TrueCar.com Announces the Best Overall Value on the Most Fuel-Efficient Vehicles

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As the nation experiences heightened gas prices, TrueCar.com, the authority on new car pricing, trends and forecasts, today announced the best value* for consumers on the most fuel-efficient vehicles, taking into account the purchase price and the average cost of fuel per year.

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According to AAA's Fuel Gauge Report, the national average for regular unleaded is currently $3.65 a gallon, up more than $.80 cents a gallon from one year ago. The annual fuel cost takes into account the price of gas, whether it's regular unleaded, premium unleaded or diesel, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) combined fuel economy and 15,000 miles driven. The list only looked at models currently available for sale that have a four-person seating capacity or higher and did not include pure electric vehicles because there is no cost associated with filling up a tank. All vehicles listed are the lowest priced configuration with an automatic transmission.

The 2011 Chevrolet Aveo tops a list that represents ten different brands of 2011 and 2012 models currently available on the market. All vehicles listed have a TrueCar.com Average Price between $13,685 and $17,000 and have a combined mpg between 28 and 33 with a resulting Fuel Cost per year between $1,654 and $1,971.

"Now more than ever, consumers are considering the fuel-efficiency of a vehicle when making car buying decisions," said Jesse Toprak, Vice President of Industry Trends and Insights at TrueCar.com. "With increased fuel prices and no relief in sight during the coming summer months, consumers want to know what vehicle provides the best value."

*The value ratings for this particular study were devised by dividing the average price paid by the fuel costs per year for each vehicle (as of 4/03/11). The fuel costs per year take into account the type of fuel recommended by each manufacturer.

**Cost of fuel for the number of gallons used per 15,000 miles driven at $3.65 for unleaded fuel; $3.91 for premium unleaded fuel; $3.98 for diesel fuel

***4dr Sedan LT w/1LT with Automatic Transmission added

****Pop with Automatic Transmission added, Premium fuel required

*****TrueCar.com Average Price is the national average transaction price and includes all applicable manufacturer incentives available as of 4/03/11. Local prices may vary.

About TrueCar, Inc.

TrueCar, Inc. is an automotive solutions provider focused on changing how cars are sold by providing a significantly better customer experience while helping qualified dealer partners to gain incremental market share and reduce costs. TrueCar.com is a transparent, visual publisher of new car transaction data. TrueCar.com price reports help both dealers and consumers to agree on the parameters of a fair deal by providing an accurate, comprehensive and simple understanding of what others actually paid for the identically equipped new car over the last 30 days both locally and nationally. TrueCar, Inc. works with a national network of nearly 5,000 Certified Dealers that provide up-front, no-haggle, competitive pricing to assist some of the nation's largest and most well respected membership and service organizations to meet the auto buying needs of their members and customers. These partnerships include American Express, AAA, USAA and more than 60 others. Collectively these audiences represent over 1M in-market customers each month. TrueCar, Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA and has offices in San Francisco. The company was founded in 2005 and has been profitable since 2009. With nearly 200 percent year-over-year growth TrueCar has driven over 250,000 sales and is developing a suite of transaction oriented products and services centered on transparency and radical clarity as a result of comprehensively analyzing market data and information. You can follow TrueCar on Twitter and become a fan of TrueCar on Facebook.

About TrueCar Data

TrueCar obtains data directly from numerous sources including automotive dealers, technology companies, data aggregators, and analytics companies within the automotive space. We also acquire vehicle configuration data, customer and dealer incentives data, financing and loan data, vehicle registration and insurance data, and much, much more. TrueCar is insatiable about data with our goal to find 100% of all purchase transactions, even if that means finding the same transaction multiple times from multiple sources within the car-buying ecosystem. Our data is among the most timely and comprehensive in the industry, as we are able to process most car sales within a week of the actual sales date, and have a substantial fraction on the site within 48 hours of the actual sale. TrueCar believes the greater our informational accuracy, the greater benefit we provide to both dealers and consumers.

Disclaimer

This press release and the information contained herein is for noncommercial use on "as-is, as available" basis and may be used for informational purposes only. TrueCar makes no representations or warranties, express or implied, with respect to the information contained in this press release and the results of the use of such information, including but not limited to implied warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. The information contained in this press release may include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Neither TrueCar nor any of its parents, subsidiaries, affiliates or respective partners, officers, or directors, employees or agents shall be held liable for any damages, whether direct, incidental, indirect, special or consequential, including without limitation lost revenues or lost profits, arising from or in connection with your use or reliance on the information presented in this press release.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.

Jesse Toprak

http://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=94534

SOURCE TrueCar.com

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