Blogging GuidePoint Systems

Guidepoint Statement on Shaquille O’Neal Lawsuit

2011-08-04T10:12:00.001-07:00

Several Websites have recently posted articles on Shaquille O’Neal being accused of using a GPS tracking system to monitor his wife’s vehicle. The articles mention Guidepoint as the provider of this service. More specifically, they state that he “hired 'Guidepoint,' a company to place a GPS tracking system on her car.”

To clarify, Guidepoint is a manufacturer and service provider and sells its products through resellers, which in turn service consumers. Guidepoint’s only direct contact with consumers is via its call center, which handles customer issues and manages service plans. Guidepoint does not perform installations directly for consumers, businesses or other entities.

Further, while our systems are certainly capable of tracking a vehicle via GPS, we certainly do not condone uses of this nature, or of any nature in which a device is added to a person’s vehicle without his or her knowledge.

Guidepoint Systems provides drivers with peace of mind through a three-pronged approach:

1) a state-of-the-art, GPS-enabled tracking unit that is installed in the vehicle, allowing the owner to be aware and informed of the vehicle’s location and movement to prevent or deter theft or vandalism; and

2) a comprehensive service suite—the center of which is a U.S. based call center—that provides Guidepoint members with roadside assistance, driving directions, concierge services and notification of emergency services in an accident. In addition, we work with police in the event of a vehicle theft to help them locate the stolen vehicle quickly and efficiently.

3) Finally, Guidepoint members receive discounts and benefits on travel, electronics and other services through our vendor partners.

It is our policy, as is the policy of our retail partners, to sell and install our systems on vehicles as requested by the vehicle’s owner, with his or her full knowledge. Retailers who violate this policy are subject to cancellation and/or consequences of any legal proceedings resulting from the inappropriate use of Guidepoint equipment and services.

Who Works With Law Enforcement? We do!

2011-07-29T07:14:00.001-07:00

There are people who see what we do as buying insurance: something you feel good having but hope you never have to use. But when the unthinkable happens, and you really do need it, you're more than glad it's there -- and sometimes, even more good comes out of it than you anticipated. Take this story, which will appear in Guidepoint's Summer edition of its "To the Point" newsletter:

On July 8, Guidepoint Service Representative Charlesetta “Charlie” Smith received a call from customer Robert G., who said he was robbed at gunpoint that morning in Detroit, MI, and the thieves took his car 2006 Pontiac Grand Prix along with his wallet.

Charlie immediately called authorities and the case was handled by Sgt. Jim Vogler, who is part of the area's Stolen Vehicle Task Force. Charlie then activated the Guidepoint unit inside the vehicle and helped to guide officers to its location.

But due to the nature of the crime, instead of recovering the vehicle, the officers decided to watch it to arrest the suspects. Their patience paid off when the suspects appeared, got in the stolen vehicle and drove off.

Eventually, they led officers to a location where two additional stolen vehicles were found. Sensing trouble, the thieves left the original vehicle and took off in the other two cars in order to thwart capture. But multiple police units were able to follow both vehicles, and after a dangerous car and foot chase, the suspects were finally arrested.

Sgt. Frank Carroll, who was slightly injured in the chase with superficial cuts, thanked Charlie—and Guidepoint—for their assistance.

Not bad for a single Guidepoint unit, a caring call center representative and a proactive law enforcement team -- 3 vehicles for the price of 1!

We Triple-Teamed 'Em!

2011-07-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone,
We're happy to announce that we received a "Value Chain" Award from Connected World magazine! As a service provider to Chrysler, we were honored along with T-mobile in the Automotive Category of the award. It just shows that partnership pays off. Read the press release below.

Guidepoint Honored With Connected World Value Chain Award

Guidepoint, Chrysler and T-Mobile Team Up to Take Silver at Value Chain Awards Gala

July 1, 2011 – Madison Heights, MI – Guidepoint Systems recently announced it was recognized at the Value Chain Awards Gala, held June 16 at the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort outside of Chicago. Connected World magazine, which covers connectivity trends and mobile lifestyles, presented the Silver Level – Automotive Category Value Chain Award to the team of Chrysler, Guidepoint and T-Mobile in recognition of successful adoption of “machine to machine” (M2M) and connectivity solutions for 2011.

“It’s a very cool award to receive,” said Tom Gafford, Guidepoint co-founder and chief technology officer. “We’re proud to be recognized alongside our partners, who enable us to provide safety, security and peace of mind to drivers of Chrysler vehicles. We look forward to continued innovations in the connectivity space and even more features for end users.”

Other categories for the award included Healthcare, Connected Home, Energy, Hospitality, Public Safety and Fleet Management.

Connected World Magazine presents these awards each year to companies and partnerships that have demonstrated successful implementation of M2M technology.

About GuidePoint Systems: Sold through more than 2,500 new and pre-owned dealerships nationwide, Guidepoint integrates GPS, advanced wireless technology, the Web and 24/7/365 response centers to deliver a variety of services to vehicle owners and fleet managers. Rated the #1 stolen-vehicle tracking solution in 2007 by international research firm Frost & Sullivan, Guidepoint also offers a variety of driver safety, convenience, fleet management and vehicle tracking services. Visit www.guidepointsystems.com or call 1-877-GPS-FIND for more information.

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Helio on Running

2011-06-30T09:32:00.000-07:00

You'd probably expect Helio Castroneves to be interviewed about his feats behind the wheel, but in this interview, he's traded 4 "feet" on the asphalt for two: his own.

Castroneves, driver of the Penske Racing No. 3 Guidepoint Systems IndyCar, was recently interviewed by Runner's World on their Website, runnersworld.com, about his love for running and how he uses it to stay in shape for driving. But despite the focus on feet the site, an included video still manages to get some nice shots of the Guidepoint car. Talk about exposure in new places! Click the image below to go to the story.

Start Your Engines! (But Get a Tune-Up First)

2011-06-24T00:41:00.000-07:00

Ready for summer? We sure are! Despite all of the rumblings about high gas prices, there’s something about a good old road trip that effectively cancels out pesky worries over fuel. Most people on a budget will simply scrimp on something else; say food, for instance, to fill up the tank and hit the road. If this is you, don’t listen to the naysayers: you’ll have a lot of company on the highway.

But before you head out, be sure to make sure your car is in great shape. (Mine is currently telling me, via an incessant yellow light on the dash, that the rear brakes are getting a little low – must have been all of those handbrake drifting turns I’ve been practicing!) There are plenty of Web sites that list the common parts and functions to check or have your mechanic check: here’s one and here’s another. Just Google ‘Summer Car Care Tips’ and you’ll find plenty more.

If you happen to drive an electric vehicle, be sure to carefully map out your drive to include charging facilities, and overestimate your per-charge traveling distance. Even though the age-old “Last Chance Gas” doesn’t apply to you, “Final Hour of Power” does.

So that’s it from a fellow road lover! Pack healthy snacks, bring iPods for the kids—and have a great time!

From Your Guidepoint Guy and Your Friends at Guidepoint

Rain, Rain, Go Away -- It's Time for Helio to Play!

2011-05-18T14:47:00.001-07:00

What a drag -- in preparation for IndyCar's biggest spectacle--the Indianapolis 500--practice for Team Penske was cancelled for a second straight day due to rain, making it 5 straight days that practice has been adversely affected by weather. Here's to hoping the sun will shine soon. Press release follows.

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Bad Weather Cancels Indy 500 Practice for Team Penske for Second Straight Day

SPEEDWAY, Ind. (May, 18, 2011) – Team Penske was once again unable to get valuable track time when Wednesday’s practice session for the 100th anniversary Indianapolis 500 was canceled because of rain.

The team’s three drivers – Ryan Briscoe, Helio Castroneves and Will Power – will try again Thursday, when weather conditions appear to be more favorable.

“It’s kind of like the same story all over again,” said Castroneves. “We came close to getting on track today, but once again, Mother Nature had something else in mind for us. We’ll just work a little harder when we do get a chance to run – hopefully tomorrow. Things are looking good on the Shell V-Power Pennzoil Ultra Team Penske car and we’ll be ready to go as soon as we get the opportunity.”

The cars were pulled to the pits at mid-afternoon Wednesday, but a persistent mist kept the cars off the track.

“Unfortunately the weather hampered our chances of getting back out on track again today, which tests our patience with not being able get more laps done here in Indy,” said Briscoe. “It’s frustrating, but knowing we have such good data to fall back on here at Team Penske keeps us from getting too anxious just yet. Hopefully tomorrow provides better weather and we can get back to work in the No. 6 IZOD Team Penske car.”

This marks the fifth consecutive day in which practice was affected by poor weather. Sunday’s session also was rained out, and portions of Saturday, Monday and Tuesday were delayed because of bad weather.

“It was just a waiting game today,” said Power. “We almost had the chance to run. Two days in a row of not getting on track is kind of a bummer. The Verizon car is in great shape and I have every confidence that the team will give me a fast race car. It is definitely going to be busy when we finally do get on track. On a positive note, I’ve had plenty of time to meet with the media and our sponsors over the last couple of days. Let’s hope we can get on track Thursday for fans and drivers alike.”

Action is scheduled to resume at 12 p.m. ET Thursday. Pole qualifying is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET Saturday, with the race set for May 29.

