Toyota Prius Brake Problem Causes Increase in Purchase Intent; Edmunds.com Comments

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--In an issue not related to the recent Toyota Recall, Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, has released new information regarding the 2010 Toyota Prius brake problems.

“When a car or automaker receives bad press, people sense an opportunity to pick up a bargain”

As reported on Edmunds’ GreenCarAdvisor.com at http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/Manufacturers/Toyota/, consumers have complained of a temporary loss of braking power on bumpy roads in the 2010 Prius. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) has received 124 complaints, four of which involved crashes.

Edmunds.com has noticed that since the Prius story began grabbing headlines a few days ago, Prius consideration and purchase intent each shot up about ten percent among car shoppers conducting research on Edmunds.com.

“When a car or automaker receives bad press, people sense an opportunity to pick up a bargain,” noted Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. “We saw the same reaction from consumers when Chrysler and General Motors declared bankruptcy last year.”

In the week leading up to the Toyota Prius headlines, about 7.4 percent of compact car researchers considered a Prius; yesterday, 8.7 percent did.

In the week leading up to the Toyota Prius headlines, about 10.1 percent of compact car shoppers demonstrated purchase intent for a Prius; yesterday, 11.2 percent did.

“Consideration” measures an Edmunds.com site visitor’s interest in a vehicle as indicated by navigation to pages of content specific to that vehicle (such as reviews, videos and photos.) It is a good metric for gauging marketing effectiveness. Consideration of a brand or model is the first step toward purchase intent, but not everyone counted in consideration metrics is currently in the market to buy a vehicle.

"Purchase intent" measures actual buyer interest reflected by pricing research, vehicle configuration and other focused steps. Purchase intent has a strong correlation to sales. The data reflects share of total Edmunds.com traffic engaged in purchase intent activity.

Edmunds.com is continuously updating the latest information on the Toyota Prius brake problem (at http://www.edmunds.com/industry-car-news/).

In addition, Edmunds.com has created a free resource to keep consumers informed about the 2010 Toyota recall (at http://www.edmunds.com/industry-car-news/toyota-recall.html). Consumers can find the complete Toyota recall list, guidance for driving a vehicle that suddenly accelerates and other critical information, all of which will be updated as new material becomes available.

About Edmunds.com Inc. (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)

Edmunds.com Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first automotive information Web site. InsideLine.com is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web site. CarSpace is an automotive social networking Web site. AutoObserver.com provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds.com Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.