In 2003 What Cars Did Yahoo Viewers Search For?

Yahoo Offers New Vehicle Interest Report, 6 Years After The Auto Channel Did – Not Bad For A Billion Dollar Business

 
February 14, 2003 -Yahoo! Autos (http://autos.yahoo.com), an informative and objective site for people looking to buy, sell or research automobiles, has released the first in its new monthly series of online automotive trend reports.  Based on insight from the searches conducted by Yahoo! Autos users in the months of December 2002 and January 2003, the vehicle searches are a benchmark of consumer automotive interests and an indicator of possible upcoming trends. 

 
Ford Mustang Biggest Climber In National Top 10 Searched Building on the successful debut of its new concept at the Detroit Auto Show, the Ford Mustang made the biggest gain on the nation's list of top ten vehicle models, jumping from number eight in December 2002 to number three in January 2003.  The popularity of sports cars remains strong as the Nissan 350Z and Ferrari 360 Modena continue to hold the number one and two spots.  The MINI Cooper moved out of the top 10 in January due to revved up interest from the auto shows in cars such as the new Volkswagen Beetle Convertible.

Top Make/Models in the U.S.
 
    December 2002                        January 2003

 
1.   Nissan 350Z                          Nissan 350Z
2.   Ferrari 360 Modena                Ferrari 360 Modena
3.   BMW 3 Series                       Ford Mustang
4    MINI Cooper                        BMW 3 Series
5.   Toyota Corolla                        Honda Accord Sedan
6.   Infiniti G35                              Toyota Corolla
7.   Honda Accord Sedan               Volkswagen Beetle Convertible
8.   Ford Mustang                           Infiniti G35
9.   Honda Pilot                              Nissan Altima
10. Toyota Camry                          Honda Pilot

 
Vehicle Categories Searched By Gender in U.S.

Data shows that men and women have quite opposite taste when it comes to car categories: the SUV category is currently the most popular among women, while it is the least popular among men. Additionally, pickup trucks and sports cars continue to top the list of men's searches, yet are the least favorite among women.

       December 2002                                                  January 2003
   
Males                          Females                         Males                    Females
1. Pickup trucks           SUVs                      Sports cars                  SUVs
2. Sports cars              Coupes                     Pickup trucks              Sedans
3. Vans                        Wagons                    Convertibles               Vans
4. Convertibles           Convertibles             Coupes                    Convertibles
5. Sedans                    Sedans                       Wagons                       Coupes
6. Wagons                  Vans                          Sedans                         Wagons
7. Coupes                   Sports cars                 Vans                            Pickup trucks
8. SUVs                   Pickup trucks            SUVs                          Sports cars

 
Top Vehicle Brands Searched In the U.S.

The top vehicle brands in the U.S. remained consistent between December 2002 and January 2003.  Although the top vehicle make/model in the U.S. in December and January was the Nissan 350Z, consumer interest remains high in Toyota, which secures the number one vehicle brand spot in December and January.  Infiniti dropped from the list in January and was replaced by Ferrari at the number 10 spot. 

 
December 2002              January 2003
1. Toyota                            Toyota
2. Honda                             Honda
3. Ford                                Nissan
4. Nissan                            Ford
5. BMW                             BMW
6. Chevrolet                       Chevrolet
7. Mercedes-Benz              Mercedes-Benz
8. Dodge                            Volkswagen
9. Volkswagen                   Dodge
10. Infiniti                        . Ferrari

 
Methodology

Data is gathered from information provided by visitors to Yahoo! Autos who are part of Yahoo!'s network of 101 million registered users. Each vehicle listed on Yahoo! Autos is categorized by make, model, and type, which allows for the above classifications.