Monday, August 14, 2006
Small Cars Crush Trucks Online in Q2, According to Autobytel Purchase Request Data; Online Purchase Requests Fall 34% for the F-150, 43% for Tundra an
Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL) today released its Consumer Choice report for the second quarter of 2006, revealing the new vehicle buying decisions made on the company's popular automotive web sites from April through June(a).
Looking at the quarter's big winners (fuel-efficient cars) and losers (pretty much everything else), it's clear that consumers' focus on fuel is continuing to shake up the car market -- even more so online than off.
"It comes as no surprise that the pinch consumers are feeling at the pump is playing out with dramatic increases in the popularity of small cars, but one thing that caught us by surprise was just how steep the drop-off in demand for trucks was in Q2," said Autobytel editor Brian Chee. "Trucks took a hit offline as well, of course, but it wasn't nearly as pronounced, which is typical: online car buyers often lead the trends that become the big industry-wide headlines, which is why our Consumer Choice reports are worth watching."
Truck Demand Finally Doused by High Fuel Prices
While "fuel anxiety" has seriously hurt demand for bigger SUVs for well over a year on Autobytel sites, Q2 was the first quarter where trucks -- generally the most popular vehicles in the U.S. -- suffered a similar fate. Requests plummeted 43% for the outgoing Toyota Tundra vs. a year ago, despite incentives, with equally abrupt nosedives for the Chevy Silverado (also down 43%), Dodge Ram (down 50%), Honda Ridgeline (down 38%) and Nissan Titan (down a titanic 52%). Even the venerable Ford F-150, the perennial top-selling vehicle in America, suffered a 34% drop in requests.
Not surprisingly, Autobytel shoppers hastened their retreat from less fuel-efficient SUVs, with requests falling 56% vs. a year ago for the Hummer H3, for example, and 62% for the Jeep Grand Cherokee, despite a recent redesign. It should be noted, however, that two gas-gulping SUVs managed to buck this trend: the red-hot Toyota FJ Cruiser -- which debuted as the second most requested SUV in Q2, trailing only the extremely popular Toyota RAV4 -- and the incentives-laden Ford Explorer, which generated a 14% boost in requests vs. '05.
Common Breast Cancer Myths
The first myth pertaining to this disease is that it only affects women.
Second myth that is associated with this disease is that if one has found a lump during an examination, it is cancer.
Third is that it is solely hereditary
The next myth associated with breast cancer is downright ridiculous. Would you believe, that in this day and age, some individuals still think that breast cancer is contagious?
Conversely, some individuals foolishly believe that breast size determines whether or not one gets cancer.
Finally, another myth that is associated with this disease is that it only affects older people. This is not so. Although the chance of getting breast cancer increases with age, women as young as 18 have been diagnosed with the disease.
You can find a number of helpful informative articles on Breast Cancer online at breast-cancer1.com
Breast Cancer online
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