MadDog Technology And McInerney Automotive Group Team Up To Modernize The Car Business

PONTIAC, Mich., Sept. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Deliver My Ride (www.delivermyride.com) is the new car buying tool developed by auto industry veteran Mike McInerney and iconic Compuware founder Peter Karmanos Jr.

"The car sales process is outdated," says Peter Karmanos who knows a thing or two about the Motor City.  Born in Detroit and founder of Compuware Corporation whose headquarters he moved downtown to Campus Martius before it became trendy, Karmanos' business sense is as sharp as ever and he sees a massive opportunity to disrupt the outdated car sales process that most people find frustrating. "I'm a senior and even I use the web to buy things, what do you think the next generations will demand from their car buying experience?  They do everything online because its efficient," he commands.

Enter Mike McInerney, a legacy of the McInerney dealership family that has its roots in Detroit and started selling Chrysler Plymouth vehicles on Seven Mile Road in 1964.  "I spent my life in and around the car business, you couldn't avoid it," says McInerney who ran Star-Lincoln Mercury on 12 Mile in Southfield for 15 years.  "Every family gathering, since I was a kid, included discussions about the dealership, the factory, sales, rebates, ads, customers.  You couldn't escape it." 

After leaving the car business in 2006 to pursue new ventures, McInerney learned first-hand the feeling of frustration that comes with being a car buyer.  "I had left the dealership business and became a consumer for the first time at 41 and wanted to get my daughter a little SUV for school.  I hopped online and started searching for lease deals, low lease payments, but all I found were sites that showed really unrealistic prices or directions to nearby dealers."  The lack of real information was frustrating to him, he says, so he set out to fix the problem.

Car dealer meets tech guru-

"When I met Pete, through a mutual acquaintance, I told him my idea.  It started out pretty basic but has grown to be a very intricate problem to solve," recalls McInerney. 

Karmanos confirms, "We had recently launched Lenderful, an online solution to streamline the mortgage approval process, and Mike's plan looked really similar and looked like an easy plug-in for a different industry."  The demands from the consumer, however, and the complicated inner-workings of a car transaction required a deep dive into auto data and significant investment in technology.

"After launching our maiden site, we learned that the online consumer wants instant results.  Waiting for a dealer to quote a price, if even for a half hour, was too long.  The customer was on to the next thing" says McInerney. 

With the help of MadDog's team of tech veterans and experienced developers, Deliver My Ride evolved into a complete online car-buying solution, from search to compare to finance to delivery, all in one convenient platform. "We are really excited about where the site is today" says Karmanos, "it's really going to be a game changer."

So, what's different-

Deliver My Ride's service is unlike any other online car site. "We created a functional site, not a web page.  Everything you can do at a dealership, you can do on our site except test drive," says McInerney.  "As far as we know, nobody else is providing this service for new cars." He adds, "Everybody asks me about Carvana because they're advertising like crazy.  There are two key differences between our companies: First, they only sell used cars, not new. Second, they sell their own inventory, not dealer's.  This is apparent in the way their advertising tries to make dealers look like fools." Karmanos chips in, "The process really changes and disrupts how people buy cars, without disrupting the dealer network."

"We built the site for consumers," explains McInerney.  "The way we buy everything has changed dramatically and our platform saves time and money."  Karmanos adds that the ability to compare information is the key to getting a great price, "How much time and energy would it take you to negotiate pricing from three Ford dealers, three Chevy dealers and three Buick dealers? We gather and organize dealer pricing incentives, lease rates and inventory data for over 10,000 vehicles in one application.  Find your car and pick the best price, it's that easy."    

What about the dealer and manufacturer-

McInerney sees this as a win-win for progressive minded dealers.  "Car dealers are smart, smart businessmen.  They are accustomed to change and respond to the demands from the marketplace.  Our platform is as much a tool for the dealer as it is the consumer.  Our purpose is to provide a modern experience for the consumer, but we are selling dealership inventory.  The dealer is our supplier and that's one thing that's not going to change.  In addition, the dealer wants to advertise their vehicles where the consumer will see it.  Displaying their inventory on a site like ours gives them more relevant exposure."  He adds, "And one of the biggest things I spent my time on when managing a dealership was finding, training, and retaining salespeople. Deliver My Ride acts as a digital salesperson for the dealer, without the overhead."

Karmanos concludes, "We're not in the business of chasing our tails. This is a big problem in a big industry and we intend to improve it. We are in a complicated space, so it takes a lot of time and investment to get it right.  In addition," he says "the manufacturer spends millions on R&D and advertising.  It only makes sense that the car buying experience supports those efforts. More and more manufacturers are including the convenience of pickup and drop off for service vehicles, so they love this."

About MadDog Technology:

Established in 2014, MadDog Technology develops digital solutions utilizing cloud-based technology. MadDog's mission is to invest in technology companies that develop and market cloud based business applications. The company is comprised of a team of senior executives with proven success as technology start-up CEO's, large-scale software developers, and technology strategists. The MadDog business portfolio includes a number of technology startups and a venture capital fund.

MadDog Technology's Business models include organic start-ups, startup partnering and partnering with existing early stage operations ? where a market disrupting growth opportunity exists.

About DeliverMyRide.com:

Why go into an auto dealer when you can buy a brand new car from your couch, with competitive pricing ? and have it delivered to your door the next day? Finally a car buying process you can trust. DeliverMyRide.com allows you to compare vehicles and financing choices, with clarity and transparency and the convenience we enjoy on everything else we do.

SOURCE Deliver My Ride