kbb.com Names Most Researched New Vehicles of 2006

Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com), the leading provider of new- and used-vehicle information, names the top 20 most researched new vehicles of 2006. This year kbb.com saw more than 140 million unique visitors, a 12 percent increase over last year, making it again the most-visited third-party automotive Web site in the world. Because kbb.com is the most trafficked automotive research site, visitation to specific vehicles has become a leading indicator of monthly sales for manufacturers.

For the past two years, Honda and Toyota have dominated kbb.com's most researched new vehicle list and continued to do so during the 2006 calendar year, with the two brands capturing nine out of the top 10.

                Kbb.com's Most Researched Vehicles of 2006

  1.  Honda Civic
  2.  Toyota Camry
  3.  Honda Accord
  4.  Toyota Corolla
  5.  Toyota RAV4
  6.  Honda CR-V
  7.  Honda Odyssey
  8.  Honda Pilot
  9.  Toyota Highlander
  10. Ford Mustang
  11. Nissan Altima
  12. Chevy Tahoe
  13. Acura TL
  14. BMW 325
  15. Toyota Sienna
  16. Toyota 4Runner
  17. Infiniti G35
  18. Ford Escape
  19. Toyota Avalon
  20. MAZDA3

Toyota grabbed seven slots on this year's most researched list. New to the list, and coming in at No. 5 is the RAV4, which was redesigned for 2006. Just as last year, the Camry, Corolla and Highlander all made the top 10.

Honda, Kelley Blue Book's Best Resale Value: Brand winner captured five of this year's top 10 most researched vehicles. Honda's redesigned Civic jumped from No. 3 last year to No. 1 this year. The Accord, which will be redesigned next year, only dropped in the rankings from No. 1 to No. 3. The CR-V, Odyssey and Pilot made the list at No. 6, 7 and 8 respectively.

"Once again, kbb.com's reach across America is a leading indicator of consumers' buying interests," said Stephen Henson, executive vice president of consumer business for Kelley Blue Book. "Our top six states, California, Texas, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, are spread across the country and represent nearly 40 percent of our visits."

Three domestic vehicles made the top 20 with consumers during 2006; two from Ford and one from General Motors. Mustang and Escape each made the top list but both dropped in their rankings from last year. One year ago the Mustang held the No. 5 spot, but this year comes in at No. 10, while the Ford Escape dropped one notch to 18 this year. General Motors makes its debut on this year's list with the all-new redesigned Chevrolet Tahoe, coming in at No. 12.

"Kbb.com's most researched vehicle list shows that, despite volatility in gasoline prices through the year, the American consumer is not concentrating on fuel economy alone," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and auto analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. "Like the marketplace itself, the list of popular vehicles shows a great deal of healthy diversity."

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 seven years running. No other medium reaches more in-market car buyers than kbb.com; one in every three American car buyers complete their research on kbb.com.

SOURCE: Kelley Blue Book

CONTACT: Robyn Eckard, +1-949-268-3049, reckard@kbb.com, or Ernesto Del
Aguila, +1-949-268-3079, edelaguila@kbb.com, both of Kelley Blue Book

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