Gubagoo, which specializes in “conversational commerce solutions” for the auto industry, has launched a digital retailing solution that can activate online car-buying from dealership websites and Facebook. The Gubagoo Virtual Retailing solution utilizes messaging and live video interaction and integrates the company’s operator-assistance and engagement capabilities. It is designed to allow consumers to set up […] [Read More]

Lithia Motors’ former project lead for online sales  is now the leading strategic partnerships at Drive Motors, which develops online car-buying solutions for dealer groups and banks. Chris Gugliotta was named head of strategic partnerships at Drive Motors, following two stops at Lithia and time with Dealer.com/Cox Automotive, as well. Gugliotta’s career certainly includes parallels […] [Read More]

PERQ announced the closing of a $5 million round of funding on Monday that it plans to use in expanding its artificial intelligence-based SaaS solution into additional industries. Elevate Ventures led the funding, all of which is from investment groups and angel investors in Indianapolis, which is where PERQ is headquartered. Joining Elevate in the […] [Read More]

Paul Potratz often looks like he’s in exclusive company by his dapper appearance at Used Car Week and other industry events. Well, POTRATZ now is among companies that are part of an exclusive project involving Facebook. The dealership marketing firm was asked to participate in an exclusive Facebook Alpha Program focused on testing the efficacy […] [Read More]

Carvana has opened its 14th car vending machine, this time heading to Philadelphia to debut its latest facility. Though this is the first car vending machine in the City of Brotherly Love, Carvana has been available in this market since last year.  “Philadelphia is a city that has welcomed the new way to buy a […] [Read More]

Digital license plates are gaining momentum in the Golden State with franchised dealers leading the charge. Reviver Auto, creator of the digital license plate Rplate Pro, on Thursday announced it has partnered with the California New Car Dealers Association (CNCDA) to make the Rplate Pro more easily accessible to the customers of the organization’s more […] [Read More]

Only a couple days following the launch of a dealer-driven program, Automatic made an acquisition designed to broaden its service offering further. The SiriusXM company that can bring the power of connectivity to most vehicles on the road on Thursday announced the acquisition of PayTollo, a mobile payment platform for toll roads and bridges that can […] [Read More]

Veteran dealers understand that appraising a vehicle not only is about considering the current value as it sits in front of them, but also projecting what the figure might be to get that model rolled over the curb. Automotive artificial intelligence platform CarStory on Thursday announced the launch of CarStory Appraise — a dealer appraisal […] [Read More]

Scaling new technologies in the auto industry, including relatively new entrants like vehicle subscription services, can be complex. With apologies to “Field of Dreams,” you can’t just build it and hope scalability will come. Vince Zappa would know. He’s the president of Clutch Technologies, a software platform that facilitates vehicles subscriptions. Clutch has gone from […] [Read More]

Dealers now have a new device to sell in the used-vehicle retail sales department; and perhaps in the parts department or service drive, too. Automatic, a SiriusXM company that can bring the power of connectivity to almost any vehicle on the road, on Tuesday announced the launch of the Automatic Dealer Program, an all-new service […] [Read More]