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Searches for Hyundai Vehicles on Cars.com Heat up in June

Searches for Fuel-Efficient Cars Cool Off

CHICAGO, July 13 -- Hyundai, which was recently listed among the top three nameplates in J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study for the first time ever, had several cars see a significant increase in search activity on Cars.com last month. According to the June Cars.com Consumer Search Index, Hyundai's Tucson, Santa Fe, Sonata and Azera all cracked the list of cars with the largest increase in searches last month.

"While the increase is due in large part to Hyundai's latest round of incentives and an aggressive new ad campaign, consumers are starting to key in on what studies like J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study have discovered: Hyundai has a quality product and is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the future," said Cars.com editor David Thomas.

Fuel-Efficiency Searches Start to Slow

Despite gas prices that continue to climb toward near-record levels, consumer searches for the most fuel-efficient vehicles on Cars.com have started to cool off. The Toyota Yaris and Prius, the Geo Metro, and Honda's Insight and Fit all made the list of vehicles experiencing a significant decline in searches over the past month.

"There is still a large number of searches being conducted for fuel-efficient cars as a category, which shows that gasoline prices are still affecting consumer shopping behavior," said Thomas. "However, the initial shock of the recent rise in gas prices has seemingly worn off."

Consumer searches for recently launched vehicles, including the Toyota FJ Cruiser and the Dodge Caliber, also have started to slow. The two cars, which are both new models for 2007, have been very popular with consumers on Cars.com since their introduction.

  Search Increases (May-June)
  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    Hyundai Tucson       20.3%    1    Mitsubishi Mirage       30.9%
  2    Hyundai Santa Fe     17.4%    2    BMW 318                 21.4%
  3    Pontiac G6           10.2%    3    Ford Freestar           20.5%
  4    Hyundai Sonata        7.3%    4    BMW 528                 19.3%
  5    Subaru Outback        6.1%    5    Audi Allroad Quattro    19.1%
  6    Hyundai Azera         5.0%    6    BMW 545                 16.6%
  7    Toyota Sienna         3.7%    7    Lexus ES 330            16.6%
  8    Chevrolet Impala      1.8%    8    BMW 645                 16.5%
  9    Chevrolet Equinox     .52%    9    Ford Freestyle          15.6%
  10   Nissan Murano         .45%    10   Ford Five Hundred       15.0%

  Vehicle Searches (June)
  Models with the most searches performed on Cars.com.

  Top New-Car Searches               Top Used-Car Searches
  1    Honda Civic                   1    Honda Civic
  2    Toyota Camry                  2    Honda Accord
  3    Honda Accord                  3    Ford Mustang
  4    Toyota Yaris                  4    Toyota Camry
  5    Toyota Corolla                5    Toyota Corolla
  6    Ford Mustang                  6    Ford F-150
  7    Acura MDX                     7    Volkswagen Jetta
  8    Toyota RAV4                   8    Toyota Tacoma
  9    BMW 325                       9    Mitsubishi Eclipse
  10   Volkswagen Jetta              10   Chevrolet Corvette

  Search Decreases (May-June)
  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    Toyota Yaris         33.2%    1    Geo Metro               28.5%
  2    Cadillac Escalade    30.2%    2    Honda Insight           25.4%
  3    Toyota Prius         27.1%    3    Toyota Prius            25.1%
  4    Honda Fit            26.7%    4    Toyota Yaris            21.9%
  5    Mini Cooper          24.0%    5    Toyota Tercel           17.8%
  6    Mini Cooper S        22.9%    6    Volvo 240               15.0%
  7    Lexus ES 330         21.7%    7    Geo Tracker             14.6%
  8    Toyota FJ Cruiser    21.5%    8    Toyota Echo             14.4%
  9    Hummer H3            20.8%    9    Eagle Talon             14.1%
  10   Dodge Caliber        19.7%    10   Honda Fit               13.9%

  Top Dealer Email Inquiries (June)

  New Cars Yielding the Most         Used Cars Yielding the Most Dealer
   Dealer Inquiries                   Inquiries
  1    Honda Civic (2006)            1    Honda Accord (2005)
  2    Honda Accord (2006)           2    Toyota Supra (1997)
  3    Toyota Corolla (2006)         3    Honda Accord (2003)
  4    Honda Odyssey (2006)          4    Honda Civic (2000)
  5    Toyota Camry (2006)           5    BMW 325 (2001)
  6    Toyota RAV4 (2006)            6    BMW M3 (2002)
  7    Toyota Camry (2007)           7    Honda Accord (2004)
  8    Toyota Yaris (2007)           8    Ford Mustang (2001)
  9    Toyota Prius  (2006))         9    Audi A4 (2003)
  10   Toyota Sienna (2006)          10   Toyota Camry (2002)

  Top Cars Listed for Sale by Owner (June)

  1    Honda Accord
  2    Honda Civic
  3    Ford Mustang
  4    Ford Explorer
  5    Ford F-150
  6    Toyota Camry
  7    Jeep Grand Cherokee
  8    Chevrolet Corvette
  9    Volkswagen Jetta
  10   Dodge Ram

  About the Cars.com Consumer Search Index

The Cars.com Consumer Search Index offers a comprehensive look at the internet search behavior of Cars.com visitors. The statistical information is compiled by tracking the more than 8.3 million unique visitors that log on to Cars.com each month and the vehicles that are most popular. The lists are based off a minimum of 4,000 searches for new cars and 10,000 searches for used cars. Dealer inquiries measure the volume of emails consumers send to dealers seeking information about a particular vehicle. The information is supported by expert analysis from the Cars.com editorial staff.

About Cars.com

Partnered with more than 200 leading metro newspapers, television stations and their websites, Cars.com is the most comprehensive destination for those looking to buy or sell a new or used car. The site lists more than 1.5 million vehicles from 11,000 dealer customers, classified advertisers and private parties to offer consumers the best selection of new and used cars online, as well as the content, tools and advice to support their shopping experience. Recently selected by Forbes.com as a Best of the Web site for car shopping, Cars.com combines powerful inventory search tools and new-car configuration with pricing information, photo galleries, buying guides, side-by-side comparison tools, original editorial content and reviews to help millions of car shoppers connect with sellers each month.

Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, ( http://classifiedventures.com/ ), which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo , Gannett Co., Inc. , The McClatchy Company , Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company .