SALT LAKE CITY -

DrivingSales revealed earlier this week that submissions for its second annual DrivingSales Innovation Cup Award are now open.

The award, which will be announced this fall at the DrivingSales Executive Summit in Las Vegas, spotlights what dealers find to be the most innovative dealership solution of 2011.

Dealers can nominate their vendors, who can also apply themselves.

Award finalists will get to share their submissions with attendees at DSES, which is taking place Oct. 9-11 at the Bellagio Las Vegas. The panel of dealer judges will decide the winner and then present the award.

“The DrivingSales Executive Summit is designed to inspire dealers to push the envelope on innovation and to help them uncover, collaboratively, the actionable solutions and strategies that will move their dealerships forward,” stated Jared Hamilton, founder and chief executive officer of DrivingSales.

“The Innovation Cup, a centerpiece of the DSES, raises awareness of the vendor solutions that are moving the needle in dealerships across the country by allowing those who know best — auto dealerships — to decide the finalists and winner,” he added.

In 2010, eCarList won the cup, taking top honors with its TrueTarget Mobile product. This tool aims to help dealers utilize their mobile phones to appraise, price and merchandise their inventories.

“Our experience presenting TrueTarget to the DSES audience was a watershed moment for eCarList,” stated Len Critcher, CEO of eCarList.

“Having the opportunity to compete with other cutting-edge solutions in front of some of the most progressive thinkers in our industry — and to be judged by the very people we designed our product for — was not only a validation of TrueTarget, but further inspiration for us to continue to develop ever more progressive solutions,” Critcher continued.

Applications are available at www.drivingsalesinnovationcup.com/compete/application.