GPS for Powersports Redux

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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?

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.