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Several New Cars Benefit from Exposure at Recent Auto Shows


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ATLANTA - February 15, 2010: Revamped versions of several popular cars got boosts in new-car searches in January 2010 compared to their rankings in January 2009, likely as a result of high-profile exposure at recent auto shows and resulting publicity in the automotive and consumer media. The biggest jumper: the revamped Mazda 3, which zoom-zoomed from No. 74 on the list of most-searched new cars in January 2009 to No. 14 in January 2010 after being shown off at the Los Angeles International Auto Show in December.

New versions of the Hyundai Sonata, the Ford Focus and Fusion, and the Chevy Cobalt all also made major jumps following unveils and exposure at either the LA show or at the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit in January.

Price Is the Story In Used Cars

The continued rise in used car prices was the big news in January. Of the top 20 used cars searched on AutoTrader.com in January, 12 saw double digit percent increases in their average prices compared to January 2009. In all, 18 of the top 20 most-searched used cars on AutoTrader.com saw increases in their average prices in January 2010 compared to January 2009.

The biggest average price increases in January 2010 were on favorites like the used Chevy Tahoe (up 22% compared to January 2009), the used Ford F-150 (up 21% compared to January 2009), the used Chevy Silverado and Dodge Ram (both up about 20%) and the used Jeep Wrangler (up 18%).

In some cases, as manufacturers and dealers look to jump start new car sales, shoppers may find prices, financing terms or other specials that make a new car cheaper than a similar late-model used car.

Toyota Stays Strong

Across the board, Toyota's recent recall challenges did not impact car shoppers' searches for Toyota vehicles in January when compared to activity in December of 2009 or the previous January.

Compared to December 2009, most new and used Toyota models on maintained their rankings or moved down only one spot. The used Toyota Camry actually saw an increase in searches on AutoTrader.com in January 2010 compared to December 2009, moving the car up from No. 23 in December 2009 to No. 19 in January.

Auto Trader, showed the following figures on their website:

                         VDP   VDP   VDP
                  NEW   Rank  Rank  Rank  Avg Price   Avg Price  Change from
  NEW MAKE       MODEL  1/10 12/09  1/09      -1/10       -1/09         1/09
  --------        ---   ----  ----- ----   ---------   --------- -----------
  Ford       F-150         1     1     1 $35,763.12  $32,549.34       9.87%
  Chevy      Silverado
              1500         2     4     2 $34,293.33  $31,612.56       8.48%
  Honda      Accord        3     2     5 $25,879.63  $25,933.89      -0.21%
  Toyota     Camry         4     3    14 $24,343.04  $24,226.01       0.48%
  Honda      Civic         5     6     8 $19,950.47  $20,843.46      -4.28%
  Toyota     Corolla       6     5    30 $18,214.34  $18,750.17      -2.86%
  Dodge      RAM1500       7     7     6 $33,794.70  $33,752.11       0.13%
  Nissan     Altima        8     9    12 $24,739.43  $24,618.71       0.49%
  Chevy      Malibu        9    10    22 $24,472.85  $24,469.77       0.01%
  Ford       Focus        10    13    51 $18,527.47  $18,036.00       2.72%
  Jeep       Wrangler     11    15    10 $28,872.56  $27,468.21       5.11%
  Toyota     Tacoma       12    12    19 $26,294.23  $25,210.87       4.30%
  Ford       Fusion       13    16    45 $25,619.41  $22,691.21      12.90%
  Mazda      Mazda3       14    19    74 $20,292.07  $18,879.54       7.48%
  Ford       F-250        15    11    15 $44,857.99  $42,634.65       5.21%
  Chevy      Cobalt       16    29    35 $17,872.42  $17,613.86       1.47%
  Hyundai    Sonata       17    24    52 $21,196.04  $21,812.43      -2.83%
  Chevy      Camaro       18    14   N/A $33,822.58         N/A     #DIV/0!
  Ford       Mustang      19    17     7 $32,412.23  $32,198.01       0.67%
  Volkswagen Jetta        20    18    28 $23,005.53  $22,527.65       2.12%
  ---------- -----       ---   ---   --- ----------  ----------       ----
                        