The First (But Not Last) Post About Guidepoint's #3 Car

2011-04-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, Guidepoint has entered into a sponsorship agreement with Penske Racing, which means the No. 3 car, driven by Helio Castroneves, will be adorned with Guidepoint black and red for several races this season.

Helio is a seasoned driver and former Indy 500 champion, and probably one of the most personable and enthusiastic guys you'll ever meet. We got the opportunity to chat with him at the Toyota Grand Prix on April 17. You could see his passion for the sport as he talked about the ins and outs of his car, racing style and tactics. We couldn't have picked a better spokesperson.

Unfortunately, his racing day didn't mirror his "impact" (no pun intended) on fans as he accidentally ran into a team member's car during the race. And while Guidepoint wasn't the title sponsor for this particular race, we certainly wish him luck in all his outings.

That said, when he does cross the finish line in first place--which he inevitably will--we hope to see the Guidepoint logo across his chest!

Exclusivity? It's a Good Thing

2011-03-28T12:42:00.000-07:00

We're all jugglers. Every day we have to prioritize and re-prioritize to get stuff done, and by the end of the day, we're lucky if we got two things finished on our seemingly unending to-do lists.

But what if you could just concentrate on one task, and not have to worry about other things competing for your time and attention? Think of how much better the results of that task would be.

Essentially, that's what Guidepoint has done in its recent agreement with Micorp, a product distributor in Auburn, Mass. Micorp will be the exclusive provider of Guidepoint products to retailers, dealerships and expediters in the New England area.

Both parties agreed to the arrangement in order to spend less time worrying about competition, and more time building the product's name--and as a result--Micorp's Guidepoint sales.

Click here to read the complete press release at Guidepoint Central on Facebook.

Guidepoint and Galpin: Together at Last

2011-03-17T09:44:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what a trip to California can do.

Rand Mueller, Guidepoint's president and CEO, recently flew out to visit Galpin Motors, the world's largest Ford dealer. He went to meet the man who runs it all--owner Bert Boeckmann--and finalize what will be a great deal for both companies.

In the meeting, Bert was kind enough to pen a testimonial to attest both Guidepoint's products and business practices. "Guidepoint products are easy to sell, easy to install and easy to use,” he wrote. “That is critical in today’s fast-paced environment where customers frequently do extensive research on cars and accessories before they visit the dealership, and transaction times are half what they used to be.”

Galpin has actually been selling Guidepoint stolen vehicle recovery systems for about a year, which is what makes this meeting all the more impactful. First meetings are often highlighted by the hopeful promise of the working relationship, but in this case, both parties could talk about actual results.

"By selling Guidepoint through our F & I offices, we offer customers a highly valued, competitively priced product that can protect the investment they’ve made in their vehicle and, more importantly, their passengers and loved ones,” continued Boeckmann. “Just as importantly, Guidepoint is customer focused and does business the same way Galpin Motors does – by doing things right and treating people the way you want to be treated.”

In Japan, Not All Can be Swept Away

2011-03-12T15:58:00.000-08:00

Working for a company that provides peace of mind to thousands of people nationwide, it's always disturbing to witness or experience an event in which the devastation is beyond our control. Seeing the infrastructure of a country--and all of the elements of the lives within it--washed away like toys in a bathtub, only brings this point home.

Yet, despite all the physical damage, the stories that will ultimately rise to the top are the personal ones, in which family members lament the loss of loved ones or rejoice in reunion. This also tells us something: that the connections we make--not our properties, salaries, experience or accomplishments--are our true value, and cannot be dissolved by disaster.

The Guidepoint family sends its heartfelt thoughts and prayers to those affected by the tragedy in Japan. And as we all hope for news of more lives saved and a full recovery, let's also hug our loved ones and tell them how much they mean to us.

If Your Engine Sounds Louder All of a Sudden ...

2011-02-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

Can you imagine? You get into the front seat of your smart, economical, stylish sedan, insert and turn the key (or press the button as is the new fad on cars these days) ... and VROOOOOM!
Not the usual vrooom! you're used to hearing, but one reminiscent of a Harley-Davidson firing up right next to you. Well, if this happens, it probably means some thief just took your catalytic converter.

Insurance company GEICO reported today that stealing catalytic converters is the new "thing" as the components can be used in drug production and therefore have a high street value. What's worse, the theft is not as complicated as it sounds: a guy cuts it out with a handheld power saw and he's gone.

So what kind of precautions can you take against this growing threat? Park in well-lit areas or areas with protection or limited entry. Add this extra step to avoid becoming a victim ... and a noise menace.

Carmakers turn to Guidepoint for GPS tracking

2010-10-13T09:23:00.001-07:00

Today, we're announcing that Guidepoint has been selected to supply our GPS-based vehicle tracking and recovery solution to Nissan® dealerships nationwide.

It's a factory-branded accessory, which means it will be sold as a Nissan-branded part, but it's "powered by Guidepoint" -- in other words, we designed, engineered and built the unit, and will provide all the services. The new Nissan VTRS, as it's called, also utilizes wireless connectivity by T-Mobile USA to ensure maximum nationwide coverage for vehicle tracking and recovery services.

This is actually the second factory-branded accessory program we've launched in the last month or so. A few weeks ago, Chrysler announced its new Electronic Vehicle Tracking System to the press. Guidepoint is also the exclusive supplier of technology and services for that program.

Reporter Rachel Smith notes in a story for U.S. News and World Report: "Technology is revolutionizing the way we drive. There’s the voice-activated Ford SYNC system, On-Star and navigation systems -- among others -- that make driving easier. Mopar adds another system to the list: the Electronic Vehicle Tracking System (EVTS), which helps locate stolen vehicles and features a nationwide tracking system. EVTS is available with Chrysler models."

For some of us at Guidepoint, this is starting to feel a little bit like deja vu all over again. Back in the old days when we worked at Code-Alarm, we saw some of our innovations (e.g., key fobs, remote starters) move from aftermarket niche products to dealer accessories parts and, eventually, factory-installed equipment.

Likewise, we've seen GPS tracking move from a very niche-oriented product 10 years ago to a desirable solution that the consumer market has embraced. As the car companies roll out GPS tracking out as a factory-branded part, it will expose the category to even more consumers; at some point, the penetration will reach a point where the car makers want to put one on virtually every vehicle. It's a story that's happened a hundred times - from intermittent windshield wipers to air-conditioning to FM radios.

The difference with GPS tracking, of course, is that we're not just selling "parts." Let's face it, creating a black box with a GPS receiver and wireless modem is easy; providing the back-end software and delivering the service to consumers is the hard part. When someone has their car stolen or is lost in the middle of the night, they don't want to talk to a tech; they want to talk to someone who can solve their problem. Our decade of experience in handling stolen vehicle recoveries and delivering services like driving directions, towing help, or emergency dispatch are what make us different from virtually everyone else in the industry except for OnStar.

Here's what Rand had to say about today's announcement: “Location-based services using the pinpoint accuracy of GPS are gaining in popularity, and we’re excited to be working with Nissan to offer this very unique safety, security and convenience accessory,” said Rand Mueller, founder and chief executive officer of Guidepoint. “We’ve developed a comprehensive system that’s easy to sell, easy to install and easy to use. We’re confident that Nissan dealerships will recognize the significant value they can provide their customers with this accessory product.”

Transforming a cost center into a profit center

2010-09-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

We're announcing something today that's pretty exciting for the company because we think it's kind of a "game changer" in one of the channels we serve. It's a new solution for the buy-here pay-here (BHPH) market that we call Recover It.

For the uninitiated, BHPH dealers sell cars to credit challenged customers and, in many cases, will put a device like ours on the car to make sure the customer pays the loan. If the car owner misses payments, our device can be used to send a payment reminder -- in the form of an annoying buzzer everytime they turn on the car -- or to interrupt the starter. In the worst cases, the dealer can use the GPS to track the vehicle and recover it.

We've been in the BHPH market for several years now, but haven't had an amazing amount of success primarily because we sell on value rather than price. Our device works very well and provides a number of functions that other devices don't. Still, lots of BHPH dealers think we're "too expensive" because we cost a a couple bucks more and devices like ours are a necessary evil they don't want to spend money on.

That's why we're psyched today because we've got a new solution that turns this "cost center" into a potential profit center for BHPH dealers. Recover It is a new GPS-based solution that provides payment assurance technology, but also allows a dealer to sell highly valued stolen vehicle recovery services to credit challenged customers.

Werner Scherz, who runs our finance and BHPH channels, puts it this way: “There’s no shortage of companies that can make a low-priced black box with GPS capabilities and $0 in monthly fees. By adding highly valued services into the mix, we've created a total solution that can be a profit center for dealers rather than a cost center. Most importantly, the customer gets some great benefits, including Guidepoint’s award-winning stolen vehicle recovery service and, in many cases, a discount on auto insurance. This is truly a win-win for both dealer and customer.”

The cool thing is that we're one of a handful of companies that can actually do this. Since we launched in 2002, we've been doing stolen vehicle recovery. We're really good at it. The company has a 98 percent recovery rate, with most vehicles recovered in less than two hours.

“Working with law enforcement to provide safe, effective stolen vehicle recovery service is something that takes years to develop,” said Rand Mueller, founder and chief executive officer. “Guidepoint has invested in fully staffed 24/7/365 response centers in Dallas, Detroit and Mexico that work with law enforcement every day to safely recover stolen vehicles across the country and in Central America.”

