New Toyota, Dodge and Saturn Models Pique Consumer Interest on cars.com
CHICAGO - March 2, 2006: Several new car models unveiled by manufacturers at auto shows over the past two months have generated significant consumer interest on cars.com, according to their latest Consumer Search Index.
Leading the list of the largest month-over-month increases were the new Toyota FJ Cruiser, Dodge Caliber and Saturn Sky. All three were recent additions to the cars.com website and had a significant amount of consumer searches in their first month on the site.
Intense media coverage of the Chicago Auto Show, the North American International Auto Show in Detroit and the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show helped drive consumer interest in vehicles that received favorable coverage at the shows.
(Editor's Note: Detailed coverage of the vehicles featured at these auto shows, including video clips, can be found via the TACH front page. Click Here.)
"The search traffic that is generated for cars unveiled at the various auto shows is a good barometer of how well the car was received by consumers," said Joe Wiesenfelder, senior editor at cars.com. "It's too early to see how well the searches will translate into sales, but new introductions like the Toyota FJ Cruiser and Saturn Sky have already generated a significant number of consumer email leads to dealers."
Vehicle Searches (February)
Models with the largest number of searches performed on cars.com
Top New-Car Searches Top Used-Car Searches
1 Honda Civic 1 Honda Civic
2 Honda Accord 2 Honda Accord
3 Toyota Camry 3 Ford Mustang
4 Acura MDX 4 Toyota Camry
5 Toyota RAV4 5 Ford F-150
6 Toyota Corolla 6 Toyota Corolla
7 Ford Mustang 7 Toyota Tacoma
8 BMW 325 8 Nissan Maxima
9 Toyota Tacoma 9 Jeep Grand Cherokee
10 Nissan Altima 10 Chevrolet Corvette
Search Increases (January-February)
Models with the largest increase in the number of searches performed on
cars.com
Top New-Car Search Increases* Top Used-Car Search Increases
1 Toyota FJ Cruiser 2507.69% 1 Toyota FJ Cruiser 2627.27%
2 Dodge Caliber 742.20% 2 Hyundai Azera 43.70%
3 Saturn Sky 450.20% 3 Kia Sedona 29.12%
4 Volkswagen GTI 58.80% 4 Buick Lucerne 26.72%
5 Hyundai Azera 32.65% 5 Ferrari Enzo 14.66%
6 Cadillac Escalade 28.74% 6 Mazdaspeed6 6.44%
7 Kia Sedona 21.37% 7 Chevrolet Malibu Maxx 4.35%
8 Ford Escape 6.27% 8 Mazda MPV 3.90%
9 9 Land Rover Range Rover 3.10%
Sport
10 10 Chevrolet Uplander 2.91%
Search Decreases (January-February)
Models with the largest decrease in the number of searches performed on
cars.com
Top New-Car Search Decreases Top Used-Car Search Decreases
1 Lexus IS 350 31.08% 1 Volvo V90 20.55%
2 Pontiac Solstice 27.98% 2 Dodge Challenger 19.67%
3 Dodge Charger 25.97% 3 Volvo V50 18.80%
4 Chevrolet HHR 25.30% 4 BMW 735 17.97%
5 Chrysler 300C 21.92% 5 Volvo XC70 17.46%
6 Toyota Prius 21.80% 6 Volvo V40 16.80%
7 Saturn Vue 21.77% 7 Mercedes-Benz CL-Class 16.52%
8 Toyota Matrix 20.38% 8 Volvo XC90 16.14%
9 Subaru Outback 19.20% 9 Bentley Continental GT 16.10%
10 Toyota Sienna 18.86% 10 Lexus ES 250 15.78%
Top Dealer Email Inquiries (February)
New Cars Yielding the Used Cars Yielding the
Most Dealer Inquiries Most Dealer Inquiries
1 Honda Civic (2006) 1 Honda Accord (2003)
2 Toyota RAV4 (2006) 2 Volkswagen Jetta (2000)
3 Honda Odyssey (2006) 3 Toyota Camry (2002)
4 Honda Accord (2006) 4 Honda Civic (2000)
5 Toyota Camry (2006) 5 Honda Civic (1999)
6 Toyota Corolla (2006) 6 Land Rover Range Rover (2003)
7 Toyota Sienna (2006) 7 Volkswagen Jetta (2002)
8 Honda Pilot (2006) 8 Volkswagen Jetta (2003)
9 Toyota Tacoma (2006) 9 Infiniti G35 (2003)
10 Toyota Prius (2006) 10 Toyota Supra (1994)
Top Cars Listed For Sale By Owner (February)
1 Honda Accord
2 Honda Civic
3 Toyota Camry
4 Ford Explorer
5 Ford F-150
6 Volkswagen Jetta
7 Jeep Grand Cherokee
8 Ford Mustang
9 Chevrolet Corvette
10 Dodge Ram
*Eight cars met the criteria of having a minimum of 4,000 searches in the month and showing a month-over-month increase in search traffic.