We at RedCap were struck recently by a comment from Max Folliard, CEO of Carmax, in his recent earnings conference call to investors:

“We want to keep making sure that our customers have a great experience, regardless of how they interact with CarMax. It could be from a desktop, it could be from a mobile device, a tablet, or in the store and we are very focused on making the transition from their digital experience to the store simple and seamless so that the experience they have online matches up with the experience that they have in the store.” (Emphasis added.)

RedCap lives in that space, the bridge between digital infinity and the bricks and mortar of auto dealerships. This space – perhaps no longer a chasm but still a divide – is being filled aggressively by companies that will change the nature of auto retailing.

The availability and quality of information on vehicles is no longer surprising. With the click of a button (or an audible command to Siri), a customer in market for a car can: search available inventory across the country from their mobile phone and test drive the car at a nearby dealership; read technical analyst reports and individual customer reviews; compare prices by matching cars upgrade by upgrade from across the country; figure out dealer margins and reasonable sales commissions; and determine for themselves which car at what price is right for them before ever stepping into their friendly neighborhood auto dealership.

Seriously? So what? This is so 2014. It’s just basic information, totally not blog worthy. The customer still has to come into the dealership to drive out in their newly purchased vehicle, right? The dealer offers test drives, arranges financing, collects taxes, handles registration, appraises and manages vehicle trade-ins, provides factory warrant service, handles recalls. There is still massive value added by the dealership.

But that digital divide is quickly narrowing. Dealerships blind to online customer experience will be face slapped in due time.

So what’s a dealer to do? The answer is to bridge your digital experience one step at a time. (Permit us one indulgence to humbly submit a brand whose dealers we believe will have soar cheeks: Volvo Looks For U.S. Sales Boost With Showroom Makeovers.)

While RedCap’s platform bridges this divide by offering a number of out-of-store experiences, we’ll only focus on just one in this blog-- test drives -- since the disparity between the digital and the real world experiences are still a chasm.

While Autoblog’s user-controlled 360 degree view of the interior and exterior of a vehicle is cool, it certainly is not a test drive. The customer does not click the key chain button to start the car, sit in plush leather seats, listen to the surround sound system, play with the memory seat controls, feel the torque to 60 mph in seconds, accelerate through turns with stability, brake on a dime. And, oh mama, that new car smell. None of this is happening online.

So what’s missing in our proposition? Customers need to come to the dealership for this experience, right? No sir, not at all. How about bridging the online and dealership divide by allowing a customer to click on a button and have their test drive delivered to their doorstep?

Picture this: Customer clicks on a social media advertisement or a link in an email and is taken to a web reservation page where they select among new car models to take for a test drive. They fill in (a) some basic contact information date, (b) date, time and location of where they want their car delivered, and (c) driver license information. They click send, and shazam, said vehicle arrives at the appointed time and place for a 30 minute test drive.

This can be done today, not some far off day in the future with self-driving cars.

We at RedCap were struck recently by a comment from Max Folliard, CEO of Carmax, in his recent earnings conference call to investors:

“We want to keep making sure that our customers have a great experience, regardless of how they interact with CarMax. It could be from a desktop, it could be from a mobile device, a tablet, or in the store and we are very focused on making the transition from their digital experience to the store simple and seamless so that the experience they have online matches up with the experience that they have in the store.” (Emphasis added.)

RedCap lives in that space, the bridge between digital infinity and the bricks and mortar of auto dealerships. This space – perhaps no longer a chasm but still a divide – is being filled aggressively by companies that will change the nature of auto retailing.

The availability and quality of information on vehicles is no longer surprising. With the click of a button (or an audible command to Siri), a customer in market for a car can: search available inventory across the country from their mobile phone and test drive the car at a nearby dealership; read technical analyst reports and individual customer reviews; compare prices by matching cars upgrade by upgrade from across the country; figure out dealer margins and reasonable sales commissions; and determine for themselves which car at what price is right for them before ever stepping into their friendly neighborhood auto dealership.

Seriously? So what? This is so 2014. It’s just basic information, totally not blog worthy. The customer still has to come into the dealership to drive out in their newly purchased vehicle, right? The dealer offers test drives, arranges financing, collects taxes, handles registration, appraises and manages vehicle trade-ins, provides factory warrant service, handles recalls. There is still massive value added by the dealership.

But that digital divide is quickly narrowing. Dealerships blind to online customer experience will be face slapped in due time.

So what’s a dealer to do? The answer is to bridge your digital experience one step at a time. (Permit us one indulgence to humbly submit a brand whose dealers we believe will have soar cheeks: Volvo Looks For U.S. Sales Boost With Showroom Makeovers.)

While RedCap’s platform bridges this divide by offering a number of out-of-store experiences, we’ll only focus on just one in this blog-- test drives -- since the disparity between the digital and the real world experiences are still a chasm.

