Edmunds Inc., publisher of four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders, today announced that veteran automotive journalist John O'Dell has joined its editorial team as Senior Editor. O'Dell reports to Editorial Director Kevin Smith and works in Edmunds' Santa Monica office.

O'Dell came to the position upon leaving the Los Angeles Times, where he served as reporter and occasional editor since 1980. His 35-year career as a journalist has been marked by numerous awards for professional excellence in writing, research and project development.



In his new role O'Dell is focusing on an area of great personal interest: the automotive industry's environmental efforts and undertakings. Using the existing Edmunds' Green Car Guide as a foundation, he will build the popular channel to meet growing interest in topics such as hybrid cars, alternative fuels, technological developments and gas-saving tips.

"John's reputation for quality journalism lends itself perfectly to our goal of providing the industry's most compelling 'green car' coverage," stated Kevin Smith, Editorial Director for Edmunds. "John has covered the auto industry for nearly a decade, and focused on politics, government, economics and consumer affairs before that, so he brings a great deal of topical expertise, creative ideas and valuable sources to the Edmunds Web sites."

"Much of the industry's research and development is now aimed at producing fuel savings, energy independence and environmental benefits, so there will be no shortage of reporting opportunities," said O'Dell. "I look forward to working with the team to cover this topic in a way that will best serve Edmunds' vast audience."

About Edmunds Inc. (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)
Edmunds Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True Market Value®, is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site" by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site" according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites. Inside Line launched in 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace launched in 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site and home to the oldest and most established automotive community. AutoObserver.com launched in 2007 and provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.

Source: Edmunds