com customers will be more empowered than ever to get the vehicle they are looking for with a pre-approved voucher from a respected lender. RoadLoans.com has the ability to offer competitive financing to all credit types from prime, to non-prime to sub-prime, which was very important to us," stated Seaton. "Cars.com is a premier site and brand among auto shoppers, and by working with RoadLoans.com we deliver a true win for our customers and dealers."

About RoadLoans.com and Santander Consumer USA Inc.

Santander Consumer USA Inc., owner of the Drive®, Santander Auto Finance® and RoadLoans.com® brands, is a leading company in the automotive finance sector, whose core business is indirect, direct and third-party originations and servicing of auto loans. The company has a serviced auto loan portfolio of approximately $21 billion and relationships with nearly 13,000 dealers in the U.S. The company began originating loans in 1997 and is headquartered in Dallas. (http://www.santanderconsumerusa.com and http://www.roadloans.com)

Santander Consumer USA is a unit of Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N, BNC.LN), a retail and commercial bank, based in Spain, with a presence in 10 main markets. At the end of 2010, Santander was the largest bank in the euro zone and 10th in the world by market capitalization. Founded in 1857, Santander had at year-end EUR 1,362 billion in managed funds, more than 95 million customers, 14,082 branches – more than any other international bank – and 179,000 employees. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America. Furthermore, it has significant positions in the United Kingdom, Portugal, the U.S. northeast and, through its Santander Consumer Finance arm, in Germany and Poland. Santander registered euro 8,181 million in net attributable profit in 2010.

About Cars.com

Cars.com is an award-winning online destination for car shoppers that offers information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. With price listings, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions. Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

SOURCE Santander Consumer USA Inc.