Walking into a new car dealership fully prepared is not to be taken for granted. A number of automotive pricing sites claim the utmost in quote transparency. But TrueCar.com, another auto market newcomer, says that its free interactive system offers "guidance well beyond the "average price paid" single number that has become the industry's status quo."

TrueCar not only compiles actual prices paid by consumers, a model first adopted by a used car price portal PriceHub, but also takes into account dealer costs, factory invoices, average prices paid, stickers, and MSRPs. What's more, the company says it uses dozens of sources, often proprietary and exclusive, including pricing data from roughly a quarter of all individual U.S. retail transactions per month.

Together these benchmarks yield the most comprehensive approach to car pricing thus far, putting TrueCar on track to compete with the likes of Edmunds. The company even caught the attention of the TechCrunch50 show where it debuted its beta release.

"Our team has been in the business of using technology to improve car buying for several years - beginning with CarsDirect.com and continuing with Zag and its unique online platform that relies on upfront pricing," said said Scott Painter, TrueCar founder and auto industry pioneer. "TrueCar is the next logical step in our march toward total transparency in auto retail."