Dealership association site shows small and compact car purchases on the rise

With gas prices skyrocketing, it’s probably no surprise that those who actually do go buy a new car are heading for smaller models than the large trucks and SUVs we still see on the roads. But the pace at which these smaller models are taking over might be a surprise, and the vehicles in your bay could be changing in size sooner rather than later.

In the last two months, consumer interest in the overall compact car segment at NADAguides.com increased an average of 96 percent -- a fact the company's experts believe is closely related to an average nationwide increase in fuel prices of 19 cents per gallon during that same timeframe.

The compact car segment at NADAguides.com consists of three sub-categories designated as mini-compacts, sub-compacts and compacts, while “consumer interest” pertains to the amount of people who obtained pricing for a vehicle at NADAguides.com.

The company, a vehicle pricing and information Web site, says from January to March 2008, consumer interest in its mini-compact category increased 128 percent, while consumer interest in its sub-compact and compact categories increased 83 percent and 77 percent, respectively.

"We believe there is a direct correlation between the significant increase in consumer interest in the overall compact car segment of our Web site and the average nationwide increase in gas prices so far this year," says Don Christy Jr., president and CEO of NADAguides.com. "In our opinion, car buyers are feeling the pinch at the pump and are researching more economical, fuel efficient vehicles as a result."

Nine of the top 25 makes and models that showed the most dramatic increase in consumer interest at NADAguides.com during the last two months were in the compact car segment. These nine compact cars represent the largest segment percentage with the most dramatic increase in consumer interest.

Of the top 25 most researched new cars across the entire NADAguides.com Web site, five were compact cars, with interest in the 2008 Mazda MAZDA3 increasing 105 percent and interest in the 2008 Toyota Yaris increasing 102 percent from January to March. The 2008 Honda Civic Sedan, which has long been a commonly researched vehicle, showed an increase in consumer interest of 80 percent during that same timeframe.

The Toyota Corolla, which experienced its model year changeover during this timeframe, also was immensely popular with the 2008 model ranking 12th in overall interest and the 2009 model ranking 20th in overall interest for the month of March.

"The Toyota Corolla is completely redesigned for 2009, which explains an increased interest in the 2009 model at NADAguides.com," says Christy. "However, the fact that the 2008 model ranked 12th in overall interest further validates the fact that consumers are increasingly interested in compact cars as fuel prices continue their ascent."