Autobytel Announces Most Requested Vehicles for Q3.Falling Fuel Costs Provide Boost for Trucks/SUVs, But Bulk of Market Still Has Its Eye on Fuel-Efficient Models Hot Cars for the Quarter Include the Dodge Caliber  It has been suggested that some sections of this article be split into a new article entitled Dodge Caliber SRT-4. , Scion tC Scion tC is a compact car introduced by Japanese automaker Toyota in 2004 as a concept car under its recently introduced Scion brand name. The Scion tC was designed to appeal to the Generation Y market. and
Toyota Highlander The Toyota Highlander (Toyota Kluger in Japan and Australia) is a crossover SUV assembled by the Toyota Motor Corporation under the Toyota brand name in its Kyūshū, Japan assembly plant and its Ikeda, Osaka, Japan assembly plant during 2008 and present. HybridIRVINE, Calif. -- Autobytel has announced its latest Consumer Choice report, revealing the most requested vehicles and overall buying decisions among Autobytel's millions of shoppers during the third quarter. Here's a quick look at the big winners and losers for Q3, and the trends that defined the quarter on Autobytel's car buying websites: Truck and SUV Requests up 25% and 12%, Respectively, vs. Q2 Fifteen percent of the shoppers recently polled by Autobytel said that falling gas prices are making them more likely to consider a larger truck or SUV. And it appears that this subset of buyers may be putting their money where their mouths are. Purchase Requests for trucks and SUVs rose 25% and 12%, respectively, in Q3 versus Q2 (when gas was about 70 cents/gallon more expensive). But Cars Still Rule Online Trucks' gains didn't necessarily come at the expense of passenger cars, which as a category generated 9% more requests in Q3 than they did in Q2 and featured several breakout performers, including the Dodge Caliber and Toyota Corolla The Toyota Corolla is a compact car produced by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the bestselling car in the world, with over 30 million sold as of 2007. . A quick look at the top-10 most requested vehicles (see below) for the quarter shows that cars - particularly smaller, fuel-efficient, import cars - still dominate online. Top-3 Most Requested Passenger Cars: Honda Civic The Honda Civic is a compact car manufactured by Honda. It was introduced in July 1972 as a two-door coupe, followed by a three-door hatchback version that September. With the transverse engine placement of its 1169 cc engine and front-wheel drive, like the British Mini, the , Honda Accord The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. , Toyota Camry The Toyota Camry is a mid-size sedan assembled by Toyota in Georgetown, Kentucky; Altona, Victoria, Guangzhou, China and the original factory in Toyota City, Japan. In some markets, the top range Camry models are seen as executive cars. Q3 Request Gainers(1): Toyota Corolla (+44%), Dodge Caliber (+76%), Nissan Sentra (+35%) Q3 Request Losers: Toyota Avalon The Toyota Avalon is a full-size car produced by Toyota in the United States. It was also produced in Australia, but production stopped in July 2005, as the Toyota Avalon was replaced by the Toyota Aurion. It is produced as a front-wheel drive four-door sedan. (-29%), Honda Fit The Honda Fit is a five-door hatchback automobile produced by Honda of Japan, that was first introduced in June 2001. The vehicle is known as the Fit in Japan, China, and in both North and South America. (-14%), Hyundai Sonata (-13%) C* And Just How Real Is the "Truck Comeback" Anyway? It's qualified, at best. Although truck demand was up 25% versus the second quarter, that's a very low benchmark to beat, given the major Purchase Request decline the category suffered in Q2. It's also not clear which was more important for Autobytel shoppers: fuel prices or incentives. While the surge in requests for the Toyota Tacoma (the most requested truck overall in Q3) may be related to fuel prices, the two other biggest Purchase Request gainers - the Toyota Tundra and the Dodge Ram - relied on steep summer rebates to attract buyers. Requests for the Ford F-150 were up only a modest 8% vs. Q2 (when F-150 requests fell 43% vs. Q2 2005), while requests for the other traditional category heavyweight, the Chevy Silverado, fell 14%, albeit with a redesign on the way. Top-3 Most Requested Trucks: Toyota Tacoma, Dodge Ram, Ford F-150 Q3 Request Gainers: Dodge Ram (+55%), Toyota Tacoma (+47%), Toyota Tundra (+103%) Q3 Request Losers: Honda Ridgeline (-23%), Chevrolet Silverado (-14%) Small, Mid-Size and Crossover SUVs Lift Category The SUV category received a similar boost from incentives on what had been slow-moving models, including the Jeep Wrangler (which garnered 36% more Purchase Requests than Q2), Jeep Grand Cherokee The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a mid-size sport utility vehicle produced by the Jeep division of DaimlerChrysler. European Grand Cherokees are manufactured in Austria by Magna Steyr. Development The Grand Cherokee was a spinoff of the smaller Jeep Cherokee. (+34%), and Nissan Pathfinder (+73%). But the lion's share of Q3 Purchase Request gainers in the SUV category were car-based, relatively fuel-efficient