1996 – 2002: AutoDigest Webline
AUTODIGEST D-I-Y ONLINE SPECIALTY SITE
Having participated and led several corporate automotive related information technology initiatives taught me a great deal about myself. The internet information management system was at the time in its infancy and the environment encouraged anyone to explore this new interactive communication medium.
The AutoDigest Webline site was first started as a hobby and it was my attempt at exploring the boundaries that this new technology frontier had to offer. A small team of automotive and technology enthusiasts got together, created a company called RepairWare Inc. and mapped out what we believed was the first automotive information management gateway on the World Wide Web. It was an ambitious project especially since it was being done outside our regular employment and in our spare time. The underlying principle of the program was simply to unify under a single umbrella the access to automotive vehicle manufacturers, parts manufacturers, aftermarket distributors, jobbers, retailers, associations and service repair operations information in a centrally managed location.
At the heart of the system was a product referred to as the AutoVIN. It was the most comprehensive Vehicle Identification Number decoder system developed and released for public and professional use. Developing this core technology provided the unique tool for cataloguing information provided for or by t
he automotive industry participants for both the professional and do-it-yourself marketplace.
The AutoDigest Webline featured the following services:
- AutoVIN: an online interactive database program that can easily decode most of the vehicle manufacturers VIN’s to initially provide basic vehicle information such as the year, make model, body style, engine size and fuel management system description and drivetrain information. A second generation of the program was later released to accommodate the newly adopted 17 character industry standardized VIN which added new vehicle description details such as the type of safety equipment included in the original build of the vehicle.
- AutoDirectory: a comprehensive “Yellow Pages” of the automotive industry
- AutoManual: listing of available model specific repair and maintenance manuals
- AutoWare: an online parts application database
- AutoStore: an online store where visitors can purchase unique automotive products, parts and manuals
- AutoView: an online magazine dedicated to providing professional and independent reviews of automotive products
AutoDigest Webline was successfully launched in 1996 and was continually supported as a hobby operation until the project idea was re-engineered and re-introduced through a corporate entity in 1999 through a larger and resourceful organization called cybrrparts.com.