Toyota Woes Continue to Impact Consumer Interest in New Toyota Vehicles on Cars.com
CHICAGO, Feb. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- As Congress continues to investigate the potential safety concerns that sparked recent Toyota recalls, consumer interest in popular new Toyota cars and trucks continues to slide on Cars.com.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100226/CG61567)
The Camry, which once owned the largest share of consumer contacts to dealers among midsized sedans during the height of the Cash for Clunkers program, now ranks 5th behind the Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata, Nissan Altima and Ford Fusion.
"It's clear that the constant government and media scrutiny of safety issues with the various recalled Toyota products has affected which vehicles consumers are considering on Cars.com," said Cars.com Editor in Chief, Patrick Olsen. "What remains to be seen is how much damage has been done and which manufacturer will be the beneficiary of Toyota's current troubles."
In the midsized sedan category, Hyundai has benefited both from Toyota's problems as well as from an aggressive marketing program that included advertising in the Super Bowl to boost consumer interest in their newly redesigned Sonata. The Sonata, which ranked 8th in the midsized sedan category before the Toyota's recall now ranks 2nd.
Prior to the recall, the Toyota Corolla ranked near the top of new compact cars in terms of the amount of consumer contacts to dealers. The Corolla was neck and neck with the Honda Civic and Volkswagen Jetta before the recall, but post-recall, the Corolla now ranks 8th among compact cars on Cars.com.
When it comes to full-sized pickup trucks, the Tundra hit a peak in May 2009 when it commanded 17 percent of the consumer contacts to dealers through Cars.com. After the recall, the Tundra's share on Cars.com has dropped by more than half, to 8 percent.
For more information about Toyota's recall, visit Cars.com.
About Cars.com
Cars.com is the leading destination for online car shoppers, offering credible, easy-to-understand information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. With comprehensive pricing information, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions.
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 and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).
SOURCE Cars.com
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