Werner is out in Las Vegas at a conference for BHPH dealers today and tomorrow to introduce Recover It. Should be an interesting couple of days for him.

Analyst report touts Guidepoint

2010-06-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting post by an analyst at a company called Strategy Analytics. He really seems to "get" where our industry is going, and he's pretty much right on target about how we're trying to compete against Lojack.

We've never made it a secret that we compete with Lojack. While they've been around for more than a quarter century -- compared to about a decade for us -- we believed that we've "built a better mousetrap" with Guidepoint. Our technology is better (in our humble opinion) and we have spent a lot of time and energy developing our service by working with law enforcement around the country. Take a quick read of the report...it's pretty insightful.

GPS helping car dealers locate new profit centers

2010-06-15T10:38:00.001-07:00

Over the past decade, Guidepoint has established itself as a leader in consumer services for vehicle owners, including stolen vehicle recovery, tracking and convenience services. We've won awards from global firms that track the industry and have gotten plenty of media write-ups about recovering stolen cars and helping out our customers.

While recognition from analysts and reporters is nice, we know that the opinions that matter most are those of our customers and, to be perfectly frank, the car dealers who sell our products. Since our launch in 2002, we've worked with thousands of car dealerships across the country to sell, install and service Guidepoint units in customer vehicles around the U.S. They make a fair profit and are never shy about giving us feedback on the product and our services. In fact, many of them end up using Guidepoint on their dealership vehicles (e.g., parts trucks, loaner cars, etc.)

That's what's lead us to expand the range of services we can offer from "consumer" to "business-to-business" services. Today, Guidepoint offers a complete suite of services to assist car dealership and automotive finance companies enhance their profitability, including payment assurance devices, lot protection, loaner car protection and more. Dealers and finance companies can learn more at www.gpsdealersolutions.com or by calling 1-877-477-3463 for more information.

Sales team expands with NY, NJ rep

2010-06-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

We're announcing another addition to the team today: Ralph V. Castronuovo, who's joining the company as sales manager for the New York and New Jersey markets.

Ralph has been around the car biz for a number of years, working both in the aftermarket parts business and the auto loan industry. At Guidepint, he's going to be responsible for developing our business among new vehicle dealerships as well as dealerships and finance companies specializing in pre-owned vehicles.

Prior to joining Guidepoint, Castronuovo was Eastern Regional Account Manager for El-Segundo, Calif.-based National Payment Network, Inc. He brings considerable sales experience in both aftermarket products and automotive financial services, including work with several top-tier dealer groups in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states. Previously, he was a senior account executive at Union, N.J.-based Auto Action Group, Inc.

Rich Zeichner, our veep of sales, had this to say: “We’re very pleased to have Ralph join the Guidepoint team. His background in automotive financial services and aftermarket products is a perfect combination for helping dealerships understand the solutions Guidepoint offers, including stolen vehicle, tracking, payment assurance and fleet management. As dealerships look for ways to increase their profitability, Guidepoint offers them a unique solution that is easy to sell, easy to install and easy to administer.”

Welcome aboard, Ralph!

Growth = opportunity

2010-06-11T15:54:00.000-07:00

One of the great rewards of working at an emerging growth company is watching people develop - and being able to give them new opportunities. Today's blog is about one such opportunity because we're getting ready for a growth spurt at Guidepoint.

The next few months ought to be pretty interesting at our primary call center in Fort Worth, Texas. The addition of new products and services for two new automotive OEMs is going to cause a significant uptick in activation, tech service and service calls for Guidepoint.

Fortunately, the guy in charge of our services, Clyde Landis, is way ahead of the curve in terms of planning, hiring and execution. He's in the process of hiring more activation specialists to handle increased volume that we should see throughout the summer and fall months. In order to properly hire, train and manage a larger team, he's promoted Pam Bilbrey to the post of Inside Sales Manager, effective June 14. Pam's been with the company for a couple of years and has proven herself in a variety of roles.

Here's what Clyde says about his new inside sales manager: "Pam brings a wealth of sales experience to the table; we all have seen that. But, she also has great judgment and a unique ability to train and develop talent regardless of skill set. Take a few minutes to congratulate her now while she can appreciate it; as of June 14, she won’t have the time."

Congrats Pam!

Global research firm honors Guidepoint

2010-06-08T07:17:00.000-07:00

Later today, the global research firm Frost & Sullivan will be announcing that Guidepoint has been given the 2010 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Customer Value Enhancement. The award recognizes our work to establish Guidepoint as a preferred vehicle tracking solutions supplier to both OEMs and the aftermarket in North America.

We're pretty stoked to receive this honor, especially when we were selected from others in the industry -- including some much larger and much older competitors, as well as the plethora of small companies that sell black boxes and pings.

“While there are some aftermarket suppliers for vehicle tracking systems, they are either too small to offer comparable benefits to those offered by GuidePoint or are geographically limited,” says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst, Ratika Garg. “Besides end users, GuidePoint offers benefits to distributors and installers as well since the system is easy to install and can be reconfigured quickly and cost-effectively based on customer demand.”

Frost & Sullivan found a number of noteworthy features in Guidepoint's technology, including the fact that it's easily programmable, our new Smartphone apps and our power management. The report on the research award note: "The GuidePoint device is easily programmable and new features can easily be rolled out to existing customers by making changes to the software through wireless downloads to the unit. The configuration is such that functionalities and services can be adapted to customer needs, making the system highly customizable.

The company offers applications for users of smartphones such as the Droid®, iPhone®, and the Blackberry®. An innovative element of the GuidePoint system is that all antennas are embedded within the device, which makes the installation process robust and simple. Another innovative element is power management. The GuidePoint device draws minimal power from the vehicle, resulting in a highly energy efficient product. Further, focus on quality remains strong. The GuidePoint system is EMC-tested and is expected to last virtually the entire life of a vehicle. GuidePoint installers are trained directly by the company and accredited. Master technicians are brought into GuidePoint, trained and given certifications, ensuring a consistency in service delivery."

Our CTO, Tom Gafford will be receiving the actual award, but we all know that the trophy is just really a symbol of the hard work by our research, product development, marketing and customer services teams. To everyone on the Guidepoint team, take a bow.

Pushing for Money, Not Just Metal

2010-04-19T07:55:00.000-07:00

Here's a nice Q&A from Auto Remarketing News with Werner Scherz, who runs our finance and buy-here pay-here (BHPH) channel for Guidepoint. He makes some great points in here relative to using GPS systems for credit challenged customers.

The reality is that lots of dealers sell black boxes to BHPH dealers and finance companies with the pitch of: "We're cheap, and if the customer skips, you can use our system to get the car back."

Our approach is different. Our SurePay solution is based on the notion that dealers don't really want the car back from the customer. What they want is for the customer to pay their loan every time a payment is due. Our system offers a multi-step approach to changing behavior and getting customers to pay, including payment reminder and starter-interrupt functions as well as a regimen that's proven to work. Take a read.

Tech support team gets MECP certified

2010-03-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

Many of us at Guidepoint have been around the mobile electronics business for several decades, and we know there is one thing you can always count on: technology doesn't always work.

There are lots of reasons why a product fails to deliver the expected performance, whether it be user error, installer error, product defect or my personal favorite: gremlins. When things don't work, we try to take an immediate and practical path: "Fault is irrelelvant. What's relevant is fixing the problem."

Enter our tech support team. Lead by James Wood (or "Woody" as he's known to everyone), Guidepoint's tech support team is really a customer-service unit in disguise. When stuff isn't working, they diagnose, advise and help fix the problem as quickly as possible. To that end, Woody has put his team through the paces of becoming MECP certified under the Mobile Electronics Certified Professionals program. Each of them has spent time in the classroom and under the dash to learn all the "what can go wrongs" in an installation and help create "Best Practices" for installers around the country. Currently, we have six MECP certified techs on staff that work 'round the clock.

"If a consumer has a problem in the middle of the night, we need to be able to assist," Woody explains. "Our products and services are evolving constantly as GPS and wireless technology advances, and vehicles are becoming more and more computerized. MECP certification provides an installer the necessary knowledge to integrate aftermarket accessories into today’s complex vehicles. This also proves to employers and customers that you have a professional commitment to expanding your knowledge of the job."

Tech support members include, Stephen Escamilla, Cesar Salas, Blake Mize, James Woody. There are also two employees on the graveyard shift (11 p.m. - 7 a.m.) that took part in the MECP training: Bryan Martinez, Chris Okon.

Another smartphone app - for Google's Android

2010-03-10T08:59:00.000-08:00

Today, we're announcing the launch of another service-based app for smartphones, specifically the ones that run on Google's Android® operating system. The best-known of these smartphones is Motorola's Droid®, but the new Guidepoint App works on any of the other smartphones that run on the operating system.

Like the app we created for the iPhone, this new one is a service-based app that can be downloaded for free and allows users to control their vehicle or gain access to a variety of location-based services including stolen vehicle recovery, driving directions, emergency help and other assistance.

Guidepoint’s app uses a smartphone’s built-in GPS technology and its wireless connectivity to deliver the phone’s exact location to Guidepoint. Once the app is activated, users can set up an online account with Guidepoint and access services with just a few touches of their Droid screen.

Our CTO, Tom Gafford, said this: “We’ve designed our Android app so that users can quickly and easily access our 24/7365 response centers. The integration of our services with the available technology on the Droid and other smartphones that run on the Android operating system lets us quickly deliver whatever the customer needs to his or her exact location.”

