Of all the markets that could benefit from increased price transparency, the one for used cars surely ranks near the very top. Pricing sites have emerged in one area after another—including Zillow for home buyers—but now used-car buyers finally have one of their very own with the launch last fall of PriceHub.

San Francisco-based PriceHub was created by two car enthusiasts who have collectively bought, owned and sold more than 30 (mostly used) cars over the last decade. They observed that while car buyers can refer to published invoice prices, MSRP prices, book values, trade-in values and other estimates of valuation, there was no source of real, actual car transaction prices. PriceHub, now in beta, is dedicated to providing that price transparency as well as a community for people to share and discuss prices. Users of the site can search for a car's make and model, and PriceHub will furnish a chart listing transactions made, including model year, mileage, condition, location, transaction date and actual sale price. People who have just bought a used car can submit the price they paid, thereby adding more data to the list, and PriceHub gathers sale prices from various auctions, agencies and dealers as well. Used-car sellers, meanwhile, can get a better indication of how much they can reasonably charge given their car's make, year, options and mileage. Sellers on Craigslist have even been spotted using PriceHub to justify their asking price, according to the company blog.

Exposing pricing information for all to see is an example of what our sister site trendwatching.com would call transparency tyranny—a phenomenon that's informing buyers and leaving sellers with no place to hide. The lesson for companies: Offer real value, or pay the (figurative) price yourself!

Website: www.pricehub.com
Contact: info@pricehub.com

Spotted by: Bill McMahon

In-car direction finders have revolutionized driving. But for many drivers, the devices’ spoken instructions eventually become annoying or distracting. And while it can be a big help when your device tells you to turn left in 500 feet, trying to estimate that distance in heavy traffic can add to stress levels.

The makers of Virtual Cable say they have a better solution. The New York City area start-up has designed a heads-up dashboard display that virtually ‘paints’ a highly visible line above the road ahead. The line curves precisely where a driver using an in-car navigation device would normally be instructed to turn. Follow the line till you reach your destination. It’s that simple.

Little wonder that Virtual Cable’s founders drew thousands of curious visitors to their website after their product was first introduced at a navigation technology conference in San Jose, California, last December. But before the product reaches consumers, the parent firm, Making Virtual Solid, must partner with an existing navigation system maker. Virtual Cable will only be available in new cars, the founders say, though it also will be retrofitted into some commercial vehicles.

Nonetheless, Virtual Cable illustrates how the relatively new auto navigation field continues to innovate rapidly. Other exhibitors at the December 2007 conference discussed ways to grow advertising revenue and maximize subscription return. Both should prove vital areas as the market matures. Meanwhile, in the wake of the January’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, tech writers have discussed industry efforts to incorporate entertainment, social networking and hacker protection into auto navigation systems, while readying those systems for WiMax as that wide-area broadband technology continues to expand. The takeaway: all these niches within the auto-navigation field remain blissfully open to any entrepreneur with a sellable idea and the wherewithal to get it to market.

Web site: www.mvs.net
Contact: www.mvs.net/contact_us.html

Spotted by: Bjarke Svendsen

Back in 2005, we covered Norwich Union's Pay-as-You-Drive program in the UK to charge consumers for auto insurance based on how often, when and where they use their vehicles. Starting in Texas, the United States will soon see a similar service for the first time thanks to MileMeter's "auto insurance buy the mile."

Like Norwich Union's offering, MileMeter will use consumers' usage levels to determine how much they must pay for auto insurance. Unlike Norwich Union's, however, MileMeter will not use any kind of vehicle tracking device to record that usage. Rather, consumers will buy coverage in advance in increments of as few as 1,000 miles; when their odometer reaches the end of that increment, the coverage expires. The cost per mile varies with the geographic area and the age of the driver, but a reasonable ball park for a 30-year-old driver and minimum coverage in a midrange urban ZIP code in Texas might be 4 cents per mile, MileMeter CEO Chris Gay says. Multiple drivers in a household can also be covered for a single vehicle.

