As you've probably noticed, the GM web service that generates window stickers has been down for the last few days. Unfortunately, that has meant no new data has been available to add to C8Tracker.
I've been quietly working on a few alternative data sources behind the scenes. I've been working on C8Tracker for close to four years now, and one thing that has always bothered me is how dependent the site has been on GM's window sticker service. Whenever that service goes down, updates to C8Tracker come to a stop.
Well, as of tonight, that is no longer the case.
I'm now using multiple data sources to keep C8Tracker updated. I still plan to download new window stickers as they become available, but going forward, the site will no longer rely on them as its only source of vehicle data.
The new data source I'm currently using provides nearly all of the same information found on the window stickers. The only thing I'm missing at the moment is the actual "sticker creation date," which I've found generally lines up with the date a vehicle is invoiced.
For now, the "sticker date" displayed on C8Tracker reflects the date the vehicle's data was first discovered and added to the site. I suspect this will be pretty close to the actual sticker creation date, but I won't know for sure until GM's window sticker service starts working again and I can compare the two.
One side effect of this change is that the dates are currently throwing off the production chart on the Daily Dashboard pages. I may make a few adjustments to those dates over the weekend to get things looking right again.
I mainly wanted to get a quick update posted so everyone knows what's going on and why things may look a little different over the next few days.
The good news is that this is something I've wanted to address for a long time, and I think the new data source will actually work out much better in the long run. It's nice to finally have a way to keep C8Tracker updated without having to worry about whether GM's window sticker service is working.
And hopefully, this means the next time the window sticker service goes down, most people won't even notice.