Rand, our CEO added this: “The new Android app extends the availability of our award-winning services, which we’ve developed over the past decade. It’s another great example of why we focus on being a service company rather than a technology company. As manufacturers of unique technologies such as the smartphones continue to develop new technology, we want to partner with them to deliver innovative, highly valued services to consumers and business owners.”

Bottom line, we're beginning to leverage our capabilities as a service provider with smartphone apps, as well as some other projects we're working on with radio-nav suppliers, GPS companies and other technology makers who want to differentiate themselves in the marketplace. Things are going to get interesting here in the coming months.

Guidepoint for iPhone: A Service App

2009-12-14T16:51:00.000-08:00

For years, we've been working under the premise that Guidepoint is a service company, not a technology company. Yes, we've got cool technology, but it merely enables us to provide the services customers value such as stolen vehicle recovery, emergency assistance and roadside help. The GPS part of the equation lets us deliver those services based on the vehicle's pinpoint location.

For the first 10 years of our existence, we've always provided the GPS technology through our propietary hardware and software...until now. We have launched a Guidepoint app for Apple's popular iPhone and, unlike similar GPS-based apps that have been introduced thus far, we're offering more than just tracking.

Yes, Guidepoint owners can use the iPhone app to locate and control their car, but here's the rub: You don't need to have a Guidepoint in the car to access location-based safety and convenience services from our response centers. If you're an iPhone owner, you can set up an account and then we'll use your iPhone's built-in GPS capability to deliver services to you.

It's a one-touch proposition to reach our call center, and we'll have the GPS reading of your iPhone by the time you've said, "Hello." From there, we can help you out with directions, concierge services, emergency dispatch, towing...whatever you need. (Yes, there is a fee for services, but it's nominal). You can check it out at the iTunes store.

GPS for Powersports Redux

2009-11-03T08:45:00.000-08:00

About 15 months ago, we announced Guidepoint for Motorcycles, which represented a leap into a new market for us. Most of us here at Guidepoint are, frankly, car guys who've grown up around the auto business. So we figured that our GPS-enabled theft recovery device for cars would work equally well on bikes, ATVs and other powersports vehicles. Suffice to say, we learned pretty quickly that it worked "good enough" but that "good enough" was not what the powersports market was looking for. They wanted excellent performance, durability against the elements and, of course, a very competitive price point.

So we went back to the drawing board and designed a new GPS-enabled box that's built specifically for bikes and powersports vehicles. We're introducing it today at the SEMA show in Las Vegas (Booth #38058 if you're here) and calling it Guidepoint Xtreme. It's water-resistant, dustproof and features the latest in advanced power management.

Exposure to the elements and dead batteries can render an otherwise adequate security system inadequate. The new GPS Xtreme features expanded water-resistancy so it can be submerged for up to 30 minutes. The unit’s casing is also dustproof to protect its electronic components from even the tiniest particles of dust.

GPS Xtreme also features the latest in advanced power-management, which allows the unit to draw as little as 50 microamps of power without sacrificing a moment’s protection. If the unit senses motion, it immediately enters full-power mode and sends an alert to Guidepoint’s 24/7/365 response center.

Here's our CEO's Rand take on it: “Theft of motorcycles and powersports equipment is an epidemic. We’ve designed the new GPS Xtreme to protect against thieves by making it the most advanced system on the market in terms of reliability, durability and the latest in GPS technology. By combining it with our 24/7/365 response centers, we can respond to thefts and tampering quickly and with pinpoint accuracy.”

Guidepoint Connect getting noticed

2009-09-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

Lots of interest in the media and blogosphere about the new Guidepoint Connect. Check out stories from popular tech blogs like engadget, ubergizmo, nexus404, gadgetorium and phonemag (doesn't anyone use caps anymore?), as well as general blogs like cars for girls, I4UNEWS, Slippery Brick, TechBlips and SlashGear. Have also been doing some interviews with both the trade and the general media about Guidepoint Connect as part of our effort to get the word out on this cool new product.

You can read the original release and see the online photo posted on the wire services here.

Bluetooth+Service+GPS = Guidepoint Connect

2009-09-01T20:09:00.000-07:00

We're very proud to announce Guidepoint Connect, which we believe to be the first-ever Bluetooth kit that comes with free emergency dispatch and roadside assistance services. It's designed specifically for vehicles and can be mounted on a largely unused piece of real-estate in the car -- the steering column.

Here's how it works: It's a pretty standard Bluetooth kit with a dial button and a hang-up button. But it also has two other buttons that connect the caller to Guidepoint's services. The first button, which has a phone on it, connects the driver via Bluetooth/hands-free call to our 24/7/365 response center. The second button, which has a cross on it, can be integrated with a Guidepoint GPS tracking unit(sold separately) so the driver can send a panic alert to our response center. As soon as we receive the alert, we track the vehicle's pinpoint location and call out to the driver immediately. If we don't reach the driver, we send emergency help.

A few years ago, a friend of mine rolled her SUV and her phone flew into the back of the truck. With Guidepoint Connect, she could have pushed a button and made a hands-free call, then had us dispatch help to her location using the GPS unit. That kind of integration between Guidepoint Connect and our Guidepoint GPS tracking units is kind of what lead us down this path in the first place and one of the reasons why we refer to it internally as "OnStar® for everyone else." (OnStar, of course, is owned by General Motors and is factory equipment on most GM models, so the "everyone else" refers to owners of non-GM cars and trucks.)

We've also designed a slick piece of wireless capability into the unit - we call it "Clear Connect" - that allows an iPhone® user to connect wirelessly to the Guidepoint unit to play music over the vehicle’s stereo. The unit can also be used to control portable music devices (e.g., iPods, MP3 players).

Our CEO Rand said this in the press release: “Guidepoint Connect is much more than just an exceptional Bluetooth kit – it’s a tool to make driving safer, easier and more convenient. As more and more states enact and enforce driver distraction laws, we believe Guidepoint Connect will be a great accessory for driver safety and convenience. Additionally, by offering ‘one-touch-then-hands-free’ services such as emergency dispatch, driving directions, towing and concierge services, we can help drivers focus on the road, while we do the work. We are confident that the combination of Guidepoint's driver services and advanced wireless/GPS technology with Brandmotion's Bluetooth technology will allow us to offer a superior aftermarket-installed product.”

Guidepoint Connect is being launched at new-car dealerships and through retailers of mobile electronics. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price for the Guidepoint Connect is $399 (exclusive of installation fees). The cost of the unit includes free E-Call™ service for emergency dispatch, plus one year of complimentary Guidepoint Silver™ service that includes roadside assistance, directory assistance and unlimited concierge service. The unit can also be integrated with a Guidepoint GPS tracking module (sold separately) to provide stolen vehicle recovery, online vehicle tracking and pinpoint location-based services.

Guidepoint Connect is the first new consumer product developed jointly by Guidepoint and Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Brandmotion, LLC (www.brandmotion.com), leading developers of integrated technology products for automotive interiors. It's been a long path, but ultimately, we think this product will be a winner in the marketplace.

New board members

2009-08-19T09:25:00.000-07:00

We're announcing two new board members today -- two guys who have very impressive resumes and should help take Guidepoint to the next level as a company. Their names are Al Giombetti and Walter Young, and they are both senior level executives with substantial experience in the automotive, manufacturing and tranportation businesses.

Al (top left) is the former President of Ford-Lincoln-Mercury, and he brings three decades of automotive executive experience in both domestic and international markets to Guidepoint’s board. Al spent most of his career at Ford until earlier this year when he left to start ASK Consulting, which specializes in strategic and operations planning, and as a Partner in Compass Marketing, LLC, an investment firm. His professional affiliations have included board positions with the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, where he chaired the marketing committee, and King’s College Business School.

Walt (bottom left) brings Guidepoint a broad range of corporate experience, including growth initiatives, M&A and organizational turnarounds, to his board role at Guidepoint. Young served for 13 years as Chairman, CEO and President of Champion Enterprises, one of the nation’s largest builders of manufactured homes. Prior to joining Champion, he served as a senior-level executive with several companies including Wheelbarator Corp., The Budd Company, The Henley Group and B.F. Goodrich. Mr. Young has completed 23 domestic and international organization turnarounds in a variety of industries (tire, chemical, automotive, transportation, foundries, machine tools, manufactured housing) and over 75 successful mergers, acquisitions and divestures.

Here's what Rand had to say: “We are very pleased to add Al and Walt to our board, and look forward to leveraging their expertise. Guidepoint has continued to grow at a double-digit rate despite the challenging economic conditions, and we are preparing to launch new growth initiatives for automotive OEMs, the aftermarket and other channels. Being able to tap the decades of experience and winning attitude that Al and Walt bring to every endeavor is a huge plus for Guidepoint as well as its customers and suppliers.”

New plans for dealer protection and profit

2009-06-29T08:46:00.000-07:00

We sell Guidepoint through about 2,000 dealerships across the country these days, mostly as a product they can sell to consumers. Today, we're announcing a couple of new applications and plans that are aimed at helping the dealership protect their unsold inventory and loaner cars - while still giving them a profit opportunity.