While Autoblog’s user-controlled 360 degree view of the interior and exterior of a vehicle is cool, it certainly is not a test drive. The customer does not click the key chain button to start the car, sit in plush leather seats, listen to the surround sound system, play with the memory seat controls, feel the torque to 60 mph in seconds, accelerate through turns with stability, brake on a dime. And, oh mama, that new car smell. None of this is happening online.

So what’s missing in our proposition? Customers need to come to the dealership for this experience, right? No sir, not at all. How about bridging the online and dealership divide by allowing a customer to click on a button and have their test drive delivered to their doorstep?

Picture this: Customer clicks on a social media advertisement or a link in an email and is taken to a web reservation page where they select among new car models to take for a test drive. They fill in (a) some basic contact information date, (b) date, time and location of where they want their car delivered, and (c) driver license information. They click send, and shazam, said vehicle arrives at the appointed time and place for a 30 minute test drive.

This can be done today, not some far off day in the future with self-driving cars.

Uber and a luxury OEM recently teamed up to offer free rides in the backseat of a newly redesigned 2016 luxury vehicle. Granted the partnership was only for 8 hours in four cities (unless the partnership was a success and then presumably it will continue), but still, strange bedfellows indeed. Let’s take a look.

In one corner we have Uber (established 2009, $50 billion valuation) whose CEO, Travis Kalanick, has a stated corporate mission of ending car ownership and turning personal transportation into a utility. When Uber launched, its goal was to become "Everyone's private driver." Now it's transportation “as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone."

In the other corner we have a 100 year old luxury OEM with a similar valuation, manufacturer of some of the best engineered products in mankind’s history, and one of the most respected brands in the world.

We won’t get into whether Kalanick’s vision is feasible, or the economics of ride sharing vs. car ownership, or even the wisdom of the (short term) partnership. We understand the benefits to both companies. Uber gets to promote its brand alongside a luxury OEM implying that ride sharing is good even for the affluent market, not to mention capturing some of the OEMs well-heeled customers. We’re not entirely sure what the benefit is of asking loyal customers to download a ride sharing App. Ostensibly, the OEM believes there is value in getting its soon-to-be released luxury automobile into the hands of prospective customers to experience – not a test drive, since they are sitting in the back seat of the car – that new car smell and the back seat. And let’s be real, for the subject luxury vehicle it is one delicious scent and may indeed inspire sales. No, we want to explore the message the partnership sends to the market, especially franchise dealerships.

Underlying Uber’s tagline is Kalanick’s dream and stated corporate mission to “make car ownership a thing of the past”. He tweeted:

"Our intention is to make Uber so efficient, cars so highly utilized that for most people it is cheaper than owning a car."

Here’s another Kalanick quote from an interview at the 2014 Code Conference in Southern California when talking about self-driving cars:

"The reason Uber could be expensive is because you're not just paying for the car, you're paying for the other dude in the car. . . .  So the magic there is you basically bring the cost below the cost of ownership for everybody, and then car ownership goes away."

Stated bluntly, Uber is anti-automobile industry. Uber wants to turn transportation into a commodity, as free flowing, as ubiquitous and as bland as water. Kalanick could care two wits about the beauty of the automobile, the freedom it affords, the individuality it symbolizes. Car ownership is inconsequential in his future. You don’t need to own one of these machines, just hail it, push a button and it’s there. Get in, go, get out.

Even worse for the OEM than partnering with an anti-auto industry heavyweight is the message teaming with Kalanick sends about drivers of cars, whether they are Uber drivers or the cargo they transport. It’s not about the car, nor is it even about the “dudes” in the car. Uber cares about efficiency, economy and utility. Granted Kalanick’s quote about “dudes” is in the context of the driverless automobile but the point remains. Uber stands for nothing but faceless convenience.

The messaging it sends to luxury car owners, and to the people in their lives, couldn’t be more awkward. Luxury automobiles are all about individuality, distinction and emotion. The whole purpose of owning a luxury vehicle is to make you FEEL special. You don’t even have to drive the car, just get in it and you feel good (again, that new car smell).  You could be sitting in your kitchen, and the car could be parked in your driveway, and you still feel special. Of course high line OEMs want people to buy their cars, and teaming with Uber could perhaps advance that goal in the very short term. But luxury buyers  don’t purchase expensive cars just to get from point A to point B, they pay for luxury because it is manna for the soul.

Few and far between is the pairing of messages and symbolism this contradictory. But so what? Why does this matter and who should be concerned? Getting customers in the new model is the important thing... right?  They’ll experience the car, and they’ll want to buy one. Not so fast.

Other than the contradictory message it sends to the market, the partnership matters because the OEM bypasses their real partners, the franchise dealers. Instead of summoning a car through a faceless app to take a ride in the backseat, why not give the opportunity to show off the vehicle – AND EVERTHING THAT COMES STANDARD WITH THIS VEHICLE, SUCH AS COMPLIMENTARY SERVICE VALET – to a real salesperson or product specialist from a real franchise where the car will likely be purchased. Not only will the branding stay consistent, but the OEM would be delivering a much more appropriate, if not the quintessential message, to prospective customers: “We care about you -- your safety, your time and happiness. We drive to you.”  Not some Uber Dude who really could care less about the experience as long as he gets his pay.

