2000 Hondas Rev Up Online Shoppers' Summer
7 July 2000
Chrome Data Corporation Reports The Top 10 Most Desired Automobiles Year To Date
PORTLAND, Ore. - Chrome Data Corporation, the automotive industry's most accurate independent business-to-business provider of data and software for selling cars online, today announced the Chrome Top 10 most desired automobiles year to date.This list is based on rankings of cars and trucks researched online by consumers using Chrome's pricing and configuration tool, Web Carbook(TM), via client's Web sites during the first six months of 2000. Based on information collected by Chrome, the 2000 Honda Accord, Honda Civic and Honda Odyssey are still the top automobiles online consumers are most interested in buying; and despite a short time on the market, the 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser is the sixth most popular car researched by the nation's online shoppers.
YTD THROUGH JUNE
Year Make Model
1 2000 Honda Accord
2 2000 Honda Civic
3 2000 Honda Odyssey
4 2000 BMW 323
5 2000 Nissan Xterra
6 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser
7 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
8 2000 Ford Mustang
9 2000 Volkswagen Passat
10 2000 Ford Focus
The Chrome Top 10 ranking is compiled from online car shoppers' requests for price quotes from dealers. Research into the use of online automotive sites suggests this ranking is an early indicator of purchase. According to Art Spinella of CNW Marketing/Research, people using the Internet to search for cars are usually no more than six months from actually making a purchase, and often much closer than that.
"If they're looking at price data, they're probably less than a month away from actually buying a car," said Spinella. "If they're focusing more on the models available and the styling features within models, then they're likely two to four months from making a purchase." "This information is critically important to auto dealers and manufacturers," said Bob Navarre, CEO of Chrome. "Retailers can forecast near-term demand and manufacturers can shorten their lead times to build. So what the consumer wants will be available on dealers' lots."
What's Popular Where? The Chrome Top 10 Regional Breakouts
Online shoppers in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco aren't as different as they may think. But Portland, OR online shoppers really do prefer different cars than their bigger city cousins. So far this year the two most popular vehicles of online shoppers in each of New York, LA and San Francisco are the 2000 BMW 323 and the 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser; and one or more 2000 model Hondas rank in the top 5 in each city. But in Portland the Volkswagen Jetta, the Acura Integra and three Hondas sit atop the rankings; the 2001 PT Cruiser ranks 14th.
NEW YORK, YTD THROUGH JUNE
Year Make Model
1 2000 BMW 323
2 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser
3 2000 Nissan Maxima
4 2000 Honda Odyssey
5 2000 Honda Accord
6 2000 Ford Explorer
7 2000 BMW 328
8 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
9 2000 Volkswagen Passat
10 2000 Audi A4
LOS ANGELES, YTD THROUGH JUNE
Year Make Model
1 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser
2 2000 BMW 323
3 2000 Honda Accord
4 2000 Chevrolet Suburban
5 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
6 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
7 2000 Honda Odyssey
8 2000 Ford Expedition
9 2000 Nissan Xterra
10 2000 Ford Explorer
SAN FRANCISCO, YTD THROUGH JUNE
Year Make Model
1 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser
2 2000 BMW 323
3 2000 Honda Civic
4 2000 Honda Odyssey
5 2000 Honda Accord
6 2000 Dodge Dakota
7 2001 Toyota Sienna
8 2000 Dodge Durango
9 2000 Mercedes Benz M Class
10 2000 Acura TL
PORTLAND, OR, YTD THROUGH JUNE
Year Make Model
1 2000 Volkswagen Jetta
2 2000 Acura Integra
3 2000 Honda Odyssey
4 2000 Honda Accord
5 2000 Toyota Camry
6 2000 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
7 2000 Toyota Tacoma
8 2000 Toyota Tundra
9 2000 Volkswagen Passat
10 2000 Toyota 4Runner
Most Popular Manufacturers YTD Through June
The number one automobile/truck manufacturer for online shoppers
is Ford. Almost one in every 7 online price requests has been for a
Ford. Almost one in every eight price requests has been for a Honda;
about one in every 11 has been for a Chevrolet. Online shoppers' ten
most popular makes account for more than 70% of all price requests; 28
other makes make up the other 29%.
Most Popular Manufacturers YTD Through June
Make %
1 Ford 13.1%
2 Honda 11.6%
3 Chevrolet 9.4%
4 Toyota 9.0%
5 Nissan 7.0%
6 Volkswagen 5.7%
7 Dodge 4.9%
8 BMW 4.4%
9 Chrysler 3.5%
10 Acura 2.6%
Chrome: Most Accurate Data Provider
In a recent independent study CNW Marketing/Research compared the pricing data of the major online automotive data sources by configuring 86 different vehicles at eight different Web sites (see Chrome Data Named Most Accurate Data Provider for Automotive e-Commerce, June 27, 2000). Chrome's Web Carbook ranked first in data accuracy with an average price discrepancy of only one-third of one percent of the average new car price -- less than the study's margin of error.
About Chrome Data
Chrome Data pioneered the technology behind electronic vehicle configuration and for the past 14 years has collected, analyzed and enhanced "raw" automotive data from all manufacturers. Chrome's flagship product, the desktop research, pricing and ordering tool PC Carbook(R), is widely accepted as the standard in automotive data. Chrome's Internet-based product, Web Carbook(TM), allows dealers, Internet portals, financial institutions, and insurance and warranty companies to provide visitors to their Web sites with a tool to configure cars online -- including specifications on all new vehicle makes and models, standard and optional equipment, vehicle pictures and accurate pricing. This information precisely matches manufacturers' invoice and MSRP pricing, enabling users to configure and order any vehicle sold in the U.S. with the confidence that the delivered product and price are exactly what was expected.