COSTA MESA, Calif. -

As domestics increased their share of consumer interest and sales during the third quarter — while imports saw consumer interest fall — one particular Big 3 brand moved ahead of a Detroit rival to top the brand share rankings on NADAguides.com.

Reaching the No. 1 spot on the site during the period was Chevrolet, which commanded a 14.5-percent share of consumer interest for the third quarter. Ford — which held a grip on the spot previously — came in second with a 13.3-percent share.

Chevy’s gains in consumer interest are due to more attention being paid to the Cruze and the Silverado, analysts indicated. The Cruze, in particular, has been steadily rising while the Silverado has maintained its spot as one of the most popular vehicles on NADAguides.com.

Toyota (9.9 percent), Nissan (6.29 percent) and Honda (6.1 percent) rounded out the top five, respectively.

Breaking  it down by groups, NADAguides pointed out that domestics, overall, saw consumer interest climb 10.2 percent and sales came out at 47.3 percent, up from 46.8 percent.

For Japanese brands, consumer interest fell 2.5 percent and sales fell 1.7 percent. These declines were once again driven by the production aftermath of the earthquake earlier this year.

European brands saw consumer interest fall 14.9 percent, while Korean brands were off 7.7 percent.

“However, sales for both continued to remain relatively similar — both at 9 percent. Despite promising increases in consumer interest during the second quarter, those inquiries did not result in sales during the third quarter,” officials noted.