There are roughly two cars for every person in the United States. To some, these vehicles represent simple transports – efficient means to get from point A to point B. But to others, cars are objects worthy of fanatical attention. The new web startup Boompa is for that latter set.
Car enthusiasts have a big presence online. As demonstrated by the existence of smaller forums for the Toyota Matrix, such as MatrixOwners.com (with 6,600 members), and by larger ones for Honda Civics (ClubSi.com claims about 52,000 members), these proud drivers constitute a substantial market.
Former CNET employees Ethan Lance and Dave Snider, who constructed Boompa, hope to harness that demographic with a MySpace-like setup. Users can enter information about (and pictures of) cars they own or want to own, and can comment on and tag each other’s vehicles. The site caters to individuals who “mod,” or modify, their cars, inviting users to “find parts and guides to improve them.”
The owners also exhibit enormous ambition in the form of the Boompa Database Project. As described on the site, “Boompa wishes to build the world’s largest, most comprehensive and most accurate dataset about vehicles and their parts in the world. We believe such information should be region neutral and should be built by the people that actually drive, pilot and pedal the vehicles. We want to provide this collected data free to anyone who wishes to use it in a non-commerical fashion in whatever way they want under a CC license.”
Boompa is open not just to car nuts, but also to fans of motorcycles, planes, ATVs, scooters, and even bicycles. The Boompa Database will encompass the same vehicular assortment.
Boompa is well-designed, and it has an interesting premise. If the site can attract enough car enthusiasts, it should act as a valuable and interesting resource, and qualify as a resounding success.
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Doug is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest eBusiness news.
