SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Auto industry insiders and other innovative thinkers are asked to save the dates of Nov. 29-30 for Edmunds.com's "Hackathon." The two-day event, being hosted at company’s headquarters there, will inspire participants to identify problems with the car buying process, brainstorm ideas to solve the problems, and draw up blueprints for products or processes to execute the solution.

Judges will evaluate the presentations of the blueprints, and prizes will be awarded for winning ideas.

"Edmunds.com's internal 'Hack Days' have long been an important part of our culture, which constantly strives to innovate solutions for the car buying space," says Philip Potloff, CIO at Edmunds.com. "But we know that our employees are not the only ones in the automotive space with great ideas, so we're excited to invite others to apply for a chance to participate in this rewarding exercise."

In previous internal Hack Days, Edmunds.com employees have successfully created real-world solutions for challenges regularly encountered by consumers, dealers and automakers.

During the company's most recent Hack Days event last month, teams developed proposals for car-buying social media apps and solutions to alleviate frustration associated with new-car price quote requests. The winning submission, which is now in the full throes of product development, offers an easier way for dealers to offer special prices for their inventory to car shoppers on Edmunds.com.