Irvine California-based Kelley Blue Book today announced the most-researched new vehicles on its site for 2008.
Third year of over 140 million visitors
The good folks at Kelley Blue book are finishing up another year where their site, www.kbb.com, saw over 140 million unique visitors for the third year in a row. During these “visits”, people looked at cars, cars and more cars. But what were they looking at? “The site traffic on Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com demonstrates what is on the minds of today’s new-car shoppers, especially when examining the most-researched new-vehicles of 2008,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. “Continued interest in Honda and Toyota, Chevrolet’s home-run Malibu redesign and an increase in visits to more fuel-efficient, economical vehicles is an accurate reflection of the marketplace in 2008.”
So how does your “best” list stack up against the visitors to the Kelley site? Here, in alphabetical order, are the top 20 searches. Want to know the order of finish? See if you can guess and it’s listed at the end of the article.
Chevrolet division (and General Motors) had just one model in the KBB top 20 list this year and it was an important one. Voted the North American Car of the Year, the new Malibu is an important step for the General in the climb back to engineering, styling and quality prominence in the world market.
Ford brand has two vehicles on the list with both the Escape SUV and the Mustang. The Escape represents Ford’s most fuel-efficient sport utility with the new Escape Hybrid delivering 20 mpg on the city cycle and 28 mpg on the highway. Meanwhile the Mustang, Ford’s iconic pony car, is set to celebrate its 45th anniversary in April of 2009.
Accord
Civic
CR-V
Fit
Odyssey
Pilot
Honda lands in second place in the nameplate segment with six vehicles on KBB’s 2008 list – reflecting the brand’s high marks in quality, fuel efficiency and resale value.
Mazda’s smaller “zoom-zoom” sedan makes it on the list and is also a perennial favorite with the enthusiast press. Not only does the 3 run circles around most of its peers, it also offers outstanding gas mileage.
The MINI Cooper may finally put the rest the notion that you can’t sell a premium small car in the United States. Equipped with the base 1.6 liter 4-cylinder engine, the MINI achieves 28 mpg city/37 mpg highway with a 6-speed manual transmission.
Nissan’s mid-size entry offers a choice of two body styles – coupe and sedan – as well as the choice of a 2.5 liter 4-cylinder engine, a 3.5 liter V-6 as well as a hybrid powertrain option available only on the sedan.
Camry
Corolla
Highlander
Prius
RAV4
Sienna
Yaris
Toyota garners first place in the manufacturer’s category with 7 entries. You can say what you will about bland interiors and middle-of-the-road handling, but the Japanese firm’s reputation for quality and reliability keep it at the top.
The re-introduction of a diesel in the form of the clean-burning, fuel-efficient (30 city/41 highway mpg) Jetta TDI had a lot to do with raising the German brand’s awareness above and beyond “fahrvergnügen” as Green Car Journal’s 2009 Green Car of the Year.
The winning order:
1. Honda Civic
2. Honda Accord
3. Toyota Camry
4. Toyota Corolla
5. Nissan Altima
6. Honda CR-V
7. Toyota Prius
8. Toyota Highlander
9. Toyota RAV4
10. Mazda3
11. Toyota Yaris
12. Ford Escape
13. Honda Odyssey
14. Honda Pilot
15. Honda Fit
16. Ford Mustang
17. Chevrolet Malibu
18. Toyota Sienna
19. MINI Cooper
20. Volkswagen Jetta
Tags: Accord, altima, camry, Chevrolet, civic, Corolla, cr-v, escape, fit, Ford, green car of the year, highlander, Honda, jetta, jetta tdi, malibu, mazda, mazda3, MINI, Mini Cooper, mustang, Nissan, Odyssey, pilot, prius, rav4, Sienna, Toyota, Volkswagen, yaris
Posted in Car | Post a Comment | RSS Feed
