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ATLANTA — Certified pre-owned and used-vehicle prices gained ground once again in May, reflecting the movement seen over the last few months in the midst of tight supply and a healthier auto market, according to AutoTrader.com.

In fact, the asking prices of all of the 20 most-viewed used vehicles on the site climbed year-over-year in May, while 18 of the top 20 CPO units moved forward in price, as well.

"Average asking prices for new, used and certified pre-owned vehicles listed for sale on AutoTrader.com in May continued the upward trend that began several months ago as auto inventories tightened and the auto market improved," officials noted.

The Ford F-150 was AutoTrader.com's most popular used model again, and its average asking price was up 12.32 percent from a year ago. 

The biggest climber among the most popular used vehicles on the site was the Jeep Wrangler — ranked No. 7 for total views. This vehicle's asking price jumped from $17,509 to $20,576 (up 17.52 percent).

As far as CPO models, the BMW 3-Series was the most-viewed vehicle, and its prices were up 2.69 percent. Moving ahead the farthest in asking price on top 20 certified models list was the F-150, whose prices climbed from $22,212 to $26,693 (up 20.17 percent)

New-Vehicle Trends

Moving on to the new-car side of the market, the Ford Mustang moved up from No. 3 in popularity in April to No. 1 for May, pushing the Chevrolet Camaro — last month's top new ride — down to the No. 2 slot.

The F-150 slipped from No. 2 to third.

What AutoTrader.com called a "big surprise" was the Ford F-350, which made significant movement as it jumped from No. 28 in April to No. 16 in May. A year ago, it was 41st on the list.

AutoTrader.com suggests such a heavy-duty work truck cracking the top 20 is perhaps another indicator that the economic recovery is moving right along

"The F-350 is a powerful, versatile vehicle," stated Chip Perry, president and chief executive officer of AutoTrader.com. "That people are starting to look at this vehicle more — people who need this kind of size and power in a work truck — may mean that we're seeing signs of a rebound in construction and other industries that have been hurt in the recent recession." 

Continuing on, AutoTrader.com also specifically looked at the Hyundai Sonata and Chevrolet Equinox, whose popularity has been buoyed by new designs and features, as well as solid marketing. Both of these models have shown significant movement on the most-viewed list from last year.

The Sonata, coming in at No. 9 in May, was No. 75 a year ago (Last month, it was No. 9). Meanwhile, the Equinox was No. 15, after ranking 18th in April and 107th last year.

"These two cars recently have shown that manufacturers can take great cars and with effective marketing really drive interest among consumers for putting those new cars into their consideration set," Perry noted. 

"We've seen repeatedly on our site that cars marketed effectively jump in our rankings as consumers are influenced to take a look," he added.

Site Traffic

Next, AutoTrader.com discussed some traffic trends highlighting that in May it reached an all-time high with 16.8 million unique visitors. This marked roughly a 10-percent gain year-over-year.

Moreover, AutoTrader.com notched another milestone last month, when on May 18, the site generated traffic of more than 1 million visitors for the first time.

Specifically, the site reported traffic that day of 1.02 million unique visitors and followed it up the next day with traffic of more than 1 million visitors once more.

AutoTrader.com touted several of its marketing activities for helping to push site traffic to the record level. One of these was the "Heart & Mind" campaign, which included advertising via broadcast, digital, print and social media avenues.

"We're deep into the spring/summer car-buying season, and the continued rise in traffic to our site and recent results announced by automakers indicate that Americans are past just looking and are now ready to buy," Perry suggested.   

"After about two years of belt tightening, consumers are ready to make a big purchase like an automobile," he added. 

The following is the list of the most-viewed new, used and CPO vehicles during May:

New Vehicles

1. Ford Mustang

2. Chevrolet Camaro

3. Ford F-150

4. Chevrolet Silverado

5. Ford F-250

6. Chevrolet Corvette

7. Jeep Wrangler             

8. BMW 3-Series

9. Hyundai Sonata           

10. Honda Accord            

11. Dodge Challenger

12. Toyota Camry

13. Dodge Ram 1500      

14. Honda Civic 

15. Chevrolet Equinox

16. Ford F-350

17. Ford Fusion

18. Volkswagen Jetta    

19. Nissan Altima             

20. Nissan 350/370Z

Used Vehicles

1. Ford F-150

2. BMW 3-Series

3. Chevrolet Silverado 1500

4. Ford Mustang

5. Ford F-250

6. Honda Accord

7. Jeep Wrangler

8. Dodge Ram 1500         

9. Honda Civic

10. Chevrolet Tahoe      

11. Infiniti G35/37           

12. Toyota Tacoma

13. Chevrolet Silverado 2500      

14. Dodge Ram 2500      

15. BMW 5-Series           

16. Nissan Altima

17. Toyota Tundra           

18. Audi A4

19. Jeep Grand Cherokee

20. Volkswagen Jetta      

CPO Vehicles

1. BMW 3-Series

2. Honda Accord

3. Chevrolet Silverado 1500

4. Toyota Tundra

5. Chevy Tahoe

6. Ford F-150

7. BMW 5-Series

8. Toyota Camry

9. Audi A4

10. Honda Civic

11. Toyota Tacoma

12 Ford Mustang

13. Volkswagen Jetta

14. Acura TL

15. Toyota Highlander

16. Honda Pilot

17. Toyota 4Runner

18. Chevrolet Suburban

19. GMC Sierra 1500

20. Honda Odyssey