LI car dealers offered new image galleries

A subsidiary of DealerTrack Holdings Inc., a Lake Success-based maker of sales software for car dealerships, has introduced a new feature, a comprehensive image gallery, to help market vehicles.

The subsidiary, Chrome Systems Inc., offers dealers online access to an array of as many as 21 detailed photographs of each vehicle for online sales presentations and advertisements.

The images are of  "the most requested exterior and interior vehicle views, and three exterior angles of color-matched images in every paint color available for specific vehicles and models," Chrome Systems Inc. said.

The images are intended for use in "enhancing vehicle descriptions and creating eye-catching online presentations," the company said.

Shares of DealerTrack, trading on the Nasdaq as TRAK, were up $0.62 in premarket trading Thursday, to $20.95. In the past year, shares are up 7.16 percent. With 1,200 employees and a market capitalization of $856 million, the company made $1.6 million profit on $291.3 million in sales in the past year, with earnings per share, diluted, of $0.04.

Chrome Systems is based in Portland, Ore.

"Our new Chrome Image Gallery is the next best thing to a test drive," Amit Maheshwari, general manager of DealerTrack Data Services, said in a news release.

"Chrome's studio-quality multiview and color-matched images deliver the broad coverage and exact angles automotive retailers need to economically enhance their online vehicle data and take their listings to the next level of presentation."

DealerTrack told Newsday last month that it's looking at better business conditions and plans on hiring about 200 people this year and next.

DealerTrack provides about 17,000 auto dealerships across the country -- including 180 on Long Island -- with software services such as inventory management and online credit applications. It's looking to hire for the technical side of its business.