eAuto runs out of gas

eAuto, an Internet-based business-to-business automotive aftermarket parts distributor since 1996, has ceased operations. eAuto was unable to secure a second round of funding. "The automotive aftermarket is in a lot of pain right now, as evidenced by the valuations Wall Street is placing on the industry's largest companies," said eAuto founder and CEO Malcolm Davidow. "Things will get worse before they get better to the extent the aftermarket does not address the very real challenges it faces in the areas of inventory management, reverse logistics, supply chain integration and electronic cataloging. The key to the success of any technology-centric model today is getting the mechanic to migrate from the telephone to the keyboard. Given that the eAuto model responded to each of those challenges, it is unfortunate the capital markets did not recognize that." eAuto will sell numerous assets that were deployed to support its e-commerce effort, including a diagnostics application that was to be released in the near future, a patent-pending real-time volume pricing program, electronic catalog database management systems and web site content, as well as the eAuto brand and domain name.