Has Consumer Reports remained relevant as the Internet becomes an increasingly important source for new vehicle buyers? Compete tracked web traffic to new vehicle reviews comparing Consumer Reports to the top Third Party automotive sites throughout 2007 as one way to answer this question.

Edmunds review section has been the leader among the set throughout the year and has experienced significant increases since May. Consumer Reports was second among the set outperforming KBB even though KBB receives significantly more site traffic than Consumer Reports.

Consumer Reports appears to be a good example of a traditional information source making the leap into the interactive world. Even though it was behind Edmunds, it still had significant traffic levels compared to the set. Further evaluation would provide additional insights into these consumers including engagement and website overlap.

WHAT’S GOING ON WITH 3 SERIES?
By: Dennis Bulgarelli

BMW 3 Series has typically been the most shopped model in the Import Entry Luxury segment. Occasionally, a new or redesigned model would hit the market and 3 Series would find itself looking up at a rival but not for long as it quickly re-established itself as the segment leader. However, as the segment becomes more competitive 3 Series has found its popularity among segment shoppers waning. With the September launch of the new Mercedes C-Class and the growing popularity of IS, 3 Series may soon find itself looking up at more than one rival.

Since its reveal at the North American International Auto Show in January, 3 Series share of segment shoppers has diminished, especially in September when its share matched a period low 22%. At the same time, recent gains by C-Class and IS have made inroads on 3 Series. In fact, the recently launched all-new ’08 C-Class surpassed 3 Series for the first time in September. Both C-Class (23% segment share) and IS (21%) reached period highs in September at the expense of 3 Series.

And those who continue to shop 3 Series have also been more apt to shop C-Class and IS. Cross-shopping of each of those two rivals has increased approximately 60% from year-ago levels, increasing the risk of 3 Series shoppers becoming competitive purchasers.

Compete is able to quickly assess market and segment dynamics that help manufacturers better understand the competitive environment in which they are competing. The faster they have that knowledge, the faster they are able to respond to market place conditions.

REPLAY: THE AUTOMOTIVE BUYING PROCESS: FROM A SEARCH PERSPECTIVE
Presented by: Compete, Inc. and Google, Inc.