OEMs should give the opportunity to the hard working folks at the franchisees to provide the experience. Definitely not Uber which is trying to demolish the industry in the long run.

Uber and a luxury OEM recently teamed up to offer free rides in the backseat of a newly redesigned 2016 luxury vehicle. Granted the partnership was only for 8 hours in four cities (unless the partnership was a success and then presumably it will continue), but still, strange bedfellows indeed. Let’s take a look.

In one corner we have Uber (established 2009, $50 billion valuation) whose CEO, Travis Kalanick, has a stated corporate mission of ending car ownership and turning personal transportation into a utility. When Uber launched, its goal was to become "Everyone's private driver." Now it's transportation “as reliable as running water, everywhere for everyone."

In the other corner we have a 100 year old luxury OEM with a similar valuation, manufacturer of some of the best engineered products in mankind’s history, and one of the most respected brands in the world.

We won’t get into whether Kalanick’s vision is feasible, or the economics of ride sharing vs. car ownership, or even the wisdom of the (short term) partnership. We understand the benefits to both companies. Uber gets to promote its brand alongside a luxury OEM implying that ride sharing is good even for the affluent market, not to mention capturing some of the OEMs well-heeled customers. We’re not entirely sure what the benefit is of asking loyal customers to download a ride sharing App. Ostensibly, the OEM believes there is value in getting its soon-to-be released luxury automobile into the hands of prospective customers to experience – not a test drive, since they are sitting in the back seat of the car – that new car smell and the back seat. And let’s be real, for the subject luxury vehicle it is one delicious scent and may indeed inspire sales. No, we want to explore the message the partnership sends to the market, especially franchise dealerships.

Underlying Uber’s tagline is Kalanick’s dream and stated corporate mission to “make car ownership a thing of the past”. He tweeted:

"Our intention is to make Uber so efficient, cars so highly utilized that for most people it is cheaper than owning a car."

Here’s another Kalanick quote from an interview at the 2014 Code Conference in Southern California when talking about self-driving cars:

"The reason Uber could be expensive is because you're not just paying for the car, you're paying for the other dude in the car. . . .  So the magic there is you basically bring the cost below the cost of ownership for everybody, and then car ownership goes away."

Stated bluntly, Uber is anti-automobile industry. Uber wants to turn transportation into a commodity, as free flowing, as ubiquitous and as bland as water. Kalanick could care two wits about the beauty of the automobile, the freedom it affords, the individuality it symbolizes. Car ownership is inconsequential in his future. You don’t need to own one of these machines, just hail it, push a button and it’s there. Get in, go, get out.

Even worse for the OEM than partnering with an anti-auto industry heavyweight is the message teaming with Kalanick sends about drivers of cars, whether they are Uber drivers or the cargo they transport. It’s not about the car, nor is it even about the “dudes” in the car. Uber cares about efficiency, economy and utility. Granted Kalanick’s quote about “dudes” is in the context of the driverless automobile but the point remains. Uber stands for nothing but faceless convenience.

The messaging it sends to luxury car owners, and to the people in their lives, couldn’t be more awkward. Luxury automobiles are all about individuality, distinction and emotion. The whole purpose of owning a luxury vehicle is to make you FEEL special. You don’t even have to drive the car, just get in it and you feel good (again, that new car smell).  You could be sitting in your kitchen, and the car could be parked in your driveway, and you still feel special. Of course high line OEMs want people to buy their cars, and teaming with Uber could perhaps advance that goal in the very short term. But luxury buyers  don’t purchase expensive cars just to get from point A to point B, they pay for luxury because it is manna for the soul.

Few and far between is the pairing of messages and symbolism this contradictory. But so what? Why does this matter and who should be concerned? Getting customers in the new model is the important thing... right?  They’ll experience the car, and they’ll want to buy one. Not so fast.

Other than the contradictory message it sends to the market, the partnership matters because the OEM bypasses their real partners, the franchise dealers. Instead of summoning a car through a faceless app to take a ride in the backseat, why not give the opportunity to show off the vehicle – AND EVERTHING THAT COMES STANDARD WITH THIS VEHICLE, SUCH AS COMPLIMENTARY SERVICE VALET – to a real salesperson or product specialist from a real franchise where the car will likely be purchased. Not only will the branding stay consistent, but the OEM would be delivering a much more appropriate, if not the quintessential message, to prospective customers: “We care about you -- your safety, your time and happiness. We drive to you.”  Not some Uber Dude who really could care less about the experience as long as he gets his pay.

OEMs should give the opportunity to the hard working folks at the franchisees to provide the experience. Definitely not Uber which is trying to demolish the industry in the long run.