Competition in the used vehicle business is stronger than ever, and it’s coming from all sides.Hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital has been invested into online sales platforms like Carvana and Vroom. General Motors is selling vehicles direct to the public through its GM Factory Collection. Utility models of transportation are weakening America’s...

President Trump, autonomous vehicles, and digital retailing will be in the driver’s seat for automotive disruption in 2017. The old guards of the industry continue to be challenged by new start-ups with totally bleeding edge business models. Merger and Acquisition activity in the auto space has been white hot according to Frazer McCombs Auto Ventures Summit. In...

None of us know anyone who would look back on their first car purchase and say, "Ah, I miss the good old days of buying and financing a car?"

Even baby boomers and Generation Xers recall their first car financing deal with groans more normally associated with root canals. Millennials in particular, with their one second click-to-load screen tolerance, have zero...

SAN FRANCISCO - Today’s car-buying marketplace demands nothing less than a connected, personalized customer experience. Consumers want dealerships to know who they are and what their interests are, and to anticipate the types of cars and services they need. They want to reach their salesperson whenever it’s convenient for them, whether by voice, e-mail, video or...

Start-ups aim to change how you buy a car

February 27, 2016

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Althea Chang

Car shoppers are increasingly making purchase decisions using the Web, mobile devices and apps, leading a few Silicon Valley start-ups to think the U.S. retail auto market may soon have a new home."I'd go as far to say that Silicon Valley is becoming the new Detroit for the automotive...

In the past 18 months, over $35 billion in major equity transactions have taken place within the automotive retail space. In fact, 2013 and 2014 were two of the biggest years for private equity transactions in the sector since 2002. Not since the land speed record of Mach 1.020 was set by Andy Green in October 1997 has the space moved as fast. Clearly, digitizing...

It’s 2016 and never has the used car industry faced so much disruption! Over $450 million in venture capital has been invested into new automotive start-ups like Beepi and Carvana. Moreover, GM recently announced they will sell more than 30,000 vehicles direct through their pre-owned Lease/Fleet ‘GM Factory Collection,’ and Millennials are quickly adopting utility...

Car shoppers are increasingly making purchase decisions using the Web, mobile devices and apps, leading a few Silicon Valley start-ups to think the U.S. retail auto market may soon have a new home. "I'd go as far to say that Silicon Valley is becoming the new Detroit for the automotive industry," said Zach Klempf, CEO of Selly Automotive, a firm that sells software...