I see the paradigm shift within the used car industry more and more every day. The consumer behavior and activity is being noticed by new players within the industry - finally.

CarTango is a unique online venture with an extremely interesting concept: Social matchmaking targeting female automotive customers. The power of Web 2.0 is finally making its way to the automotive sector.

Talking with Daniel Osborne recently, CEO of CarTango, he enthusiastically shared his thoughts about his company and the industry. Automotive consumers deserve better ways to shop online - CarTango is making great strides by offering online shoppers, especially women, a creative approach to shop for the best used cars available.

WBUC: What was your driving motivation behind the launch of CarTango?

D.O: Creating a better car shopping experience for women. What we found is that by enhancing the consumer experience we were also providing dealerships with more opportunities to have better quality connections with buyers. The female demographic has been academically acknowledged by the automotive industry for years, but very little has been done to meet their unique needs. CarTango provides an innovative suite of tools designed around how women shop, and it also provides the industry the right context to connect and engage with them.

WBUC: How has the concept been received thus far?

D.O: The reception has been fantastic by both consumers and the industry. The Car Soulmate Survey has been a big hit for consumers. It is the part of our site that is receiving the most traffic.  Female consumers are looking for a better shopping experience and car dealerships are looking for better ways to connect with them. We have been very pleased.

WBUC: What [other] trends do you see developing in the retail car industry? 

D.O: The dealerships like AuctionDirectUSA that are not only adapting to the Internet trends but pioneering creative ways to use it are going to continue to be the most successful dealerships.

WBUC: What are your thoughts on major 3rd party channels being a little ‘late to the party’ with regards to not serving the retail customers’ true needs?

D.O: They have positioned themselves as a barrier between consumers and dealerships. Although this position helps make them a significant amount of money, its a disservice to buyers and sellers. Under the current model, at the point where the buyer information is captured and sold to dealerships, the buyers know little or nothing about the dealership, and are often too far from making their buying decision, or even know what car is best suited for them.

Under the current model, sellers know little or nothing about the buyers and their relevant activities online, including what other vehicles they are looking at and where else they are shopping. This information is incredibly powerful, and is what CarTango provides to dealers.

WBUC: What else do you see on the horizon for CarTango.com?

D.O: We will continue to improve the female car shopping experience and create better opportunities for car dealerships to connect with them. The more options we offer to female consumers to help them feel comfortable with the car buying experience, the more qualified the leads will be for dealers. We also plan to ultimately invite private sellers to utilize the site; thus giving women car shoppers more options and giving another seller demographic some competitive advantages that are currently unavailable to them.

WBUC: Thanks Daniel…Best of luck!

Be sure to check out CarTango.com and have fun at the dance.

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How cool does this look?

I remember being that kid in the back of the class dreaming about cars…

Do you remember the Mach 5 gadget-laden steering wheel? Eight buttons providing pure tech-heaven with 5,000HP.

• A:  Pushing this button set off the automatic jacks for instant repair jobs.  It was also used to strategically cause the car to jump when needed. 
• B: This controlled the tire’s gripping abilities regardless of the surface. Flat, ice, water, the side of a building, etc.
• C: Simply push this button when driving on lots of wood; this also controlled the two rotary saws hidden within the hood.
• D: Very cool feature…creates a transparent bullet/crash proof cover over the top of the car. Also useful when going for an underwater drive.  
• E: Night vision driving “lights” - also triggered the infrared lights in Speed Racer’s helmet.   
• F: For those underwater jaunts; provides access to the oxygen tank, a periscope and an in-car video screen.
• G: Homing Robot launcher. 
• H: This calls the Homing Robot back to the hood of the car.

Can’t wait to take the kids to this flick. [That’ll be my excuse.]

$3.71.

Supposedly, that’s the magic number gas needs to be at - on a nationwide average basis - to scare the bejesus out of drivers and create a significant slow down in every day driving habits.

Non-essential retail items have already seen a slow down occur.  Restaurants, entertainment items and real estate transactions have experienced this as well.

Consumer behaviors will continue to be shaped by the rise in gas prices.  Good-bye Vente Carmel Machiatto’s, afternoon Manny/Peddy’s and Red Sox box seats.

Sadly, drivers will continue to sacrifice their favorite guilty pleasures for the simple excitement of filling up their Hemi, driving to their friend’s house to play several hours of Wii Sports and filling it up again for the ride home.

However, a recent KBB study indicates that with a .25 increase per gallon, one-third of automotive consumers will be more willing to consider alternative, fuel-efficient vehicles over traditional octane loving models.

An entire new wave of mileage friendly vehicles is ready and waiting for those looking to cut expenses any way possible. Finding low mileage hybrids make the best used car values…when you can find them.

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