NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

The Dataium Automotive Shopper Intensity Index continued its upward momentum, increasing 4.65 percent from August to September.

Dataium said the positive movement of the ASI — which serves as an early predictor of the next 30 to 45 days of automotive retail sales — reflects the strengthening consumer confidence that has been aided by a recovery in the housing sector.

Boosted by an increase in lead submissions on dealership websites, Nissan, followed by Ford, ranked highest in ASI for all automakers, according to Dataium’s report released on Thursday. Toyota fell two spots to rank third.

The firm noted online shopping in September signaled a resurgence for Ford with visitors and searches on its dealership websites up month-over-month by more than 40 percent after exhibiting 60-percent declines in August.

Meanwhile, analysts found lead submissions on Nissan dealership websites have demonstrated steady month-over-month growth of 10 percent for the past two quarters.

For the third straight month, Dataium discovered the Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota Camry held on to their top ASI new-vehicle rankings.

However, September introduced a few newcomers to the top 10 ASI new-vehicles ranking, including Camry competitor, the Nissan Altima, and the Silverado rival, Ford’s F-150.

That ranking went as follows:

1. Chevrolet Silverado
2. Toyota Camry
3. Infiniti JX35
4. Hyundai Elantra
5. Honda CR-V
6. Nissan Altima
7. Kia Sorento
8. Ford F-150
9. Toyota RAV4
10. Acura ILX

“One of the interesting things we see exhibited in the ASI is the effect of recalls, elections and hurricanes on auto shopping,”  Dataium chief executive officer Eric Brown. “We will be releasing new reporting on these events and the associated impact on shopping behavior soon.”