offerings, including, notably, the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which generated 45% more Purchase Requests than Q2 C* despite falling gas prices. (Although it should be noted that requests fell dramatically for the Ford Escape Hybrid The Ford Escape Hybrid, launched in 2004, is a gas-electric hybrid powered version of the Ford Escape SUV developed by the Ford Motor Company. Built in Kansas City, Missouri, it was the first hybrid SUV to hit the market. .) Top-3 Most Requested SUVs: Toyota RAV4, Acura MDX, Toyota FJ Cruiser The Toyota FJ Cruiser (FJC) is a retro-style compact SUV produced by Toyota introduced as a concept at the 2003 Chicago Auto Show and in production form at the following North American International Auto Show. Big Q3 Request Gainers: Toyota Highlander (+26%) and Highlander Hybrid (+32%), Subaru Outback (+53%), Nissan Murano (+27%) Big Q3 Request Losers: Hummer H3 (-10%), Ford Escape Hybrid (-49%), Scion xB (-8%) "The gas price drop in conjunction with big summer incentives provides an interesting 'best case' scenario in terms of consumer demand for big trucks and truck-based SUVs in the current market," said Autobytel analyst Brian Chee. "And it appears that even in this 'best case,' there's a definite ceiling. Still, if gas prices stay low during the current round of truck clearance sales, we could see more upward movement in the months ahead. The big question is: If a 70 cent/gallon drop in gas prices, with major incentives already in place, can only muster a relatively mild rebound, what will happen when gas prices inevitably start going back up?" We may find out sooner than expected: OPEC OPEC: see Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC in full Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Multinational organization established in 1960 to coordinate the petroleum production and export policies of its just announced that it's cutting oil production. Subcompacts May Be "Siphoning Off" Hybrid Demand Among Fuel-Conscious Shoppers Despite the success of the Highlander, requests for hybrids overall fell 10% versus the previous quarter, which could simply be chalked up to lower gas costs. But given that fuel-sippers like the Toyota Corolla and Yaris, Mazda3, and Kia Rio were all up strongly in Q3, it may be more likely that potential hybrid buyers are simply opting for subcompacts instead - considering the price, design sophistication so·phis·ti·cate v. so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing, so·phis·ti·cates v.tr. 1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly. 2. , and comparable fuel economy they offer. After all, why spend the hybrid premium when you don't have to? The Autobytel Q3 Hot List Each quarter, certain new vehicles capture the imaginations of Autobytel's shoppers, generating a response - in terms of page views and/or Purchase Requests - that dramatically exceeds expectations. Here's a look at some of the cars and trucks that managed to cut through the clutter of nameplates in our competitive research environment, and turn heads (online) in Q3: 2007 Dodge Caliber 2007 Scion tC 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe 2007 Lexus ES 2006 Volkswagen Rabbit 2006 Dodge Charger 2007 Acura RDX 2007 Jeep Wrangler 2007 Nissan Versa The Top-10 Most Requested Vehicles Overall During Q3 Toyota Camry (including hybrid) Honda Civic Honda Accord Toyota Corolla Honda Odyssey Toyota Yaris Toyota RAV4 Toyota Sienna MINI Cooper Toyota Prius About Autobytel Inc. Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL ABTL Association Belge des Technologues de Laboratoire ) is one of the largest online automotive marketplaces, empowering consumers to make smart vehicle choices using objective automotive data and insightful interactive editorial content. The result is a convenient car-buying process backed by a nationwide network of dealers who are committed to providing a positive consumer experience. Every day consumers choose Autobytel-owned and operated websites Co Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, CarSmart.com, Car.com, AutoSite.com, Autoahorros.com, and CarTV.com - to facilitate their car-shopping decisions. Autobytel's ability to attract millions of highly qualified, in-market car buyers and connect them with retailers has made it a leader in facilitating the entire customer car-buying lifecycle. The Company's innovative marketing, advertising, data and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) An integrated information system that is used to plan, schedule and control the presales and postsales activities in an organization. products, including its Web Control[R] customer management system, Retention Performance Marketing (RPM[R]) service reminder program, Special Finance Leads(SM), and AIC AIC Association des Infermières Canadiennes. [R] data center, are designed to enable dealers to offer a premium consumer experience. Since pioneering pro-consumer online automotive content and purchasing in 1995, Autobytel has helped more than twenty-seven million car buyers, generating billions of dollars in car sales for dealers. 1 all percentage losses/increases based on comparison with Q2 2006 |
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