SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

Edmunds.com discovered purchase consideration for the Chrysler 300 nearly doubled after the automaker unveiled its redesigned model at this month’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

The day after this Chrysler model was showcased to media in the Motor City, a total of 16.9 percent of shoppers researching vehicles in the large car segment checked out the 300, according to Edmunds.com.

Just one week earlier, the company indicated consideration for the model was at 8.2 percent.

Beyond the surge for the Chrysler 300, the site revealed two luxury brands that also enjoyed an uptick in consideration after the auto show began.

Edmunds.com found 13.6 percent of shoppers researching vehicles in the mid-range luxury car segment looked at the Audi A6, up from a low of 7.9 percent earlier this month. The site also noted the BMW 6 Series peaked at 12.7 percent consideration within the premium sport car segment after levels around 8 percent the previous week.

Edmunds.com visitors also apparently took notice of the new Volkswagen Passat, which made news last week when it was announced that the newly redesigned model would have better fuel economy and a lower starting price.

On the day it was revealed to media, Edmunds.com said the Passat climbed to 6.2 percent consideration in the midsize car segment, up from a low of 3.3 percent during the previous week. 

However, comments about the new Passat from visitors to Edmunds.com and sister website InsideLine.com evidently weren’t so favorable. The “Word on the Street” analysis by Mark Holthoff, who contributes to AutoObserver.com, revealed that users called this VW model “boring, bland and snoretastic.” 

While the Passat might not have struck a positive note, Holthoff reports that the Buick Verano saw more user comments on the site than any other new vehicle unveiled at NAIAS.

Holthoff found the Buick model enjoyed praise for its “nice, luxurious interior” and its $22,500 base price.

Meanwhile, Edmunds.com visitor reaction to a new Hyundai vehicle sparked comparisons to a unit from one of the foreign nameplate’s primary rivals.

Holthoff indicated the Hyundai Veloster earned the most enthusiastic comments with visitors calling it “sexy and unique” and “more like what the Honda CR-Z should have been.”

However, officials said admiration for these two new vehicles did little to move the needle of purchase interest.

Consideration for the Veloster in the compact car segment climbed only slightly to 1 percent, while consideration for the Verano in the same segment remained flat at 0.6 percent, according to officials.

All told, the annual Detroit auto show led to plenty of traffic at Edmunds.com. The site calculated that during the week of Jan. 9, it enjoyed its highest visitor levels since August of last year.

Edmunds.com said it defines consideration as the volume of site visitors who view content — pricing, reviews, specifications, photos and more — about a specific new vehicle, expressed as a percentage of traffic for similar content about all new vehicles within the same market segment.

“Consideration is a valuable metric for measuring the automaker’s marketing effectiveness,” Edmunds.com concluded.