Instead of spending a loathsome afternoon with a salesman, customers of Auto-by-Tel, the leading Internet car-buying service, simply tell the service what kind of car they want, and wait for nearby dealerships to make their best offer.

ECONOMIST: Electronic commerce

Geitner has scrapped Bohle's marketing plan and is offering O.tel.o service on a call-by-call basis.

FORBES: Ulrich Hartmann's second act

Others are bypassing brick and mortar dealerships altogether, choosing to buy online through a service like Auto-By-Tel.

FORBES: Web wheels

In the Web 1.0 days, he led Tel-Save, which made an exclusive deal with AOL to market long-distance service to its users.

FORBES: MagicJack's New Nasdaq-Traded Stock Soars On Guidance, Buyback