DEARBORN, Mich. -

Taking note of consumer’s on-the-go lifestyles, Ford and FordDirect — a joint venture between the automaker and its dealers — last week announced the launch of iPad and smartphone optimized versions of the Ford and Lincoln Build and Price online customer shopping tool.

The new mobile version of the product — which allows customers to virtually build a car from top to bottom, receive a price estimate and find a local dealership that can facilitate the purchase — is specifically designed for the iPad and iPad 2, as well as the iPhone and Android smartphones.

“Our new iPad and smart phone optimized Build and Price features provide consumers with more opportunities to learn about the Ford and Lincoln vehicles they are interested in, whatever their location,” said Stacey Coopes, chief executive officer of FordDirect.

“In turn, Ford and Lincoln dealers gain more opportunities to reach consumers and access leads from interested shoppers for Ford and Lincoln dealers,” she added.

With an increasing number of auto shoppers conducting online research before buying a vehicle, the iPad and iPad 2 Build and Price versions generated  2,000 to 3,000 leads a month during its pilot period, with the iPhone and Android smartphone product not far behind, with over 1,000 leads generated per month.

“When we designed Build and Price for the iPad, we were amazed at the consumer response, and we quickly moved to design a version for smartphones, as well. There was never a question that was the next step,” said Coopes in a recent interview with Auto Remarketing. “We were again, pleasantly surprised with the response to the smartphone version.”

Moreover, this product allows consumers to use mobile phones and other wireless devices to price and compare products as they shop, a growing trend within the industry.

“FordDirect tries to be on the forefront of these growing mobile technologies and consumer shopping trends so we can provide our dealers with as many paths of communication to consumers as possible,” stressed Coopes.

Coopes also noted the importance of corresponding with consumers per their chosen path of communication.

“If a potential customer texts or uses facebook to contact a dealer, then the dealer should be able to interact with that customer in the adopted path (of communication) they are most comfortable with,” insisted Coopes.

According to officials at FordDirect, the company plans to continue to research new ways to ensure its dealers stay up-to-date and utilize technology such as SMS codes, texting and QR codes.

The Build and Price functionality is available on Ford.com, Lincoln.com and on the FordDirect dealer websites, DealerConnection and DealerConnection Premier Customization Service.

When a consumer browses the Ford.com or Lincoln.com site on an iPad or iPad 2, the device will automatically launch the iPad-optimized version of the Build and Price pages.

The Build and Price feature can be accessed directly on an iPad at t.bp3.ford.com and t.bp3.lincoln.com.