IRVINE, Calif. -

The latest Hot Car Report from Kelley Blue Book is what analysts called a “mixed bag” since the new model gaining the most traction on their website isn’t from one of the larger automakers or have a gasoline engine.

Posting a week-over-week shopping activity gain of 93.9 percent was the Mitsubishi i, the Japanese OEM’s electric vehicle that just reached the East Coast. Mitsubishi delivered its first shipment to the port in Baltimore on Monday.

Customer and fleet deliveries of this Mitsubishi model began last December on the West Coast, including California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii. The automaker said this vehicle will be available to test drive at participating dealerships throughout the Northeast, Virginia and Illinois beginning in March and will be available nationwide by this summer.

“With so many vehicles sold in different parts of the globe, Mitsubishi’s 100-percent electric-powered vehicle has a proven record of reliability, safety and ease of use,” stated Mitsubishi Motors North America president and chief executive officer Yoichi Yokozawa.

“And as the No. 1 selling electric vehicle in Norway, the Mitsubishi i should have no problem adapting to American households in the cold-climate Northeast corridor,” Yokozawa continued.

Joe Lu, a senior Web analyst within KBB’s analytic insights division, elaborated ib why the capability this Mitsubishi model is catching shopper attention.

“This week’s Hot Car Report is a mixed bag with an unexpected surprise topping the list,” Lu began. “As is the case whenever fuel prices increase (here we go, again), interest in alternative-fuel vehicles invariably follows shortly thereafter.

“With many alternative-fuel vehicle options available to consumers today, the Mitsubishi i recently differentiated itself from competitors by being awarded top honors on the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s 2012 Greenest Cars List,” Lu highlighted. “Shoppers are clearly taking note, as evidenced in Kbb.com shopping activity.”

Coming in behind the Mitsubishi electric model was the Lexus GS, which saw its KBB shopping activity jump 41.4 percent week-over-week.

“Last week’s big riser, the Lexus GS, continued on its hot streak again this week. Recent announcements of the GS iPhone game and app featuring Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Tori Praver have successfully worked to garner additional buzz, driving a continued rise in week-over-week traffic for the vehicle,” Lu explained.

Other new models gaining shopping steam on Kbb.com included the Honda Crosstour (up 26.8 percent), the Nissan Sentra (up 19.9 percent) and the Chevrolet Malibu (18.3 percent).

KBB indicated shopper activity cooled on a trio of new vehicles by at least 20 percent, including the Volvo XC70 (down 24.6 percent), the Dodge Avenger (down 24.1 percent) and the Volkswagen Beetle (down 21.8 percent).

Not far off those week-over-week decliners was the Audi Q7, which slid 16.2 percent according to KBB.