BLC Belo Corp.

CHICAGO, Dec. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- With gas prices again topping $3 a gallon, consumer interest in hybrid vehicles on Cars.com has increased dramatically over the past month. According to Cars.com's latest Consumer Search Index, all hybrid vehicles on the site have experienced an increase in consumer searches. Six of the top 10 and 12 of the top 25 new cars experiencing the largest increase in search activity over the past month are hybrids. The Toyota Prius continues to dominate among hybrids, leading the way among hybrid searches. It also ranks high among overall new-car searches, coming in with the sixth most searches of any new car on Cars.com. "This has become an ongoing occurrence: Consumers see gas prices at the pumps go up and they research what types of alternatives are available," said Cars.com managing editor Patrick Olsen. "The Toyota Prius is obviously the hybrid that gets the most attention, since it has been on the market for several years. But consumers are starting to discover that there are now dozens of new hybrid cars and SUVs on the market -- and more are on the way." The Ford Escape Hybrid, which was the first hybrid SUV on the market, had a record number of searches in November and ranked second to the Toyota Prius in total number of searches for a hybrid. The Honda Civic Hybrid ranked third. Top New-Car Searches New Cars With Largest Increase Overall (November) Searches (November) 1 Honda Accord 1 Mazda Tribute Hybrid 123% 2 Honda Civic 2 Ford Escape Hybrid 93% 3 Honda CR-V 3 Honda Civic Hybrid 51% 4 Toyota Camry 4 Chevrolet Malibu 46% 5 Nissan Altima 5 Mercury Mariner Hybrid 41% 6 Toyota Prius 6 Audi S5 37% 7 Toyota Corolla 7 Chevrolet Malibu Classic 33% 8 Ford Mustang 8 Lexus LS 600h 32% 9 Toyota RAV4 9 Toyota Prius 31% 10 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 10 Ford Focus 30% Top Hybrid Searches New Cars With Largest Decrease (November) in Searches (November) 1 Toyota Prius 1 Mercedes-Benz C-Class 29% 2 Ford Escape Hybrid 2 Nissan Pathfinder 25% 3 Honda Civic Hybrid 3 Nissan Frontier 23% 4 Toyota Camry Hybrid 4 Chevrolet Suburban 23% 5 Honda Accord Hybrid 5 Honda Accord 23% 6 Nissan Altima Hybrid 6 Honda Pilot 22% 7 Lexus RX 400h 7 Volkswagen Jetta 22% 8 Saturn Vue Green Line 8 Dodge Nitro 21% 9 Mercury Mariner Hybrid 9 Jeep Liberty 21% 10 Lexus LS 600h 10 Nissan Altima 21% 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 million unique visitors that log on to Cars.com each month and the vehicles that are most popular. Cars need to meet a minimum number of searches to qualify for the various top ten lists. About Cars.com Partnered with more than 200 leading metro newspapers, television stations and their websites, Cars.com (http://www.cars.com/) is the most comprehensive destination for those looking to buy or sell a new or used car. The site lists more than 2 million vehicles from 15,000 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. 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, 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, mobile, +1-630-310-2468, Web site: http://www.cars.com/

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