Later today, we'll be announcing a new Loaner Car Protection Plan that will help dealers protect the vehicles they loan out to customers. Believe it or not, some customers don't return loaner cars in a timely manner and, occasionally, they don't return them at all. While the dealers can charge lates fees and fines, the reality is the dealership doesn't want to be penalizing its customers...it just wants the metal back. Our new loaner car plan gives the dealership the ability to remind the customer that the car is due back and, if things get really dicy, they can shut down the starter and use GPS to track the vehicle and send police to recover it.

We've also launched a new Lot Protection Plan that allows dealers to protect and monitor inventory vehicles. Cars do get stolen off dealer lots at times, and for mega-dealers, they sometimes get "misplaced." The lot protection plan will allow them to track the whereabouts of unsold vehicles and, in the case of a theft, use Guidepoint's award-winning stolen vehicle recovery service to get the car back quickly.

Here's the cool thing for the dealers: In addition to protecting the vehicle while the dealer still owns it, the Guidepoint unit can later be sold to the customer who purchases the vehicle. The consumer can then use the Guidepoint unit for a variety of services, from stolen vehicle recovery and emergency dispatch to turn-by-turn driving directions, tracking a teen driver or managing a business fleet.

Both the new plans use our state-of-the-art module and can be paired with an ODB-II connector for a fast and simple install. That should mean less time under the dash and, as always, time is money.

Our CEO, Rand, had this to say: "With the challenging economic climate, it’s more important than ever before for dealerships to reduce their losses and seek out new profit opportunities. These new services can help dealers cut losses from theft and vehicle misuse, but can also give them a unique and sought-after selling opportunity after the vehicle is sold.”

Both new plans utilize Guidepoint’s award-winning technology and services; including 24/7/365 call center support and an easy-to-use Web interface for tracking and controlling vehicles. We've really begun to use those assets to crank up the innovation in the past 18 months, and now deliver a range of services for vehicle owners, dealerships, lenders and business owners, including our award-winning stolen vehicle recovery, emergency dispatch, driver convenience, fleet management and vehicle tracking and control services.

Connectivity & services for new Visteon unit

2009-06-15T06:28:00.000-07:00

Our creative geniuses in product development created a new Windows®-based application that will allow users of a new Visteon® Navigation System to access the Internet in their car or truck.

The product launch is still a few weeks off, but it's a touchscreen radio-nav head unit that Visteon is developing for the aftermarket. We're going to provide connectivity and driver safety/convenience services by integrating the Visteon unit with a Guidepoint module. Once they're tied together in the car, the integrated solution will allow users to surf the Web, track the car with GPS and access location-based services.

We are also going to be the exclusive provider of location-based content and services for the new radio-navigation unit, which is expected to be available in July 2009. Guidepoint will provide the following services through its 24/7/365 response centers and technology infrastructure:

Emergency Services – customers will be able to access 24/7/365 emergency help to their pinpoint location with the touch of an icon on the radio-navigation unit’s touch-screen.
Concierge Services – customers can access a variety of concierge services via a one-touch, Bluetooth-enabled connection to the Guidepoint 24/7/365 response center.
Traffic – customers can get traffic reports within a 10-, 15- or 20-mile radius based on the current vehicle location.
Weather – customers can get a current and future weather forecast based on the vehicle’s current location.
Yellow Pages – customers can get comprehensive Yellow Page® listings, displayed on the head unit screen.

Here's what Jonathan Weisberg over at Visteon had to say: “We’re pleased to work with Guidepoint, which has established itself as a leader in the consumer telematics industry over the past decade. Their experience in consumer services and GPS-wireless technology, combined with Visteon’s vehicle systems expertise and overall automotive intellect, should help make this new product initiative successful.”

Teen driver safety

2009-06-03T06:55:00.000-07:00

Guidepoint has been doing vehicle tracking since 2002, but we've usually marketed that capability for a specific purpose. Our bread-and-butter has always been stolen vehicle recovery, because we grew up around the car security business and we know that customers aren't really buying a product from us -- they're buying a service that they need. And let's face it, when your car gets stolen, you don't just "want" help, you "need" help and pretty quickly.

That service orientation has been a guiding principle over the years, as we've added convenience services to make driving easier and safer, fleet services to make managing business vehicles more efficient, etc.

Today, we're announcing a new suite of services aimed at the teen driver market. We're calling it Vehicle Tracking and Control (VTAC), and it's designed to let a parent (you guessed it) track and control their young driver's vehicle. With a suite of protection features at the user’s fingertips, VTAC GPS owners can instantly view and track the speed and position of their vehicle from the Web browser of any Internet-enabled computer. In addition, they can set alerts to inform them when the vehicle has left a location or reached a destination, or travels outside a preset boundary. This is extremely useful for parents who want to ensure that young drivers travel safely. Every VTAC GPS system also includes Guidepoint’s award-winning stolen vehicle recovery service, plus other security and safety features including E-Call™ for emergency dispatch to the vehicle’s location.

In a lot of ways this is merely "old wine in new bottles" -- we've done tracking for a long time and parents have bought Guidepoint with the express purpose of tracking their teen drivers. What we've done is arranged the service offerings in a cost-competitive way that should really interest the market.

While we've primarily sold the Guidepoint stolen vehicle products through new car dealers in the past, the new VTAC GPS is going to be a branded product with the tagline "powered by Guidepoint" and we're going to sell it mostly through specialist retailers and mass merchants nationwide at a suggested retail price of $499, which includes one year of VTAC 200 service. Professional installation is recommended (at an additional cost.) For more information, visit http://www.vtacgps.com/ or call 877-GPS-FIND/877-477-3463.

New box, expanded capabilities

2009-03-25T10:05:00.000-07:00

There's a news release out today about Guidepoint selecting Laird Technologies to develop a vehicle M2M device. Out product team has actually been working with Laird for several months now on this product, which will give us an additional manufacturing source and engineering partner with world-class capabilities.

Laird is a big company that is known for designing and supplying custom, performance critical components in the wireless and advanced electronics space. They have a ton of expertise in RF (radio frequency) technology, they're a big company (10,000 employees globally) and the know the auto business, which was a critical factor for us.

So many of the people in the telematics business are telecom guys who are trying to learn the auto industry - these days, that's like trying to get a Ph.D. in six month's time. One of our strengths at Guidepoint is that we've been hanging around the auto business for most of our careers. In fact, every single memeber of the senior management team has been doing auto-related work for at least a decade. Both our CEO (Rand Mueller) and our VP of Marketing (Geoff Dixon) have been developing and peddling technology to car dealers, expediters and OEMs since the late '70s. (Sorry guys, you are that old!)

We kind of believe that our automotive experience, coupled with the new partnership with Laird, will bring us huge opportunity in the long run. Our view is that someday, a product like Guidepoint will be standard equipment on all cars, and having an established Tier 1 supplier like Laird as a partner can only help position us in the cross-hairs of the OEMs when the time comes.

Here's what Rand said in the news release: "Throughout our ten-year history, we have focused on building successful partnerships with best-in-breed companies. Partnering with a company such as Laird Technologies gives us additional opportunity to accelerate the evolution of GPS tracking technology that's easy to use, easy to install, and easy to sell."

New finance company client

2009-02-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

This afternoon, we'll be announcing that Guidepoint has been selected to supply a customized collections solution for Southfield, Mich.-based Automotive Credit Corporation. Our new finance company sales guy, Werner Scherz, put the deal together with help from our CEO and CFO. It's a pilot program to help them use our hardware, firmware, call center and, most importantly, brainpower to help them increase their collections.

This is NOT the old "box and pings" strategy that is so prevalent in the buy-here/pay-here world. That model is rife with issues --from hidden costs to privacy to overall effectivness. More than anything, lots of the GPS companies are selling their devices for punitive purposes; that is, if you miss a payment, we use GPS to repo the car.

Our model is different. It's much more consultational and based on a "behavioral change" philosophy that gets the customer in the habit of making payments on-time. At the end of the day, the dealer or the bank doesn't really want the car back - they want the customer to make the payments. Or, as we like to say: "Because you want the money, not the metal."

Anyway, here's what Werner says about the ACC deal: “We’re very pleased to partner with ACC, which is coming off of its most successful year to date in 2008, with expansion into six new states and record sales numbers month after month. They’ve established themselves as an industry leader by creating innovative programs that serve both dealers and credit-challenged consumers. We will be working with ACC to design a service-oriented program that will help them increase collections, reduce repossession and collections-related costs, and strengthen their relationships with dealers and consumers.”

Our key contact at ACC, Tony Stallworth, says this: “Guidepoint has proven itself as an innovator and leader in all of the markets where it competes. We look forward to tapping their expertise in the subprime market, as well as their proven approach of combining high-tech hardware/firmware with high-touch service delivered through their 24/7/365 response centers.”

About Automotive Credit Corporation: Headquartered in Southfield, Mich., ACC is a regional automobile finance company focused on the subprime market. ACC purchases installment contracts from both independent and franchised automobile dealers for consumers with limited or challenged credit histories who are unable to obtain financing from traditional sources. Founded in Michigan in 1992, ACC has partnerships with hundreds of dealers throughout the Midwest, East and Southeastern United States, including Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, Georgia, Maryland, Florida, Virginia, Kansas, Arkansas, and Alabama

Targeting national dealer groups.

