Hi Molly, This is Jock from DealerPeak.com The idea seems pretty incredible but it's not all that difficult from a technical standpoint.  We have the same capability on our CRM/Website platform.  You see the servers have awareness of where a site visitor comes from, the referring URL.  Based on that you can view from within the CRM where those users are coming from.  We take it a step further by matching up the site visitor with the information we have on that visitor in the CRM.  So you can actually see that "Joe Smith" is now on your website in real-time and you can also see how many times he's visited, how many cars he's bought from you, if he has any active leads with you etc. etc.  It's very cool technology and opens up huge sales opportunities if someone is watching it. To my knowledge VINSolutions and DealerPeak are the only one's who have it. We call ours CyberSonar.  Hope this answers your question.

ahh... IDK maybe because I helped build both?

They're really 2 different systems. But, It's not a fair fight. HN has all the advantages, it's up to the project managers to make it happen.

can anyone explain the technology behind VIN? how can VIN do the following: (from Ralph's blog): VinLens also lets the dealer see where the customer has been before visiting the website so they can track their advertising better and tailor their approach to each customer based on the information they have seen

what do you mean "eat crap and die" strategy? can you provide something specific?

Lol....Joe, what makes you think Dale Pollak is going to allow HomeNet 2.0 to compete with Dale's famous vAuto Cheese Comment Builder?

Jeff,

thanks for the info. I'll check it out.

Thanks Joe -- great feedback.  So I actually just recently signed up with eCarList as a compliment to HomeNet to handle the comment builder and equipment description (and export that to HomeNet which will still handle all my exports out to websites, etc).  At this point I'm not overwhelmed with eCarList, but the cost was reasonable enough that I figured it was worth trying them out.  Do you have any other recommendations of a reasonably priced product to help with this piece until HomeNet releases 2.0?  Gotta have an easy, intuitive interface (something I also think homenet can improve) as I'm looking to move the vehicle equipment/description updating process to more of a secretarial duty (with some guidance) rather than being constantly behind trying to do it myself.  I really hope what you've heard regarding 2.0 does come to fruition...in a perfect world we do everything through HomeNet and not have to shop for an additional product to handle what they should be able to do...

Hang in there Bryan,

I work with the entire group at Homenet and I can tell you that for everything that drives you nuts, they have a solution that is under-construction.

I haven't seen 2.0, but I know that ALL care about getting it right.

For example, the Comment Generator...

I helped with their Comment Generator (CG) early on. In multiple phone meetings, I described to them a big a** organizational chart of how all the data points could be merged into a multi-paragraph composition that would deliver a non-machine like read that would be centered on the END USER (aka "the person that pays our bills!").

I also described to HomeNet the need for the CG to deliver the knockout punch in opening paragraph, and how to do it because the 1st 125 characters make the AutoTrader SRP.

After those initial phone calls I haven't heard or seen a thing. I am worried they'll miss the mark (like vAuto did). I've been offering them my assistance and they insist that I'll love the new Comment Generator.

It would take me pages and pages to describe all the difficulties that need to be over come. I hope they nailed it!

The VP of product development that took over the CG (I forget her name! grrrr) is VERY VERY sharp. Based on my read of her skills, I have HIGH HOPES that we're going to be very happy.

If they missed the mark, I'll be VERY VERY vocal.

Interesting you mention homenet iol 2.0 Joe. Any more info on when we'll see this? I'm a long time homenet user and a fan of iol in general, but really have been dying of late for a more updated, dynamic version of their product. Particularly when it comes to building comments and interesting equipment descriptions, the current iol (which really hasn't been updated in years) leaves a lot to be desired.

For the record.

I love sarcasm and this was just having a little fun with Mr Perry's buying spree. 

The way I see it, if Chip Perry can get all his teams, his team leaders
and his players lined up, there will be no more important asset a dealer
could own than a VINsolutions web site.

The Digital Marketing HUB is Homenet.... Think about it.

HomeNet is very close to releasing Webiol 2.0.  It has been in alpha and
beta for years.  A pet peeve of AutoTrader has been the awful text only
VDPs.  Now with the new HomeNet acquisition, Webiol 2.0 could be easily
"optimized" for a new AT VDP.

Ok, if the Homenet to AT path can be "optimized" then why not Homenet to VinSolutions?

How is that possible? 
There are vast amounts of data that resides in
Homenet and getting access to it all highly complex.  Due to this
complexity, the full potential of leveraging all this info has never
been fully explored. 

