There’s nothing like the smell of a brand-new car, but with the average cost of new vehicles now sitting at ~$50K, many consumers have opted for used vehicles as an alternative in recent years. New vehicle prices have spiked since the COVID-19 pandemic, with average transaction prices remaining nearly $11k higher than pre-pandemic back when average transaction prices for new vehicles were ~$37k. In this article, we will discuss some of the key drivers behind increased vehicle prices, how it has impacted the auto industry, and why a comprehensive vehicle data solution is even more important for the automotive businesses impacted.
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Topics:
Automotive Data,
Dealers,
Vehicle Shopping
Data security failures have become a paramount challenge for the automotive industry to address, with the CDK ransomware attack over the summer highlighting the far-reaching financial and reputational consequences of suffering a critical breach. According to threat intelligence provider SOCRadar, automotive businesses will continue to be an appealing target for cybercrime, because of the vulnerabilities inherent in necessary interconnectivity.
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Topics:
Automotive Data,
Operations,
API
Have you been tasked with picking the best vehicle data and VIN decoding solution for your new business venture or a new product at your current company? There are many things you need to consider when choosing a VIN data solution, such as the depth and breadth of vehicle data coverage, accuracy of the data, pricing, and as discussed in this article, delivery options.
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Topics:
Automotive Data,
VIN,
API
No manufacturing process is perfect, an obvious fact that the automotive industry knows too well, with nearly 900 recalls affecting over 34 million cars alone in 2023. No part of a car, truck, or trailer is immune from an error, and that includes the Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
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Topics:
Support,
Automotive Data,
API
All the different vehicle weight terminology can be quite confusing. While some are more obvious than others, the shear mass of information can be daunting. This article was written to take the weight off your chest…
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Topics:
Logistics,
Automotive Data,
VIN
Traditional risk models in the auto insurance space incorporate multiple data points, including vehicle details, the driver’s safety record, the vehicle’s geographic location, and that location’s associated weather patterns. While these factors may be weighed differently by each insurer’s model, the entire auto industry is now facing the reality that increased vehicle complexity will force a significant change to risk analysis.
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Topics:
Automotive Data,
Insurance
This post has been republished with updates since its original publish date in March 2012
You've tried to decode a VIN, or a handful of VINs, but for whatever reason you keep getting an invalid VIN message. This can be extremely frustrating, especially if you have no idea what might be causing the failed decode(s). There are quite a few reasons why a VIN won't decode.
If you're having trouble decoding vehicles in your inventory, consider this list of errors and challenges commonly faced when working with Vehicle Identification Numbers.
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Topics:
Automotive Data,
VIN
Vehicle data and VIN decoding solutions are widely used across the automotive industry and are the foundation for many businesses. Some of the more common use cases are basic vehicle identification (year, make, model, trim, etc.) or VIN explosion, as covered in the preceding article. However, there are some less obvious uses for vehicle data/VIN decoding that may come as a surprise to you, such as the following:
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Topics:
Automotive Data,
VIN,
Vehicle Equipment
There are countless ways in which vehicle data/VIN decoding can be leveraged within a business. And while each business’s use case(s) are different, there are common vehicle datasets that are needed to accomplish their goals.
In this article, we’ve covered some of the most common uses of vehicle data.
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Topics:
Automotive Data,
VIN,
Vehicle Equipment
VIN Decoding 101 Part 4: 25 common VIN terms defined
This blog has been updated since its original publish date in Dec 2011
Like almost every area of expertise, VIN Decoding has unique terminology associated with it. If you haven't worked with a VIN decoder or VIN data in the past, many of these term's meanings may not be intuitive. Below are the definitions of 25 common terms that you will likely come across as you work with automotive and VIN data.
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Topics:
Automotive Data,
VIN
