Edmunds.com Pinpoints Auto Show Models That Drove Traffic Increase
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Edmunds.com broke down the vehicles highlighted at the recent North American International Auto Show in Detroit that sparked a 74-percent jump in traffic last week to its sister site, InsideLine.com.
Two vehicles from the same manufacturer combined to form the greatest contribution to the increased interest. Both units came from Ford.
Site officials explained that few consumers knew much about the Ford Transit Connect before the unit won the award as North American Truck of the Year. As a result, they indicated page views about the vehicle skyrocketed an astounding 400 percent after the honor was announced.
Meanwhile another Ford vehicle, the 2012 Focus, didn't quite put up the percentage traffic spike that the Transit Connect did. Nonetheless, Edmunds.com noticed a 72-percent increase in activity about this vehicle, which was one of the manufacturer's major introductions of the show.
Moving on to another OEM, the 2011 Honda CR-Z also garnered extra site traffic in conjunction with the show. Edmunds.com found a rise of 63 percent for this Honda unit.
Also enjoying a rise in activity according to Edmunds.com was the Buick Regal GS Concept. The vehicle posted a 46-percent traffic increase from the previous week.
Finally, Edmunds.com noticed a vehicle that possibly didn't receive the consumer appeal the manufacturer anticipated. Site officials calculated only a 14.9-percent increase in the 2011 Audi A8. They suggested that the buildup may have been more compelling than the actual vehicle.
Bill Visnic, senior editor of Edmunds' AutoObserver.com, gave his general assessment of the vehicles that debuted during the event.
"The show's comparative scarcity of high-impact concept and production vehicles didn't stem the avalanche of opinion on the most notable vehicles there," Visnic concluded.