Look at my website, http://www.usedcarking.com/. It's a 4 year old indie
site built by HomeNet & me. Homenet is not in the biz of building
websites, but, I convinced them to do it. It's packed with lots of interesting data points.... yet there are a mountain of UN-EXPLORED digital marketing opportunities that
lie within Homenet's system. As of today no one is closer to HomeNet's ocean of data than
VinSolutions.

Heads up to VIN.
Access to data means nothing without creative thinking to leverage it.  Data/programming knowledge and creativity are strange bedfellows.  You need to seek out HomeNet employee Matt Scalcione. We have been working together for years (and I've trained him well

AutoTrader Buys AutoNation.

To Our Valued Dealer Partners,

We want to share some exciting news. 
AutoTrader.com has entered into an agreement to acquire AutoNation (NYSE: AN). As of June 1st, 2011 The newly formed entity will be called AutoTraderNation.  

AutoNation is the worlds largest automotive retailer, and, as AutoTrader's CEO Pip Cherry said, "What the h*ll, we're already everywhere you look, I got some cash left in my checkbook... ReyRey's too much of a cluster*, why not get in our dealers face and show them a few VDP tricks?"

AutoNation,  a leading provider of competition to dealers from Coast to Coast is not-so excited about this shot-gun marriage.  AutoNation's CEO, Mike Hackson was last seen being escorted out by armed guard holding one small cardboard box.   AutoNation Middle Managers were seen walking around in a "I've seen death" stare, while trying to look as if it's all ok. The drama was so thick you could export it to Bollywood.

Autotrader would like to take this moment to remind you all that dealer software solutions have evolved and become a more integral part of dealership operations. In response, AutoTrader.com has made several strategic business acquisitions, including vAuto, CDMdata, HomeNet, VinSolutions, Jeff Kershner and now AutoNation in an effort to bring together a big a** mess of stuff to address the changing needs of your business.

Our CEO, Pip Cherry notes: "These acquisitions nicely complement each other, but, until the checkbook dries up, we're not done becoming the biggest fish in our little pond." Mr Pip Cherry also noted: "While I have been courting Bob Rockman, The CEO of Reynolds and Cluster Company, I asked him about his recent merger, specifically as reported be the Houston Business Journal,

"...the blending of the two firms has created a culture clash that's led to the departure of Reynolds employees, from executives to field technicians, both through lay-offs and of their own volition, since last August [2006]. Reynolds' local employee base has shrunk at least 10 percent since January 2006." Reynolds and Reynolds - Wikipedia

Bob Rockman paused before he answered me and said... "CHOP IT! That's how you doooz it!" A&E TV Shows | A&E"  Impressed, I countered with "Nuf' Said".

Mr Cherry continued.... "Consistent with AutoTrader.com’s other acquisitions
over the past 12 months, AutoNation will become a subsidiary of
AutoTrader.com and will be hereby known as AutoTraderNation and will maintain its headquarters where ever I tell them to go. AutoNation will continue to operate independently and function as it does today under current CEO, my brother in law, Joe Palooka."

Thank you for your continued support. If you have any immediate
questions,  or, if you'd like to sell us something,  please contact anyone with a checkbook like your local Advertising Consultant, or call our Customer Acquisitions Team at 800-GIVE-ITTOME.

AutoTrader Buys AutoNation.

To Our Valued Dealer Partners,

We want to share some exciting news. 
AutoTrader.com has entered into an agreement to acquire AutoNation (NYSE: AN). As of June 1st, 2011 The newly formed entity will be called AutoTraderNation.  

AutoNation is the worlds largest automotive retailer, and, as AutoTrader's CEO Pip Cherry said, "What the h*ll, we're already everywhere you look, I got some cash left in my checkbook... ReyRey's too much of a cluster*, why not get in our dealers face and show them a few VDP tricks?"

AutoNation,  a leading provider of competition to dealers from Coast to Coast is not-so excited about this shot-gun marriage.  AutoNation's CEO, Mike Hackson was last seen being escorted out by armed guard holding one small cardboard box.   AutoNation Middle Managers were seen walking around in a "I've seen death" stare, while trying to look as if it's all ok. The drama was so thick you could export it to Bollywood.

Autotrader would like to take this moment to remind you all that dealer software solutions have evolved and become a more integral part of dealership operations. In response, AutoTrader.com has made several strategic business acquisitions, including vAuto, CDMdata, HomeNet, VinSolutions, Jeff Kershner and now AutoNation in an effort to bring together a big a** mess of stuff to address the changing needs of your business.