Dallas-based MileMeter will launch in Texas this summer, with plans to roll out quickly to other states, Gay says. In the meantime, it's attracted a fair bit of attention, not least because it was one of only seven finalists in the most recent Amazon Web Services Startup Challenge. Because it doesn't use gender as a basis for determining rates, MileMeter has been ardently supported by the National Organization for Women (NOW). And by rewarding drivers who use their cars less, it has the potential to make an environmental impact as well. Sounds like a win-win all around—time for more entrepreneurs to start thinking in increments!

Website: www.milemeter.com
Contact: curious@milemeter.com

Spotted by: Ozgur Alaz

We're deviating from our regular schedule to bring you the best new business ideas of 2007. Over the next two weeks, we'll feature our personal favourites, categorized by industry. This isn't a trip down memory lane—all of these smart concepts will continue to provide entrepreneurs with plenty of opportunities in 2008. First up: automotive. Enjoy!

1. Person to person parking space rental: Peasy.com is an online marketplace for parking spaces, enabling drivers to search for and book spaces before they leave home, and letting British homeowners monetize unused parking spaces by adding them to the network. More »
2. Stress-free car shopping: American buyers who are in the market for a new car, but don't want the headaches of searching and haggling for the best price, now have an alternative that can help them sidestep the usual dealership woes. More »
3. Integrated auto insurance for teens: A combined package of insurance and a GPS tracking device (the 'Safety Beacon'), Teensurance offers parents the ability to monitor their teenager's behaviour on the road. More »
4. Mobile car rental, wherever it's needed: Aiming to become more nimble, car rental company Europcar is introducing mobile car rental facilities in the UK. Small rental booths are hooked up to the company's central booking system and are manned by an agent during peak hours. During off hours, customers can drop off keys and make their own reservations over a built-in reservation hotline. More »
5. Car dealership catches female fever: Although research finds that women are responsible for the bulk of purchasing decisions, one arena that continues to overlook this important target market is auto dealerships. Not so at Vancouver's Clutch. More »
6. Ridesharing with a social twist: One of the problems with traditional carpool matching sites has been the anxiety most people feel when faced with the prospect of sharing a car with someone they don’t know. The solution? Tap into the power of social networking. More »
7. Insurance discounts for GPS-guided drivers: Drivers who use GPS devices are less damage-prone than their old- school brethren. Which is why a Dutch insurance company is giving them 10% discount on their auto insurance. More »
8. Crowd clout & Japanese auto parts: An Australian start-up is focusing on a 'group buying' niche: parts for Japanese performance cars. Auto Group Buy aims to combine the purchasing power of car owners with a keen passion for modifying, tuning and styling their vehicles. More »
9. Zipcar uses mobile GPS to pinpoint nearest car: Zipcar members can use their GPS-enabled cell phones to find the nearest vehicle and make an instant reservation, making spontaneous car-sharing easier than ever. More »
10. Navigate with your own voice: While most personal navigation devices come with a variety of voices to select from, from soft-spoken to stern, they all get boring after a while and aren't, well, personal. Now they can be: it's possible to have your own voice, or that of a loved one, tell you when to turn right. More »

While most personal navigation devices come with a variety of voices to select from, from soft-spoken to stern, they all get boring after a while and aren't, well, personal. To the rescue comes YourPND. For EUR 6.95, users can record instructions on www.yourpnd.com using their computer's microphone. Recording a full set of instructions takes 7 minutes. Once they're done, YourPND creates a file that the navigation device will be able to use, and gives full instructions on how to install.

Instead of the basic "Turn right at the next junction," users are encouraged to get creative, adding their favourite catchphrases. Or someone's name: YourPND is pitched as a perfect gift. Customers can record instructions and have them sent to a recipient on a USD flash drive, for EUR 19.95 including shipping. YourPND currently only supports TomTom's navigations devices, with other systems to follow soon. Another smart example of personalization as a business concept! (Related: Insurance discounts for GPS-guided drivers.)

Website: www.yourpnd.com
Contact: info@yourpnd.com

Spotted by: RK