Bankruptcy Status for GM and Chrysler Doesn't Affect Interest Among Consumers

ATLANTA, June 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Domestic muscle cars dominated the list of most-viewed new vehicles on AutoTrader.com in the month of May. Topping the list was Chevrolet's all-new 2010 Camaro, up from No. 4 in April of this year. The recently redesigned 2010 Ford Mustang came in at No. 2 on the most-searched new vehicles on AutoTrader.com in May, down from No. 1 in April of this year. Rounding out the top three was the Dodge Challenger, which was introduced last year as a 2009 model.

Ford models generated a lot of interest in May. The recently redesigned Fusion midsize sedan finished 7th overall in the most viewed new vehicles on the site, up from 36th in May of 2008. Additionally, Ford's Escape compact crossover finished 15th overall on the most-viewed new vehicle list. Midsize sedans and compact crossovers are the second and third best-selling segments after full-size trucks in the United States.

"The 1-2-3 finish by Chevrolet, Ford and Dodge shows that the U.S. is still in love with the American muscle car and that the U.S. manufacturers are rolling out head-turning products that generate the same kind of buzz you hear for Hondas, Toyotas, BMWs and other foreign makes," said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry. "More importantly, the success of the Fusion and the Escape proves that domestic automakers are able to translate the excitement of their halo models into the cars and crossovers that make up the true heart of the American automotive marketplace."

The success of domestic automakers in May did not come at the expense of foreign brands. Japanese automakers Toyota, Nissan and Honda had a total of seven of the most-viewed new vehicles on AutoTrader.com in May, while Korean manufacturer Hyundai finished at No. 10 on the list of top brands viewed on the site. While shopping for new cars among all brands was still down significantly when compared to May of 2008, the market did see a slight recovery from last month.

"Today is truly a golden opportunity for car buyers, with terrific choices from a wide variety of automakers from Europe, North America and Asia in every segment, from trucks to SUVs to sports cars to midsize sedans," added Perry. "With the discounts currently available due to the soft car market, consumers have never had a better opportunity to buy a new vehicle than now."

In the used car market, the BMW 3-Series topped the most viewed used car list and the most viewed Certified Pre-Owned list. Strong CPO programs from brands such as Honda also helped to push vehicles such as the Accord onto solid finishes on both lists.

"Even though consumers are starting to look more at new cars, the action on dealership lots remains in the used car sector, with views for used vehicles still well ahead of May of last year," said Perry. "For automakers and dealers alike, a strong, well-marketed CPO programs continue to be important during these challenging times."

Chrysler's bankruptcy and the bankruptcy filing for GM, which loomed for the past months and was finally filed on June 1, did not appear to dampen shoppers' interest in Chrysler or GM vehicles. Perennial AutoTrader.com new and used vehicle top 20 list makers from these manufacturers, such as the Chevrolet Silverado, the Jeep Wrangler, the Dodge Ram and the Chevrolet Tahoe, continued their strong showings.

"This shows a remarkable level of brand loyalty for these popular vehicles and a faith among consumers that these auto makers are going to make it through these times," said Perry. "Whether one agrees or disagrees with the way the government is going about rescuing these companies, activity on our site suggests people across the board believe the measures being taken will be successful and in 30 to 90 days we'll see a stronger Chrysler and a stronger GM and likely a stronger U.S. auto market."

About AutoTrader.com

AutoTrader.com, created in 1997 and headquartered in Atlanta, Ga., is the Internet's leading auto classifieds marketplace and consumer information website. AutoTrader.com aggregates in a single location about 3 million new cars, used cars and certified pre-owned cars from thousands of auto dealers and private owners. The site attracts about 15 million unique monthly visitors. Through innovative merchandising functionality such as multiple photos, videos, detailed descriptions and comprehensive research and compare tools, AutoTrader.com unites new and used car buyers and sellers online to improving the way people research, locate and advertise vehicles. AutoTrader.com is a majority-owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises. The venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers is also an investor. For more information, please visit www.autotrader.com.

    MAKE       MODEL      Rank  Rank  Rank   Avg Price  Avg Price Change from
                          05/09 04/09 05/08   - 05/09    - 05/08     05/08

                                             New Cars

    Chevrolet  Camaro        1     4  N/A   $32,598.22        N/A        N/A
    Ford       Mustang       2     1    16  $32,706.49 $31,204.65       4.81%
    Dodge      Challenger    3     3   189  $37,378.11 $49,085.07     -23.85%
    Ford       F-150         4     2     6  $34,316.98 $31,341.46       9.49%
    Jeep       Wrangler      5     8    25  $27,859.67 $27,730.62       0.47%
    Honda      Accord        6    10     2  $25,562.52 $25,378.63       0.72%
    Ford       Fusion        7    13    36  $23,798.57 $21,887.08       8.73%
    BMW        3-Series      8    21    17  $57,527.45 $51,324.96      12.08%
    Chevrolet  Corvette      9     6    29  $61,460.61 $61,193.17       0.44%
    Chevrolet  Silverado
                1500        10     5     3  $31,589.89 $30,220.06       4.53%
    Dodge      Ram 1500     11     9    11  $34,083.54 $31,270.76       8.99%
    Toyota     Corolla      12    28     8  $18,478.15 $18,439.06       0.21%
    Honda      Civic        13    11     1  $20,598.58 $19,722.94       4.44%
    Nissan     370Z         14     7    94  $36,664.52 $34,743.56       5.53%
    Ford       Escape       15    37    21  $26,371.13 $24,523.28       7.54%
    Toyota     Camry        16    17     4  $24,402.81 $24,234.79       0.69%
    Ford       F-250        17    12    22  $42,775.55 $42,878.94      -0.24%
    Pontiac    G8           18    14    58  $32,635.25 $30,423.16       7.27%
    Toyota     Tundra       19    16     9  $33,480.80 $33,814.47      -0.99%
    Toyota     Tacoma       20    18    10  $25,957.58 $25,574.90       1.50%

