Friday, December 16, 2011

TrueCar Draws Honda's Ire

Auto maker Honda is taking direct aim at Santa Monica-based TrueCar, with threats to pull advertising allowances from dealers who list below invoice on the site, according to a report from the LA Times. The Times says that Honda believes the pricing damages its brands and is hurting the company, forcing its dealers to compete each other for offering the best deal. TrueCar--headed by Scott Painter--provides auto buyers with the ability to get upfront pricing for their vehicles, through relations with USAA, a number of Auto Clubs, and other buying programs and it's own software infrastructure. In the report, the Times says that TrueCar is now on track to reach $100M in revenues this year. TrueCar also offers an online service to help auto buyers see what others have actually paid for different cars in their area.

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