2009-02-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

We've added a sales director to help develop our business among the national dealer groups like AutoNation, Asbury Automotive and multi-store chains. Her name is Tara Rahe and she joins us from Procon, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based company that's best known as a seller of GPS devices to the buy-here/pay-here market. Previously, she was a sales consultant at two Iowa-based Ford dealerships, Victory Ford in Dyersville and Finnin Ford in Dubuque.

Here's what Rich has to say about Tara: “We’re pleased to have Tara on board at Guidepoint. She's going to be singularly focused on getting Guidepoint in front of the national dealer groups, and showing them our value-add as a partner. As dealerships look for ways to increase their F&I performance and profit per vehicle, Guidepoint offers them a unique solution that is easy to sell, easy to install and easy to administer.”

Her role at Guidepoint is important for us, too, given the looming consolidation in the auto industry. At NADA last week, the talk was all about the number of dealerships that the automakers were going to need to shutter in the coming 24-36 months. GM, Ford and Chrysler alone were talking about closing more than 1,000 dealerships over the next couple of years. Most of them, of course, will be small, independent dealerships. Kind of a shame, really, when you consider the impact that locally owned dealers have on their local economies -- everything from newspaper advertising to jobs, payroll taxes and sales tax revenue.

NADA New Orleans

2009-01-30T09:01:00.000-08:00

Quality rather than quantity. That's the best way to describe the NADA show in New Orleans this week. Attendance was down as much as 40% from last year's show in San Francisco, and traffic in the booth was light at times. The silver lining, though, was that the people who did attend and stopped by our booth seemed to be much more serious about doing business. The conversations were lengthier, the questions more pointed and the interest level was pretty high. You can never tell the quality of trade show leads until you follow up on them, but my bet is that we should generate some new business out of the NADA show.

The other thing about the show is that it's just a great time to connect with other people in the industry. We spent some time with the folks at SMS Supercars, who were showing off their hot new 570 Challenger (see the photobook below), which is secured by a Guidepoint System. Also had several lengthy conversations with the various companies that consult on F&I and menu selling. Suffice to say, tight credit is making it a challenge to get cars financed, much less accessory products. So we're focusing on creating awareness about Guidepoint because there will be consolidation in our industry coming in the next few months, and we plan to be the top GPS company that's "still around" when the economy recovers. To that end, we hired a new sales person from one of our competitors to call on national dealer groups. And we're going to pump up the volume in the industry in terms of getting our name out there more frequently. Here are some pix of the 570 Challenger - a sweet car that thieves will no doubt be interested in stealing. Fortunately, there's a Guidepoint in it!

Supersecuring Supercars for SMS

2008-11-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

The guy on the right in the picture above is a legend in the auto business. His name is Steve Saleen. He's a former Formula race car driver and the founder of Saleen, Inc., which manufactures specialty vehicles including the Saleen S7 and tricked-out modified Mustangs.

Mr. Saleen stopped by our booth at SEMA to say hello because we had just finalized an agreement to supply Guidepoint as the stolen vehicle recovery solution for two new ultra-high performance vehicles built by his new company, SMS Supercars.

SMS will initially offer Guidepoint as a security option on its new SMS Challenger vehicles: the fully certified and street legal SMS 570™ Challenger and SMS 570X™ Challenger, which are based on the 2009 Challenger R/T platform and feature an SMS Supercharged 5.7L Hemi with power ratings from 500 to 700 horsepower. Both models are fully equipped with a complement of SMS ultra-high performance components, including drive train, suspension, aerodynamics, tires, wheels and interiors.

Rand wasn't in Vegas, but had this to say: “The ultra-high performance vehicles built by SMS deserve an ultra-high performance security solution. Guidepoint integrates the most advanced GPS and wireless technology to protect vehicles from being moved by anyone other than their rightful owners and, if necessary, to recover the vehicle quickly before any damage can be done. We’re pleased to work with Steve Saleen and the entire SMS team to offer their customers the peace of mind that comes with Guidepoint.”

One-touch, hands-free Guidepoint

2008-11-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

We're out at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas this week, showing off our products including a new prototype we've been working on with a company called Brandmotion. It's a bluetooth unit and an excellent one at that. What makes it different though, is that it's directly tied to Guidepoint's 24/7/365 response centers and that allows us to provide a range of services to the driver with one-touch, hands-free connectivity to Guidepoint.

I know. One-touch, hands-free sounds like an oxymoron. The notion here, though, is that more and more of our customers are using our safety and convenience services while they're driving -- and talking on the cell phone while the car is in motion is becoming increasingly dangerous (and, in a growing number of cities and states, illegal). Take a quick click on the video for a demo. Read our news release here.

2008-10-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

One of our new motorcycle dealership customers made this nifty commercial, which he was airing in his local market to promote Guidepoint for Motorcycles. Our first full season selling Guidepoint for bikes was pretty good. Despite the tough economy, we managed to sign up several hundred dealers and the product got a good reception in the marketplace. We're hard at work on making our motorcycle unit "new and improved" for next spring.

We learned lots of lessons about the motorcycle market, confirming our decision to partner with experts in that channel and setting us up for next season. We're "car guys" who've spent a lot of years working with new and used car dealers, so it was crucial for us to find a channel partner who really understood (and had relationships) with the powersports/motorcylce channel.

No credit? No problem.

2008-10-10T14:07:00.000-07:00

All of us at Guidepoint have always been somewhat contrarian. We tend to go against the grain because opportunities exist in spots where -- and when -- others aren't looking.

So, with the credit markets frozen and the number of car loans getting done dwindling every day, we've hired a guy to go out and build our business among finance companies. We just added Werner Scherz as a sales director to build our business among auto finance companies, particularly in the subprime and nonprime finance channels.

Even with money getting tight, there are still loans getting done, but lenders and dealers alike are looking for value-added services that can help them increase profits. And over the past two years, we've been developing a comprehensive range of services to help finance companies increase collections efficiency, reduce vehicle repossession costs, and enhance their relationships with dealers.

Werner's job is to go out and tell lenders about our services. He joins Guidepoint from Credit Acceptance Corporation, a Southfield, Mich.-based publicly traded sub-prime auto finance company. Previously, he spent a decade at Enterprise Fleet Services, a division of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. He brings a variety of experiences in sales, product development and remarketing to his new post.

Here's Rand's quote on Werner's addition to the Company: “Given the current turbulence in the financial sector and the limited access to capital, every company needs to be looking at ways to most efficiently and profitably deploy its capital. Guidepoint offers a service-oriented program that is proven to increase collection returns, reduce costs and strengthen the relationships between lenders and their dealers.”

Finding RVs, Finding God

2008-09-30T13:13:00.001-07:00

Guidepoint got involved with an interesting promotional and branding opportunity that kicked off this morning. We're partnering with publisher Zondervan, which is sponsoring a five-month, 90-city tour to handwrite a new Bible, one verse at a time. We're providing the online tracking capability for people who want to find out where the Bible RV is traveling at any given time. You can check out the Bible Across America website here. We know that we can't help people find God, but we can help them find the Bible RV.

This isn't the only tracking unit we've installed in an RV lately. Last month, we outfitted a couple of RVs in California that tend to a different calling: they are mobil methadone clinics. They have a full range of services including stolen vehicle recovery, call center services and emergency dispatch. The group we're working with had been using another company, but they switched because they liked that we could provide more of a full-service approach instead of just tracking on a computer screen. As we like to say at Guidepoint: "We're not a technology company. We're a service company."

Guidepoint for Motorcycles

2008-08-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

Guidepoint launched a newly designed tracking unit for motorcycles. It's our new box, which features an internal antenna and advanced GPS chipset for optimal performance.

Bikes are a good market because thieves love them. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), motorcycle thefts increased 135% from 2001 to 2005. A motorcycle is stolen every 7.5 minutes, and as soaring gas prices force more people to explore two-wheeled modes of transportation, a motorcycle antitheft device is becoming increasingly important.

Rand, our CEO, had this to say: "We've worked hard to make Guidepoint for motorcycles different from anything on the market. Other companies that sell GPS tracking systems deliver their service through the Web, but Guidepoint customers receive help from the Guidepoint owned and operated Response Center whose employees are specifically trained to handle theft and roadside emergencies. The system's features are unmatched, it's easy to install, and we have an impressive recovery rate, so it provides peace of mind for riders whose love of the open road may take them a little off the map."

The NICB indicates about 25 percent to 30 percent of stolen motorcycles are recovered, while the recovery rate for cars and trucks is 65 percent to 70 percent. However, Guidepoint's vehicle recovery rate is over 99 percent, with most vehicles recovered within two hours.

We're working with a partner on Guidepoint for Motorcycles: Guidepoint Powersports, LLC, which has already signed up more than 100 powersports dealerships nationwide. For information and dealer inquiries, contact Guidepoint Powersports at (916) 458-5433 or visit www.guidepointmc.com

Meatloaf and Guidepoint

2008-07-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

We were given a unique award the other day from one of our investors, a private equity firm called Plymouth Management Company. PMC named us their first-ever “Coup de Ville” award winner, which represents their best- performing portfolio company over the past year based on the following attributes:

1. Exceptional leadership by the management team.
2. Exceptional performance to the business plan, including revenue growth, profitability, and positive cash flow.
3. Exceptional increase in shareholder value.
4. Exceptional performance by supporting roles such as the Board, professional advisors, and banking partners.

