Patent ID: 6895388

Claim:
An online vehicle ordering and tracking system, comprising a processor operable to: receive a computerized search request message from including: at least one search criteria; and a weighting of each criterion; search an inventory database for a product matching the product configuration data, the inventory database containing products on the order bank, in-production, in-transit, and in inventory; store a computerized search reply message in a reply database; communicate a computerized search reply message including: a list of vehicles matching the at least one search criteria; and a plurality of vehicle configuration parameters of the vehicles matching at least one search criteria, including vehicle identifier, make, model, dealer identifier, price, and color; and receive a computerized tag request message comprising tagged vehicle parameters, the tagged vehicle parameters including: the vehicle identifier; a first dealer identifier of a first dealer having the tagged vehicle in inventory; and a second dealer identifier of a second dealer selected by a customer from whom to purchase the tagged vehicle in the first dealer's inventory.