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'Airbnb for Cars' Takes Top Honors at Edmunds.com's Third Annual HackomotiveSANTA MONICA, Calif., March 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- An innovative peer-to-peer network that connects private car sellers to buyers secured the $20,000 grand prize at the third annual Hackomotive competition sponsored by car buying platform Edmunds.com. The three-day hackathon featured 18 teams from across the country competing in a "Shark Tank"-style format to develop and showcase ideas and products aimed at making car shopping easier. The winning product, Zipflip, bills itself as "the Airbnb of car shopping." Similar to the popular home sharing network, Zipflip provides identity verification and a payment system so that private car buyers and sellers can feel more confident about the sale. The product was successfully pitched by Tennessee-based team members Tim Kelly, Joe Alegre, Dewey Hammond and Austin Van Rider. "This year we hosted the most innovative teams that we've ever had in the three years of Hackomotive, so that only makes Zipflip's win all the more remarkable," said Edmunds.com CEO Avi Steinlauf. "There are several start-up companies in today's marketplace who have tremendous ideas for improving the car buying process, and these ideas offer a very optimistic future for both consumers and dealers." Edmunds.com also awarded a $10,000 second-place prize to New York-based Dash for its platform that turns any car into a smart car by connecting to the vehicle's on-board diagnostics. The $5,000 third-place prize went to Kanss City-based BacklotCars for its networking marketplace for dealers that eliminates wholesale auctions. In addition to the top three prize winners, Edmunds.com gave special $2,000 cash prizes to the winners of each of the following featured award categories: Consumers Choice Award (chosen by a focus group of 27 recent and in-market car shoppers) Dealers Choice Award (chosen by a car dealer secretly embedded in the consumer group) Fispeed, a platform that speeds up the transaction process at the dealership by implementing electronic documents Future Shoppers Choice Award (selected by a class of 8th graders from Maimonides Academy in Los Angeles) Throughout the course of the three-day event, teams refined their products with feedback from tech experts, design gurus, and everyday car shoppers. Winners were determined by a seven-judge panel comprised of tech, marketing and automotive business leaders. The judges evaluated participating teams on several criteria such as their products' demand in the marketplace, the extents to which they make car shopping easier, and the quality of their presentations. More information on Hackomotive 2015 can be found at http://www.hackomotive.com/ and on Twitter @hackomotive. About Edmunds.com, Inc. Contact: Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130612/MM31390LOGO
To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/airbnb-for-cars-takes-top-honors-at-edmundscoms-third-annual-hackomotive-300057701.html SOURCE Edmunds.com |