Here's what our CEO, Rand Mueller, had to say: “It’s an honor to be recognized for our business performance in what’s been a very chaotic market. We’ve been able to overcome many challenges in the past few years – from the sluggish new-car business to the rapidly changing telecommunication landscape – by sticking to our model, which is based on delivering unique, useful and cost-competitive services. Congratulations are due to our employees, customers, suppliers and financial partners – who all have contributed to Guidepoint's success."

As background, the “Coupe deVille Award” was inspired by the words of rock star Meat Loaf in his famous ballad “Two out of Three Ain’t Bad”, where he gave the following advice to listeners (and venture capitalists):

You’ll never find your gold on a sandy beach
You’ll never drill for oil on a city street
I know you’re looking for a ruby in a mountain of rocks
But there ain’t no Coupe deVille hiding at the bottom of a Cracker Jack box

PMC CEO Mark Horne commented: “In reviewing numerous business plans each year, PMC certainly sees its share of empty Cracker Jack boxes, but quite often we do find a Coupe deVille. Guidepoint certainly represents what we look for when investing for our fund, and has delivered on its potential. We are very proud of Rand and his team.”

New Tech Guy

2008-07-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

We recently hired a guy named James Woody -- or just plain ole' Woody as everyone calls him. Woody is our new lead Technical Support Specialist at Guidepoint, which means he provides the highest level of tech support and can assist anyone with anything related to installing a Guidepoint. He's been a 12-volt guy for about 10 years, having gotten his start as an installer for Circuit City. He's MECP Certified and, on top of it all, he speaks plain English rather than techno-babble. That's important in our company, where one of our mantras is "We're a service company, not a tech company."

He's already paying some great dividends: He has taken our clunky, 8-page installation manual and slimmed it down to an elegant 2-sided install guide with pictures, charts and schematics. He's also working on streaming video versions of the installation materials and training our CSRs to better handle first- and second-level tech issues.

Of course, Woody has to share some of the credit for simplifying things with the product development team. One of the things that makes our unit appealing to a dealership is the fact that it is simple to install and that there is very little OEM customization that needs to be done, unlike, say, a remote starter. So a dealership can pitch Guidepoint on virtually any make or model and not have to worry about installation issues.

Of course, if there is an installation issue, the solution is simple. Call Woody, who sums up his philosophy this way: "I believe in getting the job done right, the first time, and taking care of our customers."

$700 million gorilla?

2008-06-17T11:08:00.001-07:00

Another company in our industry that has tons of potential but little in the way of discernible results got sold for a huge amount yesterday. Hughes Telematics got bought by a public company called Polaris in a deal that values the combined companies at $700 million. Here's the thing: Polaris didn't have any business until doing this deal. They were a so-called "blank cheque" company -- they went public with the promise to build a company and are now using the proceeds of the offering and the stock to buy Hughes. Here's a good story on Forbes website that explains the transaction.

Don't get me wrong, Hughes has some business from the Networkcar business, and has indicated that it has contracts with Chrysler and Mercedes-Benz. A dig into its SEC filings shows them estimating $43 million in revenues this year and doubling up to $86 million in 2009. They are forecasting about 1.8 million installed units in Chrysler and Benz vehicles next year. Here's the real thing: They don't expect to be cash-flow positive until mid-2010 when sales have reached an estimate $250-300 million. That's a quarter-billion dollars before they generate positive cash from operations. Yikes.

Only time will tell if a $700 million valuation is justified. The more relevant question is, "What does this mean to Guidepoint?" Today, not much. We have built our business as a flexible enterprise that sells into multiple channels. The dealer business, which is where we started in 2002, is absolutely an important part of the mix today, but it's not the ONLY part like it was a few years ago. We've expanded into new channels like powersports and fleet, and are working on initiatives to conquer other channels in the coming year. More importantly, we need to keep working on the "little things" like customer service, making dealers happy and creating profit opportunities for everyone in the chain to ensure that some $700 million gorilla doesn't come and squash us in the future.

Expediting Guidepoint

2008-06-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

Last week, we hosted our annual expediter conference in Fort Worth with 10 of our distributors from around the country. We spent a couple of days talking about the business, introducing new programs, conducting sales training and unveiling some new POP. The other cool thing that we announced is a new incentive program that should help our expediters drive their sales to car dealers even further. And, of course, we had a great steak at Ruth's Chris on Friday night. Geoff Dixon, our vice president of sales, put together a great program.

Geoff also did something really smart during the program: He stopped talking. Not that he's a gabber or anything, but Geoff (and the rest of us) got out of the way and let the expediters talk among themselves about "what works" in the field. Our veteran expediters shared how they pitch the product to dealers, incentivize F&I people and handle customer issues successfully. They also shared how they use Guidepoint as a unique product that they can open a dealer with, and then expand into other 12-volt and custom accessory products. My personal favorite part of the conference, though, was hearing the "expediter horror stories" about accidentally deployed airbags, screws through the roof of expensive import cars and sunroofs installed on the wrong vehicles. That is why these guys all carry expensive insurance policies.

On the whole, the conference and the way Geoff set it up was a great reminder to all of us that we need to sit back and listen sometimes, rather than feel the need to lead the discussion.

Special thanks to our boys from Boston, Jeff Fuller and Frank Salkovitz of Micorp, and our guy in Northern California, Manny Moncada of Autohaus, for sharing their successes -- and occasional failures -- with the group. Micorp and Autohaus have been selling Guidepoint since day one, and they've built some great relationships and some great brand equity for us. Am already looking forward to next year.

New sales veep, new accountabilities

2008-05-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

We recently announced something that's been in place for about 3-4 months. Actually, I should say "someone" -- Rich Zeichner. (That's pronounced "Zike-ner" for those of you who are interested). Anyway, Rich is a senior sales guy who's come onboard to help us take the automotive dealer channel to the next level. He's a former Ford and Visteon sales guy, and he worked with our CEO Rand at Code-Alarm back in the day. Here's a link to the press release we put out this week.

In line with the addition of Rich, we've continued to re-squiggle the org chart. Geoff Dixon is now heading up marketing and member relations, which was one of my accountabilities, and I'm now going to be spending time developing a specialty channel, spending more time on PR and tending to one of our largest B2B customers.

Wrapping NADA

2008-02-13T09:29:00.000-08:00

The NADA show is over and it was a pretty worthwhile endeavor, save for the last day when traffic to the booth slowed to a crawl. The Moscone Center was not an ideal place for the show because it was held in three separate buildings and we were no where near the car companies, so that had an impact on the number of dealer principals that wandered by our booth on their way to see Toyota, Ford, GM and others. Still, we had a good number of dealers that wandered by, stopped to look at our booth and then said: "You sell GPS?"

I will say that most dealers now "get" the difference between GPS navigation and GPS stolen vehicle recovery. I can only think of one dealer who asked me, "where's the screen?" In fact, most asked the question: "How does your price compare to Lojack?" (The answer, of course, is: "Price is beside the point...let's talk about the important thing: Your dealer profit and your customers' vehicle security -- both will be better with Guidepoint than with Lojack.")

At any rate, we secured lots of interest from dealers and distributors in markets where we do business and many where we don't have a strong presence yet. Based on the response at the show, that situation will begin to change in the next few months.

Subprime...coming into its prime?

2008-02-11T06:51:00.000-08:00

One of the things we're noticing out here at NADA is the rise in dealers interested in finding a unit that can help them with their subprime business...that is, cars sold to people with poor credit. There seems to be an increase in the subprime end of the business for car dealers right now, and one of the biggest catalysts seems to be the collapse of the subprime loans in the housing business. "A lot of middle and lower-middle class people have had their credit damaged by the subprime mortage mess," one dealer told me, "and those people still have to have a car to get to work."

The result is that some people who would have traditionally qualified for traditional loans are now falling into the subprime -- or "nonprime" as it's sometimes called -- category. They're buying used cars and paying higher interest rates, and the dealers are all looking for devices that can help them track and monitor the vehicle if there is a default. Of course, you can't just slap a GPS device in the car and start tracking your customers' whereabouts. Along with the privacy issues, there are also disclosure requirements (ie, you have to tell them it's in the car) and fair lending concerns (e.g., do you put a device on every car you sell or just the ones with reaaally bad credit). For the companies that can navigate those tricky obstacles, though, this will be an emerging opportunity.

It's all about the relationships

2008-02-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

One of our best dealership customers stopped by the booth today, a gentleman by the name of Ernie Boch, Jr. He operates several dealerships in England, including Boch Toyota and Boch Honda. The latter was recently named the #1 volume Honda dealership in North America, a fact that we acknowledged with an ad in Automotive News.

I'd only met Ernie once before, at NADA in New Orleans a few years ago, and my meeting with him yesterday left me with the same impression: He's a good guy. He was very gracious about Guidepoint and very complimentary of our expediter in Massachusetts (Micorp) that provides product, installation and service to his Boch dealerships. Actually, he complimented Frank, who works for Micorp and "handles" all things related to Boch for Guidepoint. In my humble estimation, it's cool that a guy like Ernie Boch, who owns dealership and auto-related businesses valued at more than $1 billion, not only knows who Frank is, but that he makes it happen and that he's a good guy (he is!) That's the thing about car dealers -- unlike a lot of companies and industries, car dealers still "get" that business is about relationships, and that it's important to get to know the people you do business with. We're having many good reminders of that out here in San Francisco.

2008 NADA Show

2008-02-10T10:13:00.000-08:00

Time to get blogging again. Guidepoint is exhibiting at the NADA Show, which is being held in San Francisco this year. We're at Booth #2649W in the Moscone West Hall.