                         VDP   VDP   VDP
    USED          USED  Rank  Rank  Rank  Avg Price   Avg Price  Change from
    MAKE         MODEL  1/10 12/09  1/09      -1/10       -1/09         1/09
  --------       -----  ---- -----  ----  ---------   ---------  -----------
  Ford       F-150         1     1     1 $19,246.06  $15,853.45      21.40%
  Chevy      Silverado
              1500         2     3     3 $18,774.74  $15,563.00      20.64%
  BMW        3 Series      3     2     2 $25,618.66  $26,463.99      -3.19%
  Ford       Mustang       4     4     4 $16,685.10  $15,820.12       5.47%
  Ford       F-250         5     5    10 $23,054.49  $19,796.72      16.46%
  Honda      Accord        6     7     6 $15,561.01  $15,125.56       2.88%
  Dodge      Ram 1500      7     6     5 $17,430.86  $14,452.98      20.60%
  Chevy      Tahoe         8     8     9 $23,929.57  $19,606.80      22.05%
  Honda      Civic         9    11     8 $13,408.64  $13,686.38      -2.03%
  Chevy      Silverado
              2500        10     9    19 $22,758.65  $19,309.25      17.86%
  Jeep       Wrangler     11    10    13 $19,115.66  $16,149.49      18.37%
  Nissan     Altima       12    17    15 $14,095.32  $13,841.24       1.84%
  Dodge      Ram 2500     13    12    20 $24,073.66  $20,452.79      17.70%
  Infinity   G35/37       14    13     7 $22,052.80  $20,149.26       9.45%
  Toyota     Tacoma       15    14    16 $19,044.88  $17,138.61      11.12%
  BMW        5 Series     16    15    14 $30,019.34  $29,444.39       1.95%
  Ford       Explorer     17    18    12 $15,329.38  $13,629.86      12.47%
  Jeep       Grand
              Cherokee    18    16    11 $16,128.20  $14,080.76      14.54%
  Toyota     Camry        19    23    21 $15,758.37  $15,780.34      -0.14%
  Toyota     Tundra       20    19    26 $21,830.18  $18,512.55      17.92%
  ------     ------      ---   ---   --- ----------  ----------      -----

                         VDP   VDP   VDP
      CPO       CPO     Rank  Rank  Rank   Avg Price  Avg Price  Change from
      MAKE     MODEL    1/10 12/09  1/09       -1/10      -1/09         1/09
      ----     -----    ----  ----- ----   ---------  ---------  -----------
  BMW        3 Series      1     1     1 $31,684.40  $31,577.02        0.34%
  Honda      Accord        2     3     3 $18,249.73  $17,597.15        3.71%
              Silverado
  Chevy       1500         3     2     2 $23,172.27  $19,094.24       21.36%
  Chevy      Tahoe         4     4     5 $31,198.22  $26,731.20       16.71%
  Ford       F-150         5     5     4 $23,569.10  $20,336.80       15.89%
  BMW        5 Series      6     6     6 $37,335.98  $35,561.12        4.99%
  Toyota     Tundra        7     7     8 $24,775.10  $20,978.78       18.10%
  Toyota     Camry         8     8    11 $18,223.23  $18,291.62       -0.37%
  Honda      Civic         9    10     7 $16,276.75  $16,408.33       -0.80%
  Toyota     Tacoma       10     9    10 $22,002.24  $20,112.78        9.39%
  Audi       A4           11    11     9 $26,453.99  $24,870.91        6.37%
  Acura      TL           12    12    18 $26,977.34  $24,369.39       10.70%
  Ford       Mustang      13    18    15 $19,756.31  $17,955.35       10.03%
  Mercedes-
   Benz      E Class      14    13    12 $38,010.36  $33,439.36       13.67%
  Toyota     Highlander   15    14    22 $24,064.97  $21,715.52       10.82%
  Honda      Pilot        16    22    32 $24,387.16  $20,356.32       19.80%
  Toyota     4 Runner     17    16    27 $24,241.79  $21,499.64       12.75%
  Chevy      Impala       18    25    13 $16,129.93  $15,180.57        6.25%
  Mercedes-
   Benz      C Class      19    19    19 $29,667.12  $25,840.44       14.81%
  GMC        Sierra 1500  20    15    30 $24,183.52  $19,481.03       24.14%
  ---        ----------- ---   ---   --- ----------  ----------       -----

  TOP 10
  NEW
  BRANDS       Rank    Rank
  VIEWED       1/10    1/09
  ------       ----    ----
  FORD           1       2
  CHEVY          2       1
  TOYOTA         3       3
  HONDA          4       4
  NISSAN         5       6
  DODGE          6       5
  BMW            7       9
  GMC            8       7
  HYUNDAI        9      11
  MB            10      10