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IRVINE, Calif. — Kelley Blue Book on Monday shared its Web traffic pattern analysis comparing consumer behavior displayed this past May with sentiment from May 2009.

According to Kelley Blue Book Market Intelligence, brands that have climbed the most in consumer interest for new vehicles include Hyundai, Ford, GMC, Kia and Subaru.

Conversely, Toyota led the way of brands sliding down on that year-over-year comparison by Kbb.com. Following Toyota were Honda, Pontiac, Dodge and Lexus.

When delving deeper into the statistics, Kbb.com showed that Hyundai's share of new-vehicle shopper activity has increased 70 percent from May 2009 to May of this year. Site officials indicated the brand now holds 6 percent of the total new-vehicle shopping activity on Kbb.com, which is up from just 4.6 percent at the start of the year.

"Hyundai's ongoing success largely is due to the popularity of its newly redesigned Sonata and Tucson models, which have seen heavy marketing support and consumer interest since the beginning of the year," Kbb.com officials suggested.

The site indicated Ford accounts for 10 percent of all new-vehicle shopper activity. Executives determined Ford's traffic interest this past May was fueled by the brand's Super Duty trucks and the popular Mustang. They said the Mustang especially experienced increased exposure due to Ford's new ad campaign touting fuel efficiency of the 2011 model.

Furthermore, the all-new Fiesta subcompact also significantly contributed to Ford's increase in Kbb.com traffic, according to the site.

Meanwhile, Kelley Blue Book found Kia's share of shopper activity has increased 38 percent year-over-year. The company mentioned Kia currently ranks 13th out of 37 at Kbb.com.

"While Kia heavily touts the Soul with its popular 'Hamster' ad campaign, traffic to the brand's Sorento and Forte models actually were the key drivers to Kia's upward climb in status for May 2010," Kbb.com officials shared.

Turning to GMC, the site learned vehicles from this brand have seen steadily growing interest since the conclusion of Cash for Clunkers. Officials determined the resurgence is being led by the brand's popular Acadia and Terrain crossover models.

Kbb.com pointed out the last of the top upward-trending brands — Subaru — enjoys positive momentum because of its balanced lineup and increased shopper interest in the redesigned Outback and Legacy models along with the popular Forester SUV.

"Many brands we see on the top five upward climbers and bottom five downward decliners list for May 2010 would have been shocking to many consumers and industry professionals if you would have shown them this data just a few years ago," explained James Bell, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and Kbb.com.

"These results prove how great product supported by strong marketing, along with consumer confidence and excitement about the brand can alter shopper behavior in the relatively short course of only a year," Bell added.

Kbb.com conceded that Toyota still remains the leader in new-vehicle shopper activity at its site with 13 percent. However officials reiterated that the brand's rough, recall-filled year contributed to a significant decline and narrowed lead when compared to this time last year.

Site officials noted the situation facing Toyota has "nearly leveled the playing field despite its current popular Sienna marketing campaign."

While Honda still holds the second-most new-vehicle shopper activity on Kbb.com at 11 percent, the site found the brand has seen steady declines in share of market interest during the past year. It attributed this trend because of waning interest in the aging Civic and steady fuel prices lessening the demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles such as the Insight hybrid.

Consumer interest in Pontiac "has tanked since the announcement of the brand's death," according to Kbb.com. The site reinforced this stance by pointed out especially steep declines for the brand's G8 model when comparing May last year to this year.

As parent company Chrysler continues its brand transformation with the Fiat merger, Kbb.com believes Dodge still is struggling to maintain a large share of market interest. What appears to be dragging the brand is wavering interest for the Challenger and Charger.

Kelley Blue Book noticed May 2010 marked the first foray by Lexus into the bottom five downward decliners list. The site mentioned the brand has been losing share since Toyota temporarily halted sales earlier this year due to recalls.

Specifically, the site recorded a 25-percent decline in shopper activity for the brand's RX model when compared to this time last year.