Gathering string

2008-01-22T09:42:00.000-08:00

There's a mention of Guidepoint in today's Detroit Free Press. It's related to the annual Michigan Growth Capital Symposium, held by the University of Michigan each year. We presented at the Symposium a few years back, and that's where we met Plymouth Venture Partners, an Ann Arbor firm that ended up investing in the Company. The PVP deal then introduced us to Mike O'Brien, a serial entrepreneur from Detroit who sits on our board and is involved in several other businesses including Saxon Motorcycles. Well, Mike has since introduced us to some of his business partners in the motorcycle and powersports channel, and we've adapted our technology for that market. This spring, we intend to roll out Guidepoint for Motorcycles (and ATVs, snowmobiles, etc.) with the help of the folks Mike introduced us to.

It's been a great lesson -- and reminder -- of how business often works for entrepreneurial companies. You go out and meet people and learn somethings, then play off those relationships and knowledge to build new relationships and knowledge and so on. It's not unlike what my editors in the newspaper business used to call "gathering string." For you younger folks, it's kind of like how you used to surf the Web before Google. You would find a link and then follow that another site, and so forth. Honestly, Google's ruthless efficiency killed the whole notion of surfing the Web and the serendipity that comes with it, but that's another topic.

GPS foils Portland-area carjacking

2007-08-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

Here's a brief newspaper story and a TV clip about a vehicle we recovered after a woman had been carjacked at knifepoint in Vancouver, Washington, which is located near Portland. The 22-year old victim called 911 and told them she had a Guidepoint in her car. Police notified us and we tracked the vehicle, which was recovered in approximately 40 minutes. The suspect was also arrested and brought into custody. Our success rate continues to hold at more than 99%, which compares pretty favorably to our prime competitor, Lojack, which uses an older technology and only works in markets where the vehicles are equipped with their tracking equipment. It's great to hear a member of law enforcement say that we were "incredibly helpful" in recovering the car, as the Vancouver PD spokeperson says in the TV clip. (NOTE: Sorry about the YouTube clip, but you have to go the 3:40 mark in the video to see the story about the GPS recovery).

Mapping Updates

2007-08-17T10:24:00.000-07:00

The development team, lead by our erstwhile whiz kid Tom Gafford, has made some changes to our mapping system that offer some cool benefits for users. The actual, physical maps we purchase from Maptuit are the same, but the interface is new and that's allowed us to offer some new functionality. A few sample functions: you can roll the cursor over different parts of the map and it will calculate how far that cursor point is from the vehicle. That's kind of handy when you're trying to estimate distances for directions or a quick trip. (Actually, I used it this morning to see how far my morning run was since my car is parked in front of the house).

Anyway, they also added a function so users can now just highlight an area of the map and it will automatically zoom in to that area. Best of all, they add the availability of much larger maps that take up nearly the whole screen. That's helpful for guys (like me) who need to wear dimestore glasses to read street names.

To be sure, the changes are incremental, but when you preach continuous improvement, everything is (or at least ought to be). And customers notice. Within a few hours of the new mapping going live, a customer called in and said: "I was tracking my car, and I noticed the dot on the map changed from blue to red. Does that mean something is wrong with my system?" The answer: No. We just decided to change the dot color. Thanks for paying attention!

We're all in sales.

2007-08-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

We're looking for a sales manager to lead our inside sales efforts. The job is posted on Monster, but also on the Guidepoint website. At the moment, we have a four-person team that handles activation calls and upgrades, but the reality is that everyone at Guidepoint is accountable for sales. All of our CSRs do upgrade selling, handle customer renewals and look for opportunities to drive revenue. It's a cultural thing that comes from our CEO, Rand, who's a born peddler (albeit one who's an electronics whiz and serial entrepreneur). At any rate, if you know of anyone who's looking to work 60-70 hours per week, training, teaching and motivating, please have them contact me at brian@guidepointsystems.com.

New flash movies

2007-07-30T09:04:00.001-07:00

We've posted two new flash movies that our design guy, Nate, produced to highlight what Guidepoint does. One is flashy and speedy, with a techno soundtrack that we hope will appeal to the younger crowd. (Given that Nate is young and flashy himself, he's a better judge of that than me). The other is a slower paced spot that has a loping soundtrack that suggests Napoleon Dynamite. (As the middle-aged guy, I kind of like this one.) Both can be accessed on our consumer site (lower right hand corner).

New finance guy

2007-07-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day of the rest of Joe Moeller's life. Joe is our new CFO, though he's no stranger to the company. He served for many years as Guidepoint's CPA and a consultant. Today, he begins as our internal finance guy, which should help us improve our finance and administration capabilities exponentially. Best of all, he's got a wicked sense of humor and a way with words. From an accountant no less. He can be reached at joe@guidepointsystems.com

Missing person no more

2007-07-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

Got to personally help out on a recovery this morning that was a bit out of the ordinary. Initially, we thought it was a stolen vehicle, but the dispatch officer told me that it was actually a missing person report and that the person who had taken the car was thought to be at risk of harming himself. We worked with the Napa, Calif. police on a vehicle that was missing and were able to give them very detailed information on the vehicle's location: parked in the street in front of a house, two houses from the corner. They dispatched an officer and found the vehicle with the driver sleeping in it.

Mother and child reunion

2007-07-07T23:45:00.000-07:00

Just got a nice email forwarded from a customer whose wife and one-year old we helped. He wrote:

"After my experience today I wanted to follow up and thank you and your staff for the very quick support today and a HUGE job well done. I have been in technology for the past 15 years and every once in a while you come in contact with something in high technology that can truly help you in life or even save a life. Over a year and a half ago I had one of your Guidepoint Systems installed in my vehicle while my wife was pregnant for simply the piece of mind of being able to us get out of a jamb if we locked our keys in the car or to have the ability of getting our car back if ever stolen. I never thought it would be to save my daughters life.

Today, I was golfing and got a frantic call from my wife stating she was calling from a pay phone because she locked her keys and phone in the car along with my 13 month old daughter. She remembered we had a Guidepoint but asked was so full of panic all she could think of was calling me. I then called your 877 line and got [response center specialist] Greg D. on the phone after a very short wait period. In seconds my wife had my little girl back in her arms.

Anything could have happened today. Just wanted to send a quick note to thank you for your efforts and having a great support staff and reliable equipment that obviously was able to save a life (or at the very least a Mom’s sanity).

In business, it's easy to become somewhat cynical, especially when you're in the fish bowl everyday and you're always pushing to sell more. So it's great to get a feel-good for helping someone out. One of the things we always say is that "Guidepoint is not a tech company -- it's a service company." Situations like this are a great reminders of that philosophy.

Guidepoint in the News

2007-06-17T13:37:00.000-07:00

We've been getting some ink of late, in part because we're a "success story" in Southeast Michigan. Unfortunately, that puts us in rare company these days. The Michigan economy's travails have been well documented in the local and national media, and everyone knows that the Big Three are struggling. Our CEO, Rand, has been telling people: "We need to stop calling it the Motor City!" In his view, that moniker just carries too much baggage and aligns us -- emotionally, financially, psychologically -- with an industry that is struggling to survive.

Rand is a classic entrepreneur: restless, edgy and driven. Guidepoint is his 13th company and, he freely admits, not all of his endeavors have ended up making money. "About half have done well and made money for investors," he says. "The other half...not so much."

Anyway, here are two stories about Guidepoint and Rand. One is from the Oakland Business Review and the other from an online publication called MetroMode Media.

Buy-here-pay-here product

2007-06-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

There are an awful lot of GPS vendors out there that focus on the used-car dealer channel, also known as the "buy-here-pay-here" channel. I'm not sure I really get the value proposition because they sell a unit and then every time the dealer "pings" the unit, they charge them for a hit -- usually 50 cents or $1. The dealers use the GPS location if they need to repossess the car, which I get, but that amount of airtime alone isn't enough to make the business model work. We're all like cell phone companies, so we effectively sell data and, in our case, services. For this buy here pay here business, unless the dealers are tracking the vehicle regularly, it doesn't really make it that worthwhile as a business endeavor. That's not to say there aren't other worthy business applications for this market, but it's not as simple as selling a black box and some pings.

New website

2007-05-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

We've done something of a minor overhaul of the consumer website to make it more navigable and better showcase our core business: stolen vehicle recovery. Some key changes:

Dealer Login is now located at the top of the page for quick access
We are including stolen vehicle recovery stories on the homepage
Easier navigation will help consumers and dealers use the tools online
Dealers will be able to use the improved features as a selling tool.

As always, your feedback and comments are appreciated. Email us at marketing@guidepointsystems.com.

Blogging Guidepoint

2007-05-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

Does Guidepoint really need a space of it's own in the blogosphere? That's not even a rhetorical question, because I'm not sure the answer is yes. But we'll do it anyway, because having a blog will give us the opportunity to communicate more frequently and strategically with the people who matter most to us: employees, customers, vendors and investors.

We're a growth company, and that means near constant change. The intent, then, of this blog is to communicate more of those changes and the "stuff" that's going on more regularly. We'll start today, but will probably not be posting regularly until we hit July. Feedback is welcome via posting comments -- you can be as brutal as you want, but keep it clean, okay -- or via email at brian@guidepointsystems.com.