Top 5 Most ‘Buzzworthy’ New Nameplates Chosen by Vehicle Buyers in Monthly AutoVIBES Study from Harris Interactive and Kelley Blue Book

Rochester, NY and Irvine, Calif.—November 12, 2003 — AutoVIBES, the new monthly automotive omnibus study from Harris Interactive^® and Kelley Blue Book tracking new vehicle nameplates, today reveals the models generating the most ‘buzz’ during October 2003. Among 26 new nameplates, four out of the top five are crossover vehicles.

"Most people’s active lifestyles demand the space of a minivan, the feel of a sedan and the styling of an SUV," said Charlie Vogelheim, executive editor of the vehicle information resource, Kelley Blue Book. "The combined attributes of crossover vehicles really fit the bill for most consumers. This study supports the fact that the crossover segment is gaining favorability and attention in the consumer marketplace."

"The SRX is creating a great amount of buzz for the Cadillac brand and gaining the support of a younger market, which began with the Escalade," said Vogelheim. "We also anticipate great things from Volkswagen’s long awaited Touareg, especially with all of its accolades and rave reviews in the few short months it has been available."

Additional consumer pulse points found within the study include consumers’ reliance on incentives and their confidence in buying a new vehicle. Findings from that portion of October’s AutoVIBES indicated that 66 percent of consumers say the availability of incentives will affect the timing of their next vehicle purchase. When it comes to their financial confidence, only seven percent felt they will be worse off one year from now, 49 percent felt they would be better off and 44 percent said they’d be about the same.

"Through AutoVIBES, vehicle advertisers, marketers, and OEMs can in real time see the effectiveness of their consumer outreach as well as which messages are resonating with vehicle buyers," said Lois Sumberg, senior vice president at Harris Interactive. "And, because the AutoVIBES survey is conducted monthly, the trending information gathered from month to month will become an invaluable tool for marketers and advertisers as vehicles are launched into the consumer marketplace."

Each month consumers shopping for a new vehicle are asked to rate new 2003 and 2004 nameplates entering the marketplace based on a number of vehicle traits: down-to-earth, confident, exciting, sophisticated, thought-provoking, aggressive, imaginative, youthful and versatile. Through these traits and other overall measures, data analysts at Harris Interactive and Kelley Blue Book are able to determine which brand new nameplates are achieving the greatest levels of awareness and consumer acceptance. To determine the most ‘buzzworthy’ vehicles, shoppers were asked their level of awareness and familiarity for each new nameplate, how favorable they felt toward the vehicle and if it was within their consideration set.

In addition to the new nameplate tracking, customized questions can address issues specific to auto manufacturers, ad agencies, and other vehicle marketers.

"Any automotive related company is welcome to insert proprietary questions into the monthly survey as a way to quickly and cost-effectively gauge the opinions of in-market vehicle buyers," said Rick Wainschel, director of marketing research at Kelley Blue Book.

AutoVIBES is a monthly omnibus survey of approximately 1,000 in-market vehicle buyers who plan to purchase or lease a new vehicle within the next 12 months. The survey is conducted on Kelley Blue Book’s website (www.kbb.com), the most visited website among in-market vehicle buyers, and is designed and analyzed jointly by Harris Interactive and Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research.

The October survey was conducted from October 1-7, 2003 among 887 U.S. adults ages 18 and over in the market to purchase or lease a new vehicle within the next 12 months. The data were weighted by demographics and propensity weighted to reflect the general U.S. adult population of in-market vehicle buyers. Though this sample is not a probability sample, in theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire adult population had been polled with complete accuracy.

Full results of the monthly AutoVIBES report are available on a subscription basis. For more information about this study, inserting proprietary questions or subscribing, please contact Kelley Blue Book at 949-268-3074 or Harris Interactive at 877-919-4765.

About Harris Interactive^®

Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com) is a worldwide market research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll^®, and for pioneering the Internet method to conduct scientifically accurate market research. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, U.S.A., Harris Interactive combines proprietary methodologies and technology with expertise in predictive, custom and strategic research. The Company conducts international research through wholly owned subsidiaries—London-based HI Europe (www.hieurope.com) and Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan—as well as through the Harris Interactive Global Network of local market- and opinion-research firms, and various U.S. offices. EOE M/F/D/V

To become a member of the Harris Poll Online^SM and be invited to participate in future online surveys, visit www.harrispollonline.com.

Kelley Blue Book is the most trusted vehicle information resource by both consumers and the auto industry, providing research tools and up-to-date pricing on thousands of new and used vehicles, including the company's New Car Blue Book Value, which reveals what a new car is actually selling for. Since 1926, car buyers and sellers have relied upon Kelley Blue Book for authoritative and unbiased information to make well-informed automotive decisions. The company reports vehicle prices and values via products and services including the famous Blue Book Official Guide(tm), software and Internet site, kbb.com. Kbb.com has been rated the No. 1 automotive information site by Nielsen//NetRatings as well as No. 1 and first visited automotive site by J.D. Power and Associates six years running. No other medium reaches more in-market car-buyers than kbb.com; one in every four American car-buyers completes their research on kbb.com.

Nancy Wong
Harris Interactive
585-214-7316
nwong@harrisinteractive.com

Robyn Eckard
Kelley Blue Book
949-268-3049
reckard@kbb.com