CarMax Says Online Searches for Larger Vehicles on the Rise

RICHMOND, Va., Dec. 13, 2005 -- With the decrease in gas prices and arrival of colder weather, CarMax, Inc. , the nation's largest retailer of used cars, says online searches for sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks are on the rise.

Examples include the Toyota 4Runner, Ford F150, Jeep Grand Cherokee, and Chevrolet Tahoe, all of which climbed in popularity based on searches on the carmax.com website in November compared with searches in October. The Ford Expedition rose to 16th in November from a 21st ranking in October.

"One of the ways we gauge consumers' interest in sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks is by monitoring the search activity on our website," said Austin Ligon, president and chief executive officer of CarMax. "However, many searches still include smaller cars, such as the Accord and Camry."

The following is a listing of the 20 most popular vehicle searches conducted on carmax.com:

  Make/Model            November Ranking    October Ranking
  Honda Accord                 1                  1
  Honda Civic                  2                  2
  Toyota Camry                 3                  3
  Ford Mustang                 4                  4
  Nissan Maxima                5                  5
  Toyota 4Runner               6                  8
  Nissan Altima                7                  6
  Ford F150                    8                  9
  Jeep Grand Cherokee          9                 11
  Toyota Corolla              10                  7
  Chevrolet Tahoe             11                 14
  Toyota Tacoma               12                 12
  Jeep Wrangler               13                 13
  Ford Explorer               14                 15
  Volkswagen Jetta            15                 10
  Ford Expedition             16                 21
  Nissan 350Z                 17                 16
  Infiniti G35                18                 17
  Nissan Pathfinder           19                 22
  Chevrolet Corvette          20                 20

More than 20 percent of CarMax retail sales are initiated through carmax.com. Online shoppers can browse CarMax's nationwide inventory of approximately 20,000 vehicles and see a car's photo, no-haggle price, and specifications, all from the comfort of home. Vehicles can be transferred at customer request to their local CarMax superstore.

About CarMax

CarMax, a FORTUNE 500 company, and one of the FORTUNE 2005 "100 Best Companies to Work For," is the nation's largest retailer of used cars. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., CarMax currently operates 67 used car superstores in 31 markets. CarMax also operates seven new car franchises, all of which are integrated or co-located with its used car superstores. During the twelve month period ended August 31, 2005, the company sold 278,178 used cars, which is 93 percent of the total 299,138 vehicles the company retailed during that period. For more information, access the CarMax website at http://www.carmax.com/.