Technology
Canadian Vehicle Data: What APIs Actually Cover It?
Most vehicle APIs are US-centric. Here's what actually works for Canadian VINs, Transport Canada recalls, provincial listings, and cross-border data needs.
8 min read
Technology
VIN decoding, API tutorials, and technical deep-dives
Technology
Corgi v3: Binary Indexes and What a Tiny LLM Learned About VINs
A GitHub issue about batch decoding led to a complete rewrite. Then we trained a 6.6M parameter model on VINs and it figured out the encoding scheme on its own.
8 min read
Technology
Free VIN Decoder API Comparison 2026: NHTSA vs Cardog vs Auto.dev
Developer's guide to free VIN decoder APIs. Compare NHTSA vPIC, Cardog, Auto.dev, and more for accuracy, speed, pricing, and real-world implementation.
13 min read
Technology
How to Decode a VIN in Python: Complete Developer Guide
Learn how to decode Vehicle Identification Numbers in Python using the Cardog SDK, direct API calls, and NHTSA's free database. Includes pandas integration and batch processing examples.
5 min read
Technology
Introducing @cardog/api: The Official TypeScript Client for Automotive Data
The official TypeScript/JavaScript client for the Cardog API. VIN decoding, real-time market intelligence, vehicle listings, safety recalls, and more - all with full type safety.
7 min read
Technology
Introducing the Cardog Python SDK: Automotive Data for Python Developers
The official Python SDK for the Cardog API is now available on PyPI. VIN decoding, market intelligence, vehicle listings, safety recalls, and more - with full type safety via Pydantic v2.
6 min read
Technology
How to Decode a VIN in JavaScript
Learn 3 ways to decode VINs in JavaScript: offline with @cardog/corgi, online with the Cardog API, or raw NHTSA calls. Complete code examples for Node.js, browsers, and edge workers.
6 min read
Technology
How the Self-Driving Tech Stack Works
A technical guide to how self-driving cars actually work. CAN bus protocols, neural networks, sensor fusion, control systems—with real code from open source implementations.
9 min read
Technology
Building a VIN Decoder: A Systems Engineering Deep Dive
How VIN decoding actually works—from NHTSA's 565 submittal system and the global data asymmetry that shaped the industry, to implementation architectures and the mathematical elegance of the check digit algorithm.
2 min read
Technology
How We Reduced a 1.5GB Database by 99%
A deep technical dive into optimizing the NHTSA VPIC database for offline VIN decoding across Node.js, browsers, and edge computing.
7 min read
Technology
How we built the world's fastest VIN decoder
How we optimized the NHTSA's vehicle database to make it 100x faster and 100x smaller
4 min read
Technology
What is Cardog?
How Cardog works and what it does.
5 min read