IP Library Granted Patent US 9,904,933
Granted Patent B2
US 9,904,933 · App. 15/631,318 · Granted Feb 27, 2018

System and method for aggregation, analysis, presentation and monetization of pricing data for vehicles and other commodities

Inventors: Thomas Taira (Berkeley, CA); Scott Painter (Bel Air, CA); Chris Taylor (Austin, TX); Robert Taylor (Austin, TX); Michael D. Swinson (Santa Monica, CA)
Assignee: TrueCar, Inc.
G06Q30/0206G06Q30/0278G06Q30/0283G06Q10/067
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,904,933
App. No.
15/631,318
Granted
Feb 27, 2018
Kind
B2
Abstract

Embodiments of systems and methods for the aggregation, analysis, display and monetization of pricing data for commodities in general, and which may be particularly useful applied to vehicles are disclosed. Specifically, in certain embodiments, historical transaction data associated with a particular vehicle configuration may be obtained and processed to determine pricing data associated with the vehicle configuration. The historical transaction data or determined pricing data may then be presented in an intuitive manner.

Claims (46)

1. A system, comprising:

a vehicle data system coupled to one or more computer devices over a network, the vehicle data system comprising:

a data gathering module to:

obtain historical transaction data from a set of data sources coupled to the vehicle data system over the network, wherein the historical transaction data comprises data on vehicle transactions;

a processing module, the processing module to:

determine a plurality of sets of historical transaction data, where each of the plurality of sets of historical transaction data is associated with a vehicle configuration, and

determine pricing data corresponding to a specified vehicle configuration by applying one or more models to the set of historical transaction data associated with the specified vehicle configuration, wherein the pricing data includes a set of transaction prices and one or more quantifiable price ranges determined based on the set of historical transaction data associated with the specified vehicle configuration; and

an interface module to:

receive the specified vehicle configuration from a user at a computing device, and

generate an interface based on the pricing data, wherein the generation of the interface is initiated substantially simultaneously to the reception of the specified vehicle configuration and the interface is configured to present the set of transaction prices and the quantifiable price ranges, and wherein the quantifiable price ranges are presented relative to the set of transaction prices.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the one or more models include a dealer cost model or a price ratio model.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the dealer cost model is one of a set of dealer cost models, each dealer cost model associated with a manufacturer.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the dealer cost model is determined by determining an equation for deriving a holdback associated with a dealer cost relationship.

5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the equation is determined by selecting the equation from a set of equations, each equation of the set of equations associated with a vehicle invoice price for the manufacturer and wherein the selected equation is most consistent of the set of equations across all vehicle invoice prices.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the price ratio model is of the form f(x)=Σ i=0 n Σ k=0 m (β i X i X bk ) where X i signifies global variables, X bk signifies bin-level variables for a specific bin b of historical transaction data, and β i 's are coefficients.

7. The system of claim 1 , where the processing module further determines an upfront price for the specified vehicle configuration and the interface presents the upfront price in the interface in association with the one or more quantifiable prices and the transaction price based data.

8. A method, comprising:

at a vehicle data system coupled to-one or more computer devices over a network: providing a data gathering module to:

obtain historical transaction data from a set of data sources coupled to the vehicle data system over the network, wherein the historical transaction data comprises data on vehicle transactions;

providing a processing module to:

determine a plurality of sets of historical transaction data, where each of the plurality of sets of historical transaction data is associated with a vehicle configuration, and

determine pricing data corresponding to a specified vehicle configuration by applying one or more models to the set of historical transaction data associated with the specified vehicle configuration, wherein the pricing data includes a set of transaction prices and one or more quantifiable price ranges determined based on the set of historical transaction data associated with the specified vehicle configuration; and

providing an interface module to:

receive the specified vehicle configuration from a user at a computing device, and

generate an interface based on the pricing data, wherein the generation of the interface is initiated substantially simultaneously to the reception of the specified vehicle configuration and the interface is configured to present the set of transaction prices and the quantifiable price ranges, and wherein the quantifiable price ranges are presented relative to the set of transaction prices.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the one or more models include a dealer cost model or a price ratio model.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the dealer cost model is one of a set of dealer cost models, each dealer cost model associated with a manufacturer.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the dealer cost model is determined by determining an equation for deriving a holdback associated with a dealer cost relationship.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the equation is determined by selecting the equation from a set of equations, each equation of the set of equations associated with a vehicle invoice price for the manufacturer and wherein the selected equation is most consistent of the set of equations across all vehicle invoice prices.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the price ratio model is of the form f(x)=Σ i=0 n Σ k=0 m (β i X i X bk ) where X i signifies global variables, X bk signifies bin-level variables for a specific bin b of historical transaction data, and β i 's are coefficients.

14. The method of claim 8 , wherein the processing module further determines an upfront price for the specified vehicle configuration and the interface presents the upfront price in the interface in association with the one or more quantifiable prices and the transaction price based data.

15. A non-transitory computer readable medium, comprising: instructions for:

providing a data gathering module to:

obtain historical transaction data from a set of data sources coupled to a vehicle data system over the network, wherein the historical transaction data comprises data on vehicle transactions;

providing a processing module to:

determine a plurality of sets of historical transaction data, where each of the plurality of sets of historical transaction data is associated with a vehicle configuration, and

determine pricing data corresponding to a specified vehicle configuration by applying one or more models to the set of historical transaction data associated with the specified vehicle configuration, wherein the pricing data includes a set of transaction prices and one or more quantifiable price ranges determined based on the set of historical transaction data associated with the specified vehicle configuration; and

providing an interface module to:

receive the specified vehicle configuration from a user at a computing device, and

generate an interface based on the pricing data, wherein the generation of the interface is initiated substantially simultaneously to the reception of the specified vehicle configuration and the interface is configured to present the set of transaction prices and the quantifiable price ranges, and wherein the quantifiable price ranges are presented relative to the set of transaction prices.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the one or more models include a dealer cost model or a price ratio model.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16 , wherein the dealer cost model is one of a set of dealer cost models, each dealer cost model associated with a manufacturer.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 17 , wherein the dealer cost model is determined by determining an equation for deriving a holdback associated with a dealer cost relationship.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 18 , wherein the equation is determined by selecting the equation from a set of equations, each equation of the set of equations associated with a vehicle invoice price for the manufacturer and wherein the selected equation is most consistent of the set of equations across all vehicle invoice prices.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the price ratio model is of the form f(x)=Σ i=0 n Σ k=0 m (β i X i X bk ) where X i signifies global variables, X bk signifies bin-level variables for a specific bin b of historical transaction data, and β i 's are coefficients.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 15 , wherein the processing module further determines an upfront price for the specified vehicle configuration and the interface presents the upfront price in the interface in association with the one or more quantifiable prices and the transaction price based data.

Assignments (2)
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Feb 6, 2018
From: TRUECAR, INC.
To: SILICON VALLEY BANK
Reel/Frame 045128/0195 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Oct 17, 2017
From: TAIRA, TOM; PAINTER, SCOTT; TAYLOR, CHRIS; TAYLOR, ROBERT; SWINSON, MICHAEL
To: TRUECAR, INC.
Reel/Frame 043878/0018 →
Continuity (6)
Continuation 14666005 · Mar 23, 2015
Continuation 14256791 · Apr 18, 2014
Continuation 12556076 · Sep 9, 2009
Provisional Application 61095376 · Sep 9, 2008
Provisional Application 61095550 · Sep 9, 2008
Related Publication 20170286983A1 · Oct 5, 2017