Our CEO, Pip Cherry notes: "These acquisitions nicely complement each other, but, until the checkbook dries up, we're not done becoming the biggest fish in our little pond." Mr Pip Cherry also noted: "While I have been courting Bob Rockman, The CEO of Reynolds and Cluster Company, I asked him about his recent merger, specifically as reported be the Houston Business Journal,

"...the blending of the two firms has created a culture clash that's led to the departure of Reynolds employees, from executives to field technicians, both through lay-offs and of their own volition, since last August [2006]. Reynolds' local employee base has shrunk at least 10 percent since January 2006." Reynolds and Reynolds - Wikipedia

Bob Rockman paused before he answered me and said... "CHOP IT! That's how you doooz it!" A&E TV Shows | A&E"  Impressed, I countered with "Nuf' Said".

Mr Cherry continued.... "Consistent with AutoTrader.com’s other acquisitions
over the past 12 months, AutoNation will become a subsidiary of
AutoTrader.com and will be hereby known as AutoTraderNation and will maintain its headquarters where ever I tell them to go. AutoNation will continue to operate independently and function as it does today under current CEO, my brother in law, Joe Palooka."

Thank you for your continued support. If you have any immediate
questions,  or, if you'd like to sell us something,  please contact anyone with a checkbook like your local Advertising Consultant, or call our Customer Acquisitions Team at 800-GIVE-ITTOME.

by putting all of these pieces together, ATC can revoke the need for a DMS. 

 I thought of a second question: 

Autotrader - was VinSolutions your first choice?

 It makes a good IPO road show story but time will tell if these AT acquired companies will be innovative and customer orientated after the IPO.

That’s a bunch of overlapping solutions with attached big ego personalities for AT to mash into a single soup-to-nuts login solution. Because of the wide overlapping, my guess is one of these acquired companies (like Vauto) will emerge as the “alpha” acquiree and the others (like Vin Solutions) will be slowly sunsetted; that’s how this game usually plays out and when the internal pie throwing begins. As the old saying goes, “the devil is in the details”.

Jeff- I agree but also disagree. DealerRater can also be duplicated given the right resources. Take some time and drill down into what Presto offers. I think you'll be surprised. 

Cincidealer-
I spend $395mo w/PrestoReviews. I chose to partner with PR because it's more flexible with gathering reviews and it's platform optimizes better than DealerRater. Mind you I also use DealerRater because of the way it displays on my Places page. PR allows me to optimize better via Geo-Targeting through City-Sites. This will be the difference as customer behavior continues to evolve through keyword searches containing the word review(s). Ex- Longview Chevrolet Reviews, Tyler Chevrolet Reviews. Some consumers may use the keyword dealer in the above examples. Both platforms roll-up into my places page so I get the benefit of the number of reviews displayed. It's an aggregate game. Contact Scott Falcone CEO PrestoReviews for more details 773.491.9555

 Only time will tell where the product suite will go but I hope that the value stays the same.  I thinks that this will only enhance VINs backing for growth and will inprove customer service, speed of upgrades and server stability. If they leave the main structure of VIN intact it would be set-up for a "WIN, WIN" situation. Good luck to both sides!

Be one with AutoTrader? 

Hopefully they can find a way to integrate vAuto's market pricing tools into VIN's inventory management system

A year or two ago I would have been very worried about this news. I
hated AutoTrader and they were my least favorite Internet company
for years. They have really changed the last couple of years and I've
grown to understand them and have changed my perception of them. They also have left VAuto alone and that
relationship hasn't changed since they bought it so I am going under the
assumption that they will leave Vin Solutions alone to do what they do
and just support them with $$$ to help them continue to grow! Vin Solutions has been a great addition to our Dealership and I look forward to even more success!

A year or two ago I would have been very worried about this news. I
hated AutoTrader and they were my least favorite Internet company
for years. They have really changed the last couple of years and I've
grown to understand them and have changed my perception of them. They also have left VAuto alone and that
relationship hasn't changed since they bought it so I am going under the
assumption that they will leave Vin Solutions alone to do what they do
and just support them with $$$ to help them continue to grow! Vin Solutions has been a great addition to our Dealership and I look forward to even more success!

Jeff, 

went to your site and saw you have presto on your dealer site. Just out of curiosity, what is the monthly cost of that program   

I feel the next acquisition has to be a review platform. Question is which? DealerRater or PrestoReviews??

 The question of whether this and similar consolidation of providers will be a "win" for dealers... I tend to think, yes... while obviously a generalization, I think companies have learned from the mistakes of previous acquisition companies which sought to do just for their own financial gain.  I truly believe that Dominion and other similar companies, will have a win/win mentality because you always needs to be #learning to get better!