Systems and methods for facilitating the purchase of one or more vehicles

• US 10,102,555 B2
• Filed: 10/26/2012
• Issued: 10/16/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AutoTrader.com, Inc. (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: AutoTrader.com, Inc. (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Inventors: Park, Nicholas James, Hygema, Melanie Allgood, Kelly, Brett Michael, Zavitz, Brian Cameron, Russek, Pamela Ann, Puente, Jose Ignacio
• Primary Examiner(s): Shui, Ming
• Application Number:
  US13/661,255
• Publication Number:
  US 20140067615A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,181 Days
• Field of Search: 705 261- 272
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0601 Electronic shopping [e-shopping]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0629 for generating comparisons
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0631 Item recommendations
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0643 Graphical representation of items or shoppers

Abstract

Illustrative embodiments may generally be directed to, among other things, a platform for providing information to one or more consumers to facilitate the purchase of one or more vehicles. In one embodiment, the platform may provide information associated with one or more OEMs and their vehicle product lines. In another embodiment, the platform may facilitate selecting, building, modifying, comparing, and/or purchasing one or more vehicles. In yet another embodiment, the platform may determine inventory data corresponding to actual available inventory at one or more dealerships.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

providing, over a network, by one or more computers comprising one or more processors, a visual representation of one or more Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)s, to one or more user computing devices;

receiving, by the one or more computers, an indication of a selection of at least one of the one or more OEMs from the one or more user computing devices;

determining, by the one or more computers, a first geographic location associated with one of the one or more user computing devices, wherein the first geographic location is a physical location of the one or more user computing devices;

determining, by the one or more computers, a second geographic location associated with a dealership of the one or more dealerships;

determining, by the one or more computers, that a distance between the first geographic location and the second geographic location is within a threshold distance;

determining, by the one or more computers, inventory data corresponding to available inventory associated with the one or more OEMs at the dealership;

providing, by the one or more computers and based at least in part on the indication of the selection of at least one of the one or more OEMs, content associated with the selected OEM to the one of the one or more user computing devices, wherein the content associated with the selected OEM comprises a visual representation of one or more vehicle product lines;

receiving, by the one or more computers, an indication of a selection of a particular vehicle of the one or more vehicle product lines;

sending, by the one or more computers and based at least in part on the indication of the selection of the particular vehicle, the inventory data, the second geographic location, and a visual representation of a vehicle in the available inventory that at least partially matches the particular vehicle to the one of the one or more user computing devices, the visual representation of the particular vehicle comprising one or more hyperlinks which specifies the location of a data source, wherein the data source stores one or more of;

information associated with dealer incentives, payment tables, credit information, financing options, or insurance options for the particular vehicle, wherein the visual representation of the particular vehicle is configured to be displayed on the one of the one or more user computing devices and enables connection via the one or more hyperlinks to the data source over the network when the one or more user computing devices are in communication with the one or more computers;

determining, by the one or more computers, that the vehicle includes an additional feature that is not included in the particular vehicle, wherein the additional feature is a first vehicle characteristic difference;

determining, by the one or more computers, that the vehicle is missing a feature that is included in the particular vehicle, wherein the feature that is missing is a second vehicle characteristic difference; and

causing, by the one or more computers, the first vehicle characteristic difference and the second vehicle characteristic difference to be presented in a user interface element that is separate from a listing of features of the particular vehicle at the one of the one or more user computing devices.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the arrangement of the plurality of OEMs is based at least in part on a predetermined relationship.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the predetermined relationship is based at least in part on one or more of (i) a fee paid by the OEM for preferred placement, (ii) a saved preference received by the one or more computers, or (iii) a default placement.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the content associated with the selected OEM is based at least in part on a predetermined relationship.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the predetermined relationship is based at least in part on one or more of (i) a fee paid by the OEM for preferred placement, (ii) a saved preference received by the one or more computers, or (iii) a default content.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the inventory data is based at least in part on data received from one or more inventory databases of the one or more dealerships.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual representation of the particular vehicle comprises an interactive visual representation.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein providing content associated with the particular vehicle comprises one or more of:

visual content associated with the particular vehicle, media content associated with the particular vehicle;

one or more descriptions of characteristics, specifications, or features associated with the particular vehicle;

news associated with the particular vehicle;

a rating associated with the particular vehicle;

or a location of one or more dealerships where the particular vehicle is available.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing, by the one or more computers, information associated with one or more third parties.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the one or more third parties comprise one or more service providers for financing a purchase of the particular vehicle or insuring the particular vehicle.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, by the one or more computers, information associated with one or more of:

the one or more OEMs, the one or more vehicle product lines, or the particular vehicle.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the one or more computers, an indication of a selection of one or more desired characteristics or features associated with the particular vehicle; and

determining, by the one or more computers, inventory data corresponding to actual available inventory at the one of the one or more dealerships for the particular vehicle comprising the one or more desired characteristics or features, wherein the inventory data is based at least in part on data received from one or more inventory databases of the one or more dealerships.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining, by the one or more computers and based at least in part on the one or more desired characteristics or features, one or more comparably configured vehicles comprising one or more makes, models, trims, customizations, or combinations thereof that correspond to the particular vehicle and the one or more of the desired characteristics or features associated with the particular vehicle.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising providing, by the one or more computers, a comparison of the particular vehicle comprising the one or more desired characteristics or features and the comparably configured vehicles.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving, by the one or more computers, an indication of a selection of a particular vehicle of the one or more vehicle product lines comprises:

receiving a selection of a first vehicle from an available inventory associated with a first dealership; and

receiving a selection of a second vehicle from an available inventory associated with a second dealership, wherein the selection of the first vehicle and the selection of the second vehicle are received from a website hosted by the one or more computers.

16. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the one or more computers, content preference data associated with the one or more computing devices, wherein the content preference data indicates a content type preference of either video or image; and

selecting, by the one or more computers, the content associated with the selected OEM using the content preference data.

17. A computer system, comprising:

at least one memory that stores computer-executable instructions;

at least one processor configured to access the at least one memory, wherein the at least one processor is configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to;

provide a visual representation of the one or more Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM)s to a user computing device over a network;

receive, from the user computing device, an indication of a selection of at least one of the one or more OEMs over the network;

determine a first geographic location of the user computing device;

determine a second geographic location associated with a dealership of the one or more dealerships;

determine that a distance between the first geographic location and the second geographic location is within a threshold distance;

determine inventory data corresponding to available inventory at one or more dealerships associated with the selected OEM at the dealership;

provide, based at least in part on the indication of the selection of at least one of the one or more OEMs, a visual representation of one or more vehicle product lines associated with the selected OEM, wherein the content associated with the visual representation of the one or more vehicle product lines is based at least in part on the predetermined relationship;

receive, from the user computing device, an indication of a selection of a particular vehicle of the one or more vehicle product lines over the network;

send, based at least in part on the indication of the selection of the particular vehicle, the inventory data, the second geographic location, and a visual representation of a vehicle in the available inventory that at least partially matches the particular vehicle to the user computing device over the network, the visual representation of the particular vehicle comprising one or more hyperlinks which specifies the location of a data source, wherein the data source stores one or more of;

information associated with dealer incentives, payment tables, credit information, financing options, or insurance options for the particular vehicle, wherein the visual representation is configured to be displayed on the user computing device and enables connection via the one or more hyperlinks to the data source over the network when the user computing device is in communication with the computer system;

determine a first vehicle characteristic difference between the vehicle and the particular vehicle, wherein the first vehicle characteristic is an additional feature;

determine a second vehicle characteristic difference between the vehicle and the particular vehicle, wherein the second vehicle characteristic is a missing feature; and

cause the first vehicle characteristic difference and the second vehicle characteristic difference to be presented in a user interface element that is separate from a listing of features of the particular vehicle at the user computing device.

18. The computer system of claim 17, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to execute the computer-executable instructions to:

receive a selection of a first vehicle from an available inventory associated with a first dealership; and

receive a selection of a second vehicle from an available inventory associated with a second dealership, wherein the selection of the first vehicle and the selection of the second vehicle are received from a website hosted by the computer system.

19. One or more computer-readable media storing computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a server comprising at least one processor, configure the at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving an indication of a selection of one or more dealerships from a user computing device over a network;

providing, based at least in part on the indication of the selection of the one or more dealerships, an application interface comprising a visual representation of one or more vehicle product lines associated with the selected dealership;

determining inventory data corresponding to actual available inventory at the one or more dealerships, wherein the inventory data is based at least in part on data received from one or more inventory databases of the one or more dealerships;

determining a geographic location of the user computing device and of the one of the one or more dealerships;

determining that a distance between the respective geographic locations is within a threshold distance;

receiving an indication of a selection of one or more vehicles in the actual inventory of the one of the one or more dealerships from the user computing device over the network;

providing, by the server and based at least in part on the indication of the selection of the particular vehicle, the inventory data, the geographic location of the one of the one or more dealerships, and a visual representation of a vehicle in the available inventory that at least partially matches the particular vehicle to the user computing device over the network, the visual representation of the particular vehicle comprising one or more hyperlinks which specifies the location of a data source, wherein the data source stores one or more of;

information associated with dealer incentives, payment tables, credit information, financing options, or insurance options for the particular vehicle, wherein the visual representation of the particular vehicle is configured to be displayed on the user computing device and enables connection via the one or more hyperlinks to the data source over the network when the user computing device is in communication with the server;

determining a first vehicle characteristic difference between the vehicle and the particular vehicle, wherein the first vehicle characteristic is an additional feature;

determining a second vehicle characteristic difference between the vehicle and the particular vehicle, wherein the second vehicle characteristic is a missing feature;

causing the first vehicle characteristic difference and the second vehicle characteristic difference to be presented in a user interface element that is presented separately from a listing of features of the particular vehicle at the user computing device;

receiving an indication of at least one of;

(i) an offer to the one or more dealerships for the one or more vehicles;

or (ii) a request for an offer from the one or more dealerships for the one or more vehicles from the user computing device over the network; and

transmitting at least one of;

(i) the offer to the one or more dealerships for the one or more vehicles;

or (ii) the request for an offer from the one or more dealerships for the one or more vehicles to the user computing device over the network.

20. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 19, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving a selection of a first vehicle from an available inventory associated with a first dealership; and

receiving a selection of a second vehicle from an available inventory associated with a second dealership, wherein the selection of the first vehicle and the selection of the second vehicle are received from a website hosted by the server.