Ney doesn’t believe the Internet will ever spell the end of the test drive, or put car dealerships out of business. What it has already done, and will continue to do, is allow shoppers to cut down the number of dealers they need to visit in person.

“What we’ve found is that the people who have a highly satisfactory experience on (a manufacturer’s) website are more likely to show up at that dealership to test drive a car,” said Ney. “In a world where people are visiting fewer dealerships, your website has to be as effective as possible.”

For Infiniti’s part, that means a site that appeals to the emotional side of buying a car, “while delivering on some sort of value message,” says Stephen Lester. “You want to have price tools, and a (vehicle) configurator is really key, but it’s also the functionality of those pieces.”

Ney says interactive elements, like a 360-degree view of the car (as opposed to static images), allow an automaker to “romance” shoppers who visit the site to learn more about a car or truck. Video content seems to have a positive impact on the consumer experience, too. The most telling statistic, however, is that 67 percent of shoppers who were “delighted” with their experience using an automaker’s website said they were more likely to test drive a vehicle from that brand, compared to just 17 percent of those who were “disappointed” in a brand’s site.

Still, all the effort manufacturers put into allowing consumers to virtually “build” the car they want online can create more questions than it answers, said Mike Lynett, senior product manager for autoTRADER.ca’s new car division.

“There’s a lot of ambiguity in vehicle pricing,” said Lynett. “There are different incentives applied at different times of the month, and there are volume quotas dealers have to meet, so you get certain dealers that are extremely motivated to move vehicles at the end of the month.”

Lynett says autoTRADER.ca’s new car listings simplify the process by showing “real” pricing on vehicles that already exist and are available on dealer lots.

“(With a vehicle like a Ford) F-150, there are so many build combinations, you can build it a million and a half different ways,” he said. “The build-and-price mechanisms tend to be cumbersome, so we show shoppers cars that are already built, so they can see the actual prices dealers are willing to sell them at. You can locate dealers that have the vehicle you want, and you can see it and drive it that day.”

Lynett said his company’s goal is to put the consumer on equal footing with the dealer with respect to the information they have, and to make them comfortable in the car buying process.

“There’s a real difference between helping someone simply find the best price on a car, rather than feeling like they had a good experience and got a fair price.”

Even with sites like autoTRADER.ca doing what they can to streamline car buying, an automaker’s own website is often the first point of contact between brand and buyer, and Ney said that’s why manufacturers will continue to put so much effort into making them work well.

“The opportunity is there for a mainstream brand to knock one out of the park with a satisfying and intuitive web experience. If one of those brands could figure it out, they could really set themselves apart and give themselves a great opportunity to sell more cars.”

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