Kbb.com Visitation Reaches All-Time High, More Than 618,000 Visits in One Day

But First Snide's Remarks: Just this morning as I was getting ready to go to the office I saw a local car dealer's commercial that proclaimed that they were selling cars for $500 under Kelley Blue Book price. This disturbed me, so I decided to preface this new press release from Kelley with these comments that were originally published in June 2006.

Co-publisher's Note: Over the past seven years visitors to TheAutoChannel.com have been shown rotating ad banners headlined "Should you be afraid of Kelley Blue Book?”

The owners of The Auto Channel believe that until there are no longer auto dealer ads that headline "Under Kelley Blue Book Price” (how can this be? if the stated Kelley price is the correct price, why would any dealer sell a car for less than it’s actually worth?), we will continue to espouse that Kelley prices and stated values are inaccurate and auto dealer biased. Therefore we continue publishing and promoting stories that alert retail automotive buyers and sellers to not rely solely on Kelley Blue Book to determine what a car is actually worth in the marketplace.

As we have stated to Kelley management over the years, "...along with your on-line success comes additional responsibility..." So Kelley, until you can prove to us your neutrality with accurate unbiased car values, we will continue our Kelley Banners rotating in front of our millions of readers. Let me know what you think; msnide@theautochannel.com

IRVINE, CA - July 23, 2009: Kelley Blue Book, a provider of new car and used car information, today announces an all-time traffic high for its top-rated consumer Web site, with more than 618,000 visits to kbb.com on Monday, July 13, 2009.

Despite the auto industry's sales troubles this year, Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com has consistently drawn more than 13 million visits each month so far this year, with traffic peaking in March at 15 million visits. Kbb.com visitors have steadily exceeded 14 million per month for the past three months (April - June 2009). In addition, in-market car shoppers have viewed nearly 400 million vehicle pricing reports since the beginning of the year.

"Kelley Blue Book has been known as The Trusted Resource for more than 80 years, and each year kbb.com offers more detailed and helpful information to assist car buyers and sellers in accomplishing their goals with confidence," said Christian Nimsky, vice president of kbb.com for Kelley Blue Book. "Even with the auto industry in a major state of transition, the latest kbb.com visitation data offers some rays of hope to the struggling automakers and everyone involved in the industry, demonstrating that now more than ever, Americans are still excited to shop for new cars."

In addition to its famous Blue Book new- and used-car values, Kelley Blue Book offers a wide variety of resources, advice and tools for in-market car shoppers on kbb.com. In the past year alone, kbb.com has launched its Perfect Car Finder Photo Edition, KBB Green , an optimized version of kbb.com for mobile devices and most recently, a Cash for Clunkers calculator. These tools join the host of comprehensive new-car shopping information available on kbb.com, including expert vehicle reviews (both video and print), resale value and safety information, rebates and incentive offers, a side-by-side comparison tool, consumer reviews and ratings, 360-degree vehicle views, vehicle specifications and optional feature information, and much more.

"Traffic to every area of our site has seen a significant lift this year including consumers researching new-car pricing, vehicle reviews and helpful decision-making tools," said Justin Yaros, executive vice president, product design and development for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com. "With the steady growing visitor count, there is no better place for dealers and manufacturers looking to effectively reach a very targeted audience of in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com."

The top five most-researched model/trim combinations on this record-breaking traffic day for kbb.com were the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS, 2009 Honda CR-V LX 2WD, 2010 Toyota Prius, 2010 Chevrolet Camaro LS and 2010 Toyota Camry LE, respectively. The 2010 Chevrolet Camaro was by far the most-researched vehicle on July 13, with three of its trim levels (SS, LS and LT) present among the top 10 most-researched model/trim combinations on July 13, 2009.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource , has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new and used vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company's top-rated Web site, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book Official Guide. According to the C.A. Walker Research Solutions, Inc. - 2008 Spring Automotive Web Site Usefulness Study, kbb.com is the most useful automotive information Web site among new and used vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, car reviews and news, used car blue book values, auto classifieds and car dealer locations. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com.