Autoblog

Roximity location-based deal provider app launches with a friend in Ford [w/video]

George Kennedy — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 12:01:00 EST

Wouldn't it be great if your car alerted you to nearby deals as you drove by them? Austin Gayer and Danny Newman's Roximity app will appeal to you, then. The duo explains it as "a location-based alert system that allows merchants to sign up for geo-aware location deals." In other words, when you're near a place offering a deal, you get an alert on your iPhone, and since Roximity is integrating with Ford Sync, that functionality extends to Ford cars and trucks as well.

Roximity was the winning app developed during the Ford Sync App Developer Challenge at the 2011 TechCrunch Distrupt Hackathon in San Francisco. What makes it different from other deal sites, like Groupon, is that you can better tailor the deals to your interest. This way you won't get deals for vegan dining if all you want is updates on bacon cheeseburgers. Watch the video below to see Gayer and Newman explain their app firsthand.

Continue reading Roximity location-based deal provider app launches with a friend in Ford [w/video]

Roximity location-based deal provider app launches with a friend in Ford [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 12 Aug 2012 12:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Groupon deal for autos fails miserably

Jeff Glucker — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:58:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying

We live in an age of instant discounts. Groupon, Living Social, Gilt and a host of other websites offer up excellent deals on everything from designer clothes to dinner. One area those sites have yet to tap is the world of car buying. Groupon has tried, but it hasn't exactly gone swimmingly.

Partnering up with LaFontaine Automotive Group in Detroit, Groupon offered consumers a $500 coupon for the price of $199. Mind you, that's not $500 off since you just shelled out nearly 200 bucks, but you'll get a $301 reduction in the bottom line of the vehicle purchase price. LaFontaine needed at least 10 folks to jump on the Groupon deal.

Just four folks understood the deal and clicked "Buy!"

It seems this first attempt at a Groupon deal for car buying hasn't gone as well as some hoped. Customers want more bang for their buck, and $301 off the price of a new car just isn't going to cut it.

First Groupon deal for autos fails miserably originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 18 Jul 2011 18:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Groupon offers first-ever deal for car buyers

John Neff — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying

Groupon, the social media deal website/app that's racked up over 80 million members by offering 50-percent off your next hot stone massage or $10 off a large pizza from Mama Santos, is ready to start wheeling and dealing on more expensive products, namely cars.

This week the company offered its ever deal on a car: $199 for $500 off the purchase or lease of a vehicle. The catch is that the deal's only good at LaFontaine Auto in Detroit. Also, we hope you read the above closely, because the deal isn't $500 off the purchase or lease of a car, it's that you pay $199 to get $500 off, which means you're really only saving $301. And who's to say the dealer doesn't list the price of its cars a few hundred dollars higher to cover the cost of the deal? Mama Santos can't do that with her large pies; everybody in the neighborhood already knows how much they cost.

This is Groupon's first attempt at angling for car buyers, though. In this particular case, it only seems worth it if you were already planning to buy a car at LaFontaine Auto in Detroit. Otherwise, you're just saving a few hundred bucks to deal with someone new who may or may not give you the best deal on your new car purchase. In any case, we're more interested in what this means for the long-term - will Groupon make a more serious move into the auto buying space? Stay tuned.

Groupon offers first-ever deal for car buyers originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Jul 2011 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GearHeadDeals is like Groupon for the car crowd

Zach Bowman — Tue, 03 May 2011 08:31:00 EST

Filed under: Aftermarket, Etc.

Hyundai may have been the first automaker to officially partner up with Groupon, but that doesn't mean that the automotive obsessed can't find similar deals elsewhere. Gearhead Deals rounds up all of the best steals of the interwebs for your car in one location. The site picks up automotive-related deals from sites like Amazon as well as directly from manufacturers.

Rebates, coupon deals and discount items are all listed daily for your enjoyment. If you're quick, you can save some serious cash on everything from brake fluid to full tool sets, jacks, wheels, tires and various electronic gadgetry.

Just be aware that some of the deals have expiration dates. The upside is that, unlike Groupon, you don't have to actually buy into the deal in order to reap the benefits. The savings are there for one and all. Now if you'll excuse us, we've got to go figure out how we're going to make more room in the garage for all our swag.

GearHeadDeals is like Groupon for the car crowd originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 03 May 2011 08:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hyundai becomes first automaker to use Groupon

Zach Bowman — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Hyundai

Hyundai has officially become the first automaker to jump into the Groupon party by offering customers a $29 oil change, inspection and tire rotation. The manufacturer says around 1,300 individuals participated in the event across 10 dealers in the greater Chicago area and that the move was part of an ongoing effort to increase service business. The hope is that some of those customers who participated in the deal might come back for more vehicle work in the near future.

So, the next logical question: Will Hyundai look into actually selling vehicles through the coupon company? That all depends on how well this particular venture goes. If the automaker sees a strong return rate among customers, it just might look into future partnerships. That said, an entire vehicle purchase seems pretty far-fetched...

Groupon is a Chicago-based company that allows users to buy into one large group coupon per day. Once a deal is announced, a certain number of people must sign up for the offer or it expires and no one benefits. The company serves over 500 markets by offering deals on everything from services to smoothies and everything in between.

All told, Hyundai says that each of its participating dealers developed 130 new service leads each. Hit the jump for the full press release.

[Source: Hyundai | Image: Drew Phillips/AOL]

Continue reading Hyundai becomes first automaker to use Groupon

Hyundai becomes first automaker to use Groupon originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Apr 2011 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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