ProudWheels; the first social app for petrolheads
After an overwhelming Launch Party a week earlier, it’s officially live as of October 23, 2021: the ProudWheels app. This social platform is like Facebook, but exclusively for car enthusiasts. They can interact with each other and stay updated on everything. Other key components include clubs, events, and brands. With this new platform, 402 Automotive hopes to unite ‘petrolheads’ even more effectively.Plenty of Reasons to Celebrate
Drag racing on the runway, a race simulator, a DJ truck: 402 Automotive went all out on Saturday, October 16th – as we’ve come to expect from this company – with a Launch Party at Breda Airport. There was plenty of reason to throw a party for about 300 founding partners and members: after a year of full throttle effort by Pinch, the beta version of Proudwheels was presented. After the finishing touches were added, since October 23rd the iOS and Android apps have been available in the stores.
A Social Media Platform for Petrolheads
Why this app? 402 Automotive is a successful organizer of car events such as JapFest and 100% Auto Live, which occur almost weekly and often attract tens of thousands of visitors. However, a problem arose. Publicizing events, ticket sales, communication with members… it all happened via a certain social medium. This became increasingly costly (also because the company was growing), while all data remained with the social medium. As a result, the entire business model of 402 was under pressure.
Thus arose the idea to create their own social media platform specifically for car enthusiasts and auto-related businesses. Proudwheels is for now app only, although a web version may be added in the future.
The Four Pillars of an App
The mobile application is built around four axes: users (‘petrolheads’), clubs, events, and brands. Users can create a profile and register their car(s) and install them in a virtual garage, where the app contains a database with all models, years, and types. Moreover, they can interact with friends and people from the scene in a Facebook-like manner. For example, they have a feed and a timeline, and they can create posts with photos, videos, and text, tag people, give comments, and like things (‘hotten’).
Clubs are channels created by users, think of clubs for Volkswagen or classic cars. Another important pillar of the app is the events section. These are not only events from 402: users and other event organizers are warmly invited to post all their events. For example, the admin of Volkswagen Netherlands club can put up the annual members’ day. Finally, within the brands section, there are plenty of opportunities for brands such as tire companies, tuning companies, and car importers. They can, among other things, manage their own page and post branded content.
The platform is becoming more personal
A key feature of Proudwheels: the platform increasingly adapts to the specific petrolhead. The onboarding process is quite specific; you can indicate what you like, which topics you want to follow, which brands you find interesting, and what kind of car you own. The algorithm is smart enough to take into account personal preferences that emerge after onboarding, through things like searches, likes, and comments. The app considers all this when composing the feed.
Furthermore, users can do a lot on their own. For example, as the admin of a club, they are able to add members and access all relevant data.
Future functionalities
Currently, a solid social media is in place, but the finish line is not yet in sight—indeed, a social platform like this is never complete. Currently, Pinch is hard at work developing functionalities such as a chat module, push notifications, and advertisements to give all petrolheads (and businesses) an even richer experience.
