Dealer Rental wasn't created because I thought the world needed another giant technology platform.

It came from something much simpler.

People need wheels.

Your car breaks down.

You're involved in an accident.

Your vehicle is sitting in the repair shop.

You can't find a rental nearby.

You need an SUV for a family trip.

You're traveling for business.

Or maybe you're considering buying a vehicle and would like to spend a day, a week or longer actually experiencing it before making the decision.

In situations like these, people don't necessarily need another complicated automotive ecosystem.

They need transportation.

And there may be a dealership nearby capable of providing it.

That simple idea eventually became DealerRental.com.

We're Building Dealer Rental With Automotive Experience—and Modern Technology

I've spent more than 20 years working in digital automotive, including experience with Autotrader.com and Cars.com and working with OEMs, franchise and independent dealerships, dealer groups and advertising agencies.

But Dealer Rental is also being built during an extraordinary period in technology.

Today, an entrepreneur can access capabilities that would have required entire departments not very long ago.

We've used technology for website development, mapping, research, video, QR codes, search, publishing, design, data organization and artificial intelligence.

Tools and platforms that have contributed to our work include GoDaddy Airo, Atlist Maps, video-production and AI tools, Flowcode, YouTube, Google and ChatGPT from OpenAI, along with dealership websites, OEM resources and publicly available automotive information.

Each tool contributes something different.

But none of those tools determines where we're going.

The mission determines where we're going.

How ChatGPT Has Helped Me Build Dealer Rental

I want to specifically acknowledge ChatGPT because artificial intelligence has become an important part of how I work on Dealer Rental.

I use ChatGPT as a research, writing, brainstorming and strategic-development tool.

Sometimes I arrive with a carefully developed idea.

Sometimes I arrive with a paragraph.

Sometimes it's a question.

And sometimes it's simply an observation I've made after years in the automotive business that I want to investigate.

AI helps me work through it.

ChatGPT has helped me organize ideas, improve writing, develop website concepts, research industry questions, explore dealership rental models, create marketing materials, think through consumer use cases and examine Dealer Rental from perspectives I might not have considered on my own.

It has also helped bring an additional industry perspective to many of the ideas and blogs I've developed.

That has real value to me.

AI can take an idea I've been carrying around for years and help me ask:

• What does this mean for the dealer?
• What does it mean for the consumer?
• What am I overlooking?
• How can I explain this more clearly?
• What evidence would help prove—or disprove—the idea?

That doesn't replace experience.

It helps me do more with it.

AI Didn't Invent Dealer Rental

There's an important distinction I want to make.

ChatGPT didn't wake up one morning and invent Dealer Rental.

The idea developed from years of watching the automotive marketplace change.

Rental-car companies moved aggressively into used-vehicle retail.

Peer-to-peer platforms demonstrated that consumers were willing to rent vehicles from other consumers.

The pandemic disrupted showroom traffic, inventory, supply chains and traditional automotive behavior.

At the same time, I could see that many dealerships already possessed most of the ingredients necessary to become local mobility providers.

• Vehicles.
• Facilities.
• Service departments.
• Detail operations.
• Employees.
• Technology.
• Insurance experience.
• Marketing capabilities.
• And customers living all around them.

The question became increasingly obvious to me:

If rental companies can sell cars, and ordinary people can rent their cars to other people, why shouldn't more dealerships rent cars to their communities?

AI didn't create that question.

But AI has helped me explore it, challenge it, research it and communicate it much more effectively.

And I believe in giving credit where credit is due.

AI Is Powerful. It Is Not Infallible.

Using artificial intelligence responsibly also means recognizing its limitations.

AI can be wrong.

Websites can contain outdated information.

Business information changes.

Dealership programs change.

OEM programs evolve.

Rental availability changes constantly.

Businesses open and close.

Maps and directories can contain errors.

That is why Dealer Rental attempts, whenever practical, to verify important information through dealership websites, OEM resources, public information and other appropriate sources.

Consumers should always confirm rental availability, vehicle availability, pricing, insurance requirements, eligibility and rental terms directly with the dealership or mobility provider.

Technology can help point us in the right direction. Human judgment still matters.

We're Not Trying to Build Another Amazon, Uber or Turo

Some of the world's largest technology companies have created extraordinary consumer experiences.

They employ enormous engineering teams and operate infrastructure at a scale that a company like Dealer Rental isn't trying to reproduce.

That's okay.

Our objective is different.

If you need wheels near you, we'll try to point you in the right direction.

That's the promise.

We're trying to make an overlooked mobility resource easier to discover: the local dealership.

Thousands of franchise and independent dealerships already sell vehicles, service vehicles, finance vehicles and accept trades.

Some dealerships also rent vehicles to the public.

We believe more eventually can.

Sometimes You're Just in a Pickle

This is one of the most important things for us to remember as we build Dealer Rental.

Behind every search isn't a marketing statistic.

There's a person.

Someone's transmission failed.

Someone just had an accident.

Someone's vehicle is sitting on a lift waiting for parts.

Someone landed at an airport and discovered there aren't any vehicles available.

Someone needs to get their children somewhere tomorrow morning.

Someone has to get to work.

Someone needs a vehicle for their business.

Someone simply needs wheels.

That's the person we're trying to help.

Maybe Dealer Rental has the answer.

Maybe the dealership we point them toward has the answer.

Sometimes we won't.

But we're going to keep trying to make the connection easier.

Technology Should Serve the Mission

That is ultimately how I think about every technology we use at Dealer Rental.

Maps aren't the mission.

AI isn't the mission.

Video isn't the mission.

QR codes aren't the mission.

Search isn't the mission.

They're tools.

The mission is connecting people who need mobility with dealerships that may be able to provide it.

Technology simply helps us do that better.

The Bigger Idea: 360° Mobility in the Community

And underneath that simple consumer mission is a much bigger automotive idea.

I believe the dealership can become a true 360° mobility center for its community.

• I Sell.
• I Service.
• I Finance.
• I Trade.
• I Rent.
• I Sell Again.

A rental customer can become a service customer.

A service customer can become a rental customer.

A rental can become an extended test drive.

An extended test drive can become a purchase.

A buyer eventually becomes a service customer.

Someday that vehicle comes back as a trade.

And the cycle begins again.

That's not simply car rental.

That's a relationship between a dealership and its community throughout the automotive life cycle.

We're Building in Public

Dealer Rental is still being built.

That's intentional.

We're researching. We're experimenting. We're finding dealerships. We're building maps and directories. We're talking about rental, insurance replacement, business mobility and paid extended test drives. We're testing ideas. We're learning what works.

We'll occasionally get something wrong, and when we do, we'll work to correct it.

We're also going to continue using some of the best technology available to help us work faster, communicate better and make Dealer Rental more useful.

And that includes artificial intelligence.

I believe transparency about that is important.

I'm proud of the automotive experience behind Dealer Rental.

I'm proud of the work going into building it.

And I'm grateful for the technology that allows a small entrepreneurial operation to pursue a very large idea.

Why We're Doing It

At the end of all the technology, research, websites, maps, AI conversations and industry strategy is a remarkably simple idea:

• Help drivers find wheels near them.
• Help dealerships serve more people.
• Help communities discover another local mobility resource.

And perhaps, along the way, help establish dealer rental as a much larger part of the American automotive industry.

That's what we're building.

That's Dealer Rental.

And we're just getting started.

Pablo Barquin
Founder, DealerRental.com