In a continuing effort to hedge against the potential negative impact ride-sharing technology could have on new car sales, General Motors (NYSE:GM) has acquired the technology and assets of San Francisco-based Sidecar Technologies. This comes on the heels of its $500 million deal with Lyft, Inc.

As a result, approximately 20 Lyft employees will be joining GM. This includes co-founder and CTO Jahan Khanna; however, co-founder and CEO Sunil Paul will not be making the move to the automaker.

Neither GM nor Sidecar has disclosed the details of the acquisition, although some reports suggest the amount is less than the $39 million Sidecar raised to stay competitive. GM sees the deal as complementary to its Lyft alliance.

What GM Understands About The Future of Driving

The acquisition points to the growing trend with some automakers as they assess the potential impact that ride sharing may have on new car sales. In addition, some analysts have suggested that automakers take the threat of companies such as Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), which is working on driverless cars, far more seriously.

GM announced its $500 million investment in Lyft on January 4, and the company's president, Daniel Ammann, joined the board at Lyft as part of the investment. These moves by GM may be considered a positive sign that the company understands the new technologies must be integrated into its strategies to exploit the opportunities rather than simply mitigate the threats.

SideCar As An Innovator, Predating Uber

Sidecar was an innovator of peer-to-peer car-sharing. The company launched in 2012 by giving individuals the ability to use their private cars to transport riders. Drivers had to pass a background check, but otherwise the smartphone app gave them the technology to pick up passengers and earn an income from doing so. This was ahead of Uber (Private:UBER), which originally arranged rides between passengers and licensed limousine drivers through its app. Lyft entered the marketplace soon thereafter, and Uber developed its own ride-sharing app known as UberX.

Despite being the innovator, Sidecar failed to compete successfully against Uber, which raised over $10 billion in financing. Another hit to Sidecar came when Uber offered generous monetary compensation to drivers who switched over to Uber from competitors. Recently, Uber was valued at $62.5 billion, an amount that makes the company the most valuable startup.

GM Innovates With Maven

With its acquisition of Sidecar, GM is working on developing its own transportation services, which the company has already named Maven. The plan is expected to connect owners of GM autos with commuters headed in the same direction.

Another key benefit to GM in this deal will be a license to Sidecar patents, including one awarded to Sunil Paul in 2002 for "a computer-implemented method for determining an efficient transportation route." The patent application includes details of a system by which a rider uses a wireless device requesting a ride. That request is sent to a server, which responds by matching the rider with a driver.

GM Repositions: Buying Opportunity

GM appears to be positioning itself for a future in which urban Millennials fail to embrace the traditional American dream that includes a house with a multi-car garage. Between ride-sharing and self-driving cars, it may make more economic sense to skip personal ownership of a car that stands idle most of the day. It is far easier and potentially more cost effective to simply tap an app to hail a driver.

The trend can benefit GM, which is still recuperating from its expensive and brand-damaging recall, due to faulty ignition switches. The company now has access to Lyft's technology and Sidecar's patent, which should become a critical plank in its long-term strategy.

We suggest investors strongly consider buying GM ahead of its earnings release on Feb. 3. For the past four quarters, following earnings, GM has gapped up an average of 3.34% and moved up another 49 basis points on average throughout the week.

In October, GM reported third-quarter net income of $.14 billion with adjusted EBIT of $3.1 billion, a record for the auto maker. This amounted to $0.84 per diluted share versus $0.81 per share for the same period the prior year. Year to date through the third quarter, adjusted earnings per share was $3.63, an increase of 96 percent over the prior year.

Leading up to Q4 results:

• GM was No. 1 in sales in North America, South America, and China.
• Buick achieved its third consecutive global sales record.
• Cadillac sales are up 8 percent globally.
• Chevrolet sales are up 6 percent in North America.

Investors should hop on the ride.