BLC Belo Corp.

Searches for Fuel-Efficient Cars Cool Off CHICAGO, July 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai, which was recently listed among the top three nameplates in J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study for the first time ever, had several cars see a significant increase in search activity on Cars.com last month. According to the June Cars.com Consumer Search Index, Hyundai's Tucson, Santa Fe, Sonata and Azera all cracked the list of cars with the largest increase in searches last month. "While the increase is due in large part to Hyundai's latest round of incentives and an aggressive new ad campaign, consumers are starting to key in on what studies like J.D. Power's Initial Quality Study have discovered: Hyundai has a quality product and is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the future," said Cars.com editor David Thomas. Fuel-Efficiency Searches Start to Slow Despite gas prices that continue to climb toward near-record levels, consumer searches for the most fuel-efficient vehicles on Cars.com have started to cool off. The Toyota Yaris and Prius, the Geo Metro, and Honda's Insight and Fit all made the list of vehicles experiencing a significant decline in searches over the past month. "There is still a large number of searches being conducted for fuel-efficient cars as a category, which shows that gasoline prices are still affecting consumer shopping behavior," said Thomas. "However, the initial shock of the recent rise in gas prices has seemingly worn off." Consumer searches for recently launched vehicles, including the Toyota FJ Cruiser and the Dodge Caliber, also have started to slow. The two cars, which are both new models for 2007, have been very popular with consumers on Cars.com since their introduction. Search Increases (May-June) Models with the largest increase in the number of searches performed on Cars.com. Top New-Car Search Increases Top Used-Car Search Increases 1 Hyundai Tucson 20.3% 1 Mitsubishi Mirage 30.9% 2 Hyundai Santa Fe 17.4% 2 BMW 318 21.4% 3 Pontiac G6 10.2% 3 Ford Freestar 20.5% 4 Hyundai Sonata 7.3% 4 BMW 528 19.3% 5 Subaru Outback 6.1% 5 Audi Allroad Quattro 19.1% 6 Hyundai Azera 5.0% 6 BMW 545 16.6% 7 Toyota Sienna 3.7% 7 Lexus ES 330 16.6% 8 Chevrolet Impala 1.8% 8 BMW 645 16.5% 9 Chevrolet Equinox .52% 9 Ford Freestyle 15.6% 10 Nissan Murano .45% 10 Ford Five Hundred 15.0% Vehicle Searches (June) Models with the most searches performed on Cars.com. Top New-Car Searches Top Used-Car Searches 1 Honda Civic 1 Honda Civic 2 Toyota Camry 2 Honda Accord 3 Honda Accord 3 Ford Mustang 4 Toyota Yaris 4 Toyota Camry 5 Toyota Corolla 5 Toyota Corolla 6 Ford Mustang 6 Ford F-150 7 Acura MDX 7 Volkswagen Jetta 8 Toyota RAV4 8 Toyota Tacoma 9 BMW 325 9 Mitsubishi Eclipse 10 Volkswagen Jetta 10 Chevrolet Corvette Search Decreases (May-June) Models with the largest decrease in the number of searches performed on Cars.com. Top New-Car Search Decreases Top Used-Car Search Decreases 1 Toyota Yaris 33.2% 1 Geo Metro 28.5% 2 Cadillac Escalade 30.2% 2 Honda Insight 25.4% 3 Toyota Prius 27.1% 3 Toyota Prius 25.1% 4 Honda Fit 26.7% 4 Toyota Yaris 21.9% 5 Mini Cooper 24.0% 5 Toyota Tercel 17.8% 6 Mini Cooper S 22.9% 6 Volvo 240 15.0% 7 Lexus ES 330 21.7% 7 Geo Tracker 14.6% 8 Toyota FJ Cruiser 21.5% 8 Toyota Echo 14.4% 9 Hummer H3 20.8% 9 Eagle Talon 14.1% 10 Dodge Caliber 19.7% 10 Honda Fit 13.9% Top Dealer Email Inquiries (June) New Cars Yielding the Most Used Cars Yielding the Most Dealer Dealer Inquiries Inquiries 1 Honda Civic (2006) 1 Honda Accord (2005) 2 Honda Accord (2006) 2 Toyota Supra (1997) 3 Toyota Corolla (2006) 3 Honda Accord (2003) 4 Honda Odyssey (2006) 4 Honda Civic (2000) 5 Toyota Camry (2006) 5 BMW 325 (2001) 6 Toyota RAV4 (2006) 6 BMW M3 (2002) 7 Toyota Camry (2007) 7 Honda Accord (2004) 8 Toyota Yaris (2007) 8 Ford Mustang (2001) 9 Toyota Prius (2006)) 9 Audi A4 (2003) 10 Toyota Sienna (2006) 10 Toyota Camry (2002) Top Cars Listed for Sale by Owner (June) 1 Honda Accord 2 Honda Civic 3 Ford Mustang 4 Ford Explorer 5 Ford F-150 6 Toyota Camry 7 Jeep Grand Cherokee 8 Chevrolet Corvette 9 Volkswagen Jetta 10 Dodge Ram About the Cars.com Consumer Search Index The Cars.com Consumer Search Index offers a comprehensive look at the internet search behavior of Cars.com visitors. The statistical information is compiled by tracking the more than 8.3 million unique visitors that log on to Cars.com each month and the vehicles that are most popular. The lists are based off a minimum of 4,000 searches for new cars and 10,000 searches for used cars. Dealer inquiries measure the volume of emails consumers send to dealers seeking information about a particular vehicle. The information is supported by expert analysis from the Cars.com editorial staff. About Cars.com Partnered with more than 200 leading metro newspapers, television stations and their websites, Cars.com is the most comprehensive destination for those looking to buy or sell a new or used car. The site lists more than 1.5 million vehicles from 11,000 dealer customers, classified advertisers and private parties to offer consumers the best selection of new and used cars online, as well as the content, tools and advice to support their shopping experience. Recently selected by Forbes.com as a Best of the Web site for car shopping, Cars.com combines powerful inventory search tools and new-car configuration with pricing information, photo galleries, buying guides, side-by-side comparison tools, original editorial content and reviews to help millions of car shoppers connect with sellers each month. Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, ( http://classifiedventures.com/ ), which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo (NYSE:BLC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB) and The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO). DATASOURCE: Cars.com CONTACT: Steve Nolan, Public Relations Manager, of Cars.com, +1-312-601-5163 (direct), +1-630-310-2468 (mobile), Web site: http://www.cars.com/ http://classifiedventures.com/

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