Autobytel Inc., an Internet new car
buying service and automotive research center, announced
the winners of its first annual Consumer Choice Awards at the 2003
National Automobile Dealers Association Convention in San Francisco.
According to the company, the Autobytel Consumer Choice Awards were presented to the
manufacturers who built the cars and trucks that were the most popular
among Autobytel's online car-buyers in 2002, based on
Purchase Request data amassed by Autobytel throughout the year.
Autobytel says the award announcements reveal some notable differences between
online buyers and their traditional counterparts. Autobytel's Most
Requested New Vehicle and Most Requested New Passenger Car Awards, for
example, were both won by the redesigned Nissan Altima, which gained
momentum in the market overall, but which nonetheless did not
rank among the top ten sellers last year.
The Acura 3.2 CL,
meanwhile, surpassed its European and American competitors in the Most
Requested New Luxury Car category. Honda won in two additional
categories as well -- Most Requested New Minivan (the Honda Odyssey)
and #1 Overall Most Requested Used Vehicle (the 1999 Honda Accord).
GM also took home three awards. The Chevy Tahoe won the Most
Requested New SUV award, and the Chevy Silverado won the Most
Requested New Truck. Cadillac's intensive youth marketing campaign and
new vehicle line-up, meanwhile, appear to have paid off with big gains
among online buyers, who tend to skew younger (and more metropolitan
and affluent). The brand was presented with a special Autobytel
Consumer Choice Award as the manufacturer with the greatest
year-on-year percentage gain in online Purchase Requests from 2001 to
2002.
"The Awards reveal that online shoppers are, in many cases, buying
different vehicles than their offline counterparts," said Autobytel
President and CEO Jeffrey Schwartz. "I attribute at least some of the
disparity to the fact that online buyers undergo a different, more
selective shopping process. They break down features and options;
they read reviews; they cross-compare; they actively move from brand
to brand. Our Award winners can take pride in the fact that they built
the vehicles these research-intensive online shoppers said they wanted
to buy in 2002."
Recipients of the Consumer Choice Awards were named at a press
conference attended by representatives from major manufacturers and
industry press.
About Autobytel Inc.
Autobytel Inc., an Internet automotive
marketing services company, says it helps retailers sell cars and
manufacturers build brands through marketing, advertising and CRM
(customer relationship management) programs. The company owns and
operates the automotive websites Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com,
Carsmart.com and automotive research center, AutoSite.com, as
well as AIC (Automotive Information Center), a provider of
automotive marketing data and technology.
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