Full Throttle

SuperCarDirect.com CEO John Sweeney, who runs the nation’s largest free car classified website, has taken a novel approach to eliminating executive perks. He sold the company’s jet and now drives a NASCAR race car to work.

“We took a NASCAR we had been running on the race circuit, fitted it with lights, seat belts, windshield wipers etc. to be street legal, and that’s my everyday vehicle,” says Sweeney, an avid car collector. “There are no windows, so my suit gets a bit damp in the rain, but expression of people’s faces and the reaction of the cops is priceless.”

Sweeney started SuperCarDirect to bring free car classifieds to the Internet. The site enables sellers to list as many vehicles as they want, complete with contact information, maps, vehicle description and up to 20 photos for each listing. Listings are completely free and can be renewed every 60 days.

“AutoTrader.com, Cars.com, eBayMotors – they’re all basically ripping off their customers,” Sweeney contends.

“Craigslist showed that free classifieds are the future, and SuperCarDirect.com has done the same thing for vehicles. We’ve grown to more than 600,000 listings in less than two years, so we know it can be done. I am building a brand because of my own passion for cars and the experience of paying tons of cash for useless ads. I’m not making a dime, but as the public learns about our site I believe we will attract a sponsor to help with marketing and refining the site’s technology.”