                                            Used Cars

    BMW        3-Series      1     3     1  $26,568.70 $27,851.08      -4.60%
    Ford       F-150         2     1     5  $18,063.99 $17,496.28       3.24%
    Ford       Mustang       3     2     4  $16,819.28 $17,771.81      -5.36%
    Chevrolet  Silverado
                1500         4     4     6  $17,810.97 $17,657.48       0.87%
    Honda      Accord        5     5     3  $15,246.40 $16,506.65      -7.63%
    Honda      Civic         6     6     2  $13,289.64 $14,594.95      -8.94%
    Infiniti   G35/G37       7     7     8  $22,197.48 $22,742.69      -2.40%
    Ford       F-250         8     9    22  $21,769.50 $23,168.74      -6.04%
    Dodge      Ram 1500      9     8    14  $16,314.16 $15,916.54       2.50%
    Jeep       Wrangler     10    10    15  $17,276.01 $17,947.52      -3.74%
    Chevrolet  Tahoe        11    11    21  $23,330.25 $21,204.38      10.03%
    Audi       A4           12    13    13  $20,248.45 $21,631.52      -6.39%
    Nissan     Altima       13    14     7  $14,152.90 $15,133.39      -6.48%
    BMW        5-Series     14    12    11  $30,446.42 $32,720.54      -6.95%
    Toyota     Tacoma       15    15    12  $17,932.57 $18,904.52      -5.14%
    Jeep       Grand
                Cherokee    16    16    19  $15,098.10 $15,791.76      -4.39%
    Chevrolet  Silverado
                2500        17    17    38  $21,165.15 $22,272.39      -4.97%
    Volkswagen Jetta        18    21     9  $12,389.18 $14,208.63     -12.81%
    Dodge      Ram 2500     19    18    42  $22,358.09 $23,255.99      -3.86%
    Ford       Explorer     20    20    20  $15,005.92 $14,863.17       0.96%



    MAKE        MODEL     Rank  Rank  Rank   Avg Price  Avg Price Change from
                          05/09 04/09 05/08  - 05/09    - 05/08      05/08

                                       Certified Pre-Owned

    BMW        3-Series      1     1     1  $31,953.15 $33,716.93      -5.23%
    Honda      Accord        2     2     2  $17,747.22 $18,555.94      -4.36%
    Chevrolet  Silverado
                1500         3     3     5  $21,672.19 $20,989.91       3.25%
    Chevrolet  Tahoe         4     4    14  $29,458.54 $28,009.65       5.17%
    Toyota     Tundra        5     6    26  $23,126.20 $23,358.59      -0.99%
    Honda      Civic         6     5     3  $16,246.62 $16,885.17      -3.78%
    Audi       A4            7     8     8  $24,439.02 $25,928.04      -5.74%
    BMW        5-Series      8     9     7  $37,310.47 $36,848.61       1.25%
    Ford       F-150         9     7     9  $22,219.37 $21,178.60       4.91%
    Toyota     Tacoma       10    10    11  $20,899.92 $21,669.11      -3.55%
    Toyota     Camry        11    11     4  $18,271.28 $18,844.10      -3.04%
    Acura      TL           12    12    16  $24,575.39 $26,284.17      -6.50%
    Toyota     Highlander   13    14    23  $22,821.78 $22,554.15       1.19%
    Volkswagen Jetta        14    24    15  $14,838.95 $16,552.37     -10.35%
    Ford       Mustang      15    13    18  $19,096.87 $20,276.08      -5.82%
    Chevrolet  Impala       16    17     6  $15,887.74 $16,776.29      -5.30%
    Toyota     4Runner      17    16    32  $23,204.75 $23,399.85      -0.83%
    Mercedes   E-Class      18    15    28  $35,320.25 $37,953.87      -6.94%
    Mercedes   C-Class      19    18    27  $27,531.49 $27,298.57       0.85%
    Acura      MDX          20    21    29  $27,057.12 $28,757.33      -5.91%



    Top 10 Brands
        MAKE        Rank    Rank
                   05/09   05/08
    Chevrolet          1       2
    Ford               2       3
    Toyota             3       1
    Dodge              4       5
    Nissan             5       6
    Honda              6       4
    BMW                7      10
    Jeep               8       9
    GMC                9       8
    Hyundai           10      14

SOURCE: AutoTrader.com

Web site: http://www.autotrader.com/