kbb.com Visitation Reaches New All-Time High

Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com, The Trusted Resource® for new and used vehicle information, logged an all-time record number of visits to its top-rated consumer Web site with more than 13.2 million visits during July 2006. Throughout 2006 kbb.com visits have increased monthly and exceeded 11 million each month. It was the last day of the month, July 31st that saw the most visits during the month at 527,000. A total of 71 million vehicle pricing reports were generated for consumers using the well-respected site in July.

"With the domestic manufacturers once again running summer incentive programs, new-car shoppers are obtaining New Car Blue Book pricing, rebates and available option information in record numbers from 'The Trusted Resource' kbb.com," said Rick Wainschel, vice president of marketing research and brand communications for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. "Since more than three-quarters of kbb.com visitors are undecided on the make and model they want to buy, shoppers are evaluating new vehicles using our comparison tool right on the homepage."

According to data from AutoVIBES, a monthly automotive study from Harris Interactive® and Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research, tracking consumer automotive buying intention, kbb.com new-vehicle shoppers, on average, are considering at least three different makes when arriving to the site. AutoVIBES also revealed that kbb.com's luxury buyers are the most uncertain on their vehicle choice, still deciding among nearly four different makes. Kelley Blue Book's internal research supports the AutoVIBES data finding 81 percent of kbb.com shoppers are undecided on make and model when performing research on the site.

"The research clearly demonstrates that undecided new-car shoppers find third-party sites like kbb.com very useful in helping them make car-buying decisions," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and market analyst, Kelley Blue Book. "We try to provide consumers with objective, expert opinion on all vehicles available for sale in the United States and all the tools they need to make a satisfying choice that will stand the test of time."

During the month of July, the vehicle makes and models that saw the largest increase in site traffic over the previous month include Volkswagen's all-new 2007 Rabbit with a 152 percent increase from June. Additionally, Honda's Ridgeline tallied a 39 percent jump in pricing requests, and General Motor's Hummer brand, after sliding the last few months, captured a heightened number of views for its H3 with a 25 percent overall increase in visits. Ford's Land Rover and Volvo brands also experienced an increase in traffic during the month of July of 10 and 15 percent, respectively.

Launched in 1995, kbb.com has been recognized as the No. 1 and most visited automotive information Web site on the Internet. One in every three vehicle shoppers visits kbb.com during their online research process. Kelley Blue Book is the only vehicle information source trusted by consumers, dealers and the industry.

About Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com)

Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com is America's most used and trusted vehicle pricing, values and information resource. The top-rated Web site provides the most up-to-date pricing and values for thousands of new and used vehicles, including the New Car Blue Book® Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. Since 1926, car buyers and sellers have relied upon Kelley Blue Book for authoritative and unbiased information to make well-informed automotive decisions. The company also reports vehicle prices and values via products and services, including the famous Blue Book® Official Guide and software products. Kbb.com has been rated the No. 1 automotive information site by Nielsen//NetRatings and the most visited auto site by J.D. Power and Associates eight years in a row. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com; nearly one in every three American car buyers perform their research on kbb.com.

SOURCE: Kelley Blue Book

CONTACT: Robyn Eckard, +1-949-268-3049, reckard@kbb.com, or Joanna
McNally, +1-949-268-3079, jmcnally@kbb.com, both of Kelley Blue Book

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