August's Top 20 Most Researched Vehicles & What They Are Selling For

Every month more than five million unique visitors go online to Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com , many of them researching new vehicles. During the month of August 2003, more than 28 million vehicle pricing reports were generated and in-market shoppers top research pick was the Honda Accord, which has held the No. 1 slot all year.

   1   Honda          Accord              11  Honda         Odyssey
   2   Honda          Civic               12  Toyota        4Runner
   3   Toyota         Camry               13  BMW           3 Series
   4   Chevrolet/GMC  Pickups (Silverado  14  Infiniti      G35
                               & Sierra)  15  Honda         CR-V
   5   Ford           Pickups (F Series)  16  Volkswagen    Jetta
   6   Nissan         Altima              17  Ford          Explorer
   7   Dodge          Ram Pickups         18  Volkswagen    Passat
   8   Toyota         Tacoma              19  Nissan        Murano
   9   Toyota         Highlander          20  Chevrolet/GMC Trailblazer/
   10  Honda          Pilot                                  Envoy

The most common selling Accord in the Honda fleet is the Accord LX, which is their middle trim package between the DX and EX. According to the Kelley Blue Book's New Car Blue Book Value, a 2003 4-door LX automatic is selling between $18,683.00 -- 19,253.00 right now even though the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) is $20,710.00.

Toyota's Camry currently tops the Accord in overall sales-to-date this year and ranks No. 3 on August's Top 50 Most Researched list. A 2003 top of the line Camry XLE V6 automatic has an MSRP of $25,890, but can be picked up for anywhere between $23,089.00 -- 23,793.00, which is much closer to invoice than retail based on the New Car Blue Book Value.

America's top selling vehicles are the Ford F-Series pickups, with the F-150 leading the pack. Ford F-Series vehicles have held a top 5 position on kbb.com's most researched vehicles list for more than three years, spending a good amount of time at No. 1. Today, the Ford F-150 XLT Super Cab Shortbed is selling for $21,892.00 -- 22,558.00, which is also close to the vehicle's invoice price of $22,005. The fact that the F-150 will get a facelift for the 2004 model year is contributing to lowered sale prices. When consumers qualify for the $400 -- $3,000 cash back incentive, the deals get even better.

The Infiniti G35 is holding steady in the No. 14 spot for the third month in a row. Kelley Blue Book called the coupe version of the G35 'truly stunning' and others named it car of the year. Though there is no doubt it is the coupe, Charlie Vogelheim, executive editor at Kelley Blue Book, says this car is hard to find. "The market conditions feature of our New Car Blue Book Value will tell you why a car is selling at a specific price. The G35 coupe is very popular and dealers don't have a sufficient supply. Because of low supply and high demand consumers are paying close to MSRP or above for the coupe version of the G35." The New Car Blue Book value shows that a select few are picking up this car below MSRP ($32,745.00), but most transactions are taking place between $32,254.00 -- 33,236.00.

New car shoppers can obtain a tailored New Car Blue Book price for exact vehicle packages, options and incentives through kbb.com's 'Build a Car' feature.

Easily found on new car pricing reports, New Car Blue Book enables new car shoppers to know how much a specific make and model is actually selling for. New Car Blue Book is offered as a single value, a range and information on current market conditions and reflects the vehicle's actual selling price, based on tens of thousands of recent sales transactions from across the United States. The specific New Car Blue Book value falls within a range of typical selling prices. The New Car Blue Book is also offered as a range, since not every car sells for the exact same price. By showing both the low and high ends of the range a car-buyer can better determine whether they are getting a good deal or not. Market conditions for each vehicle are also included to help the consumer better understand each New Car Blue Book value. New Car Blue Book Values are updated on kbb.com at least weekly to ensure timeliness and accuracy.

About Kelley Blue Book ( kbb.com )

Kelley Blue Book is the most trusted vehicle information resource by both consumers and the auto industry, providing research tools and up-to-date pricing on thousands of new and used vehicles, including the company's New Car Blue Book Value, which reveals what a new car is actually selling for. 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 reports vehicle prices and values via products and services including the famous Blue Book Official Guide™, software and Internet site, kbb.com. Kbb.com has been rated the No. 1 automotive information site by Nielsen//NetRatings as well as No. 1 and first visited automotive site by J.D. Power and Associates five years running. No other medium reaches more in-market car-buyers than kbb.com; one in every four American car-buyers complete their research on kbb.com.

SOURCE: Kelley Blue Book

CONTACT: Robyn Eckard of Kelley Blue Book, +1-949-770-7704 ext. 8349, or
mobile, +1-323-547-5102, reckard@kbb.com

Web site: http://kbb.com/