NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

Car-shopping activity closed 2011 with a bang; and it appears like January will show much of the same, according to the latest Dataium Auto Shopper Intensity report.

The ASI index — which is designed to project car sales 30 to 45 days in advance — showed more than a 10-percent hike in December, with particularly strong gains among a few import luxury and Japanese brands.

Leads for Mercedes-Benz and Audi both surged by more than 40 percent, while Saab showed improvement throughout all elements of the ASI even through its issues regarding bankruptcy and ending warranty coverage.

Furthermore, leads climbed 23 percent for Honda and 26 percent for Toyota. More specifically, the Honda Element and the Honda Odyssey had stronger lead-to-visitor ratios than any other new vehicles.

Conversely, December marked the second straight month of inventory search drop-offs for Kia (down 43 percent) and Hyundai (down 31 percent).

“If reflective of early 2011, we expect these considerable gains to continue through the end of January as consumers expand the volume and variety of vehicles they shop for,” explained Dataium chief executive officer Eric Brown.