Hyundai Aftermarket - Hyundai Aftermarket.org Acquired By Internet Brands

Everyone,

I would like to take a moment and announce something big that has happened with Hyundai Aftermarket.org. As many of you know, I have been in the Hyundai scene since 1999. I have seen many sites grow, and shut down or fail. Other sites, have succeeded but have also been acquired. I have watched Hyundai Aftermarket.org grow over the years, as if it was my own child. The site has gone through MANY changes, ranging from content, to members, to the look and feel. Some of you have been in the scene along with me since the days of T-H-C, FxTreme, Team SR, KORE, HP, etc. It has gotten to the point from the past 12 years, that I have taken this site as far as I could possibly take it, with the help of all of you and the staff. Hyundai Aftermarket is a legacy...it is the Godfather site for anyone who has been in the Hyundai community for many years. This site holds the key information that founded Hyundai tuning. Its a library of where we came from, and it continues to grow each and every day.

With growth, comes problems. Over the past few months, the site has started to see its share of issues due to the growth it has been having. Slower site speeds, screwy search, down time, etc. I have also been having a hard time finding time to market the site on an ongoing basis, like I did in the past with press releases, SEO, etc. As of now, the main marketing the site sees is from you the members via the social networks and word of mouth.

I was approached by a company named Internet Brands not too long ago, and discussions were made via conference calls. Initially, I had a difficult time trying to decide if this was a smart move. However, after careful thought, lots of discussions between Internet Brands and myself, and even talking with Floyd and Brandon...my decision came to be to allow a much large entity take the site to the next level.

Some of you may be asking why I did this. Well, the pros of this far outweighed the cons. For example, the site will be on a new server that will put the current server to shame. The site will be much more quicker, the search function will work flawlessly, there will be next to no unscheduled downtime, and all maintenance of the site will be off my plate. It also means the site will be backed by a very large company that has years of experience marketing and working with automotive websites. It also means I have more time to dedicate helping members, getting the word out about Hyundai Aftermarket, and even getting Hyundai USA on board with some new promotions for the members.

What does this mean for me, the staff, the members, the vendors, and how much will the site change?

As for me...I’m not going anywhere. I know in the past when other sites have been acquired, the admins disappear. Thats not happening here! I will remain on the site as an Admin, Floyd & Brandon will still be Admins, and all of staff will still be Moderators. In fact, Internet Brands may not even be on the site a whole lot. So for the staff...nothing is changing.

As for the site, this was one of my biggest concerns. You all know that HA has been banner ad free for years, other than the small vendor ads. I also know what companies like Auto Guide.com do to sites, and what they have done to HP, Gencoupe, and other automotive sites. First off, it is not Internet Brands idea to disrupt sites from the way they have worked and operated over the years. They try to maintain things as smoothly as they can without major changes to the look and feel of it all. So I can assure you that there will not be a ridiculous amount of banner ads everywhere like there is on the Auto Guides forums. There wont be any more spam than there is now (one spam bot every couple of months currently).

Will there be ads on the site? Yes, but a minimal amount and however...ALL CURRENT MEMBERS WILL BE PLACED IN A USER GROUP THAT DOES NOT SEE THE ADS ONCE LOGGED IN! So anyone who is a currently registered will only see ads when logged out. New members going forward will see a few, but we are talking a small amount, to the point where no one will even really notice.

We will also have memberships available, which members can choose to buy in or not. We have not yet discussed what paid memberships will get you once you buy one, but they will be there if you choose to support the site. Obviously, for you to be a paid member, we will make it worth your while.

As for the vendors, Internet Brands will reach out to each of you and speak one-on-one with you. However, just like the members...any current vendor on the site will not be charged a fee to have their own area to advertise. Unlike other forums that charge alot of money, we will not be charging the current vendors. All NEW vendors coming on board will have a fee, but rest assured that it will be a minimal amount and will be nothing at all like what is charged on the Auto Guide forums.

Please have trust in me when I say this is all a good thing and it will benefit the community going forward. The site will see an increase in registrations, marketing, operations, and so on. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask. I have always made this site a site that the members can be proud and honored to be apart of. I assure you that things will only get better, and the future is very bright going forward.

Thank you for all you have done to support and help the site grow over the years, and as always...I’m available to speak to anyone at any time if they need anything!

Joshua Volpe

- Visionz