20 Most-Researched Vehicles

Kelley Blue Book's list of 20 new- and used-vehicles that Internet users researched the most in 2008 is top heavy with Hondas and Toyotas.

The year 2008 marks the third consecutive one that Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com saw greater than 140 million unique visitors.

Here's the top 20 list:

“Continued interest in Honda and Toyota, Chevrolet's home-run Malibu redesign and an increase in visits to more fuel-efficient, economical vehicles is an accurate reflection of the marketplace in 2008,” says Jack R. Nerad, Kelley's executive editorial director and executive market analyst.

The Japanese brands of Honda and Toyota frequently dominate the kbb.com most-researched lists.

While they still have a major turnout for 2008, the latest list demonstrates that other manufacturers and vehicles also have now made their mark in the minds of consumers, Nerad says.

Chevrolet's all-new redesigned Malibu made the most impressive leap, jumping 55 places from the 2007 rank at 72 to this year's rank at 17.

Roller-coaster fuel prices reflect many shifts in the 2008 list versus last year's list in 2007, with smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles seeing more traffic than in years past.

In addition to the inclusion of subcompacts such as the Honda Fit and Toyota Yaris on the new list, other fuel-efficient vehicles gaining positions in the top 20 include No.1 vehicle the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla, Toyota Prius, Mazda3 and Ford Escape.

Toyota's Camry and Honda's Civic switched places from the prior year, when Camry ranked No. 1 and Civic No. 3.

The Toyota Corolla also switched places with the Honda CR-V from when Corolla was No.6 and CR-V was No.4, further indicating a shift toward more fuel-efficient vehicles.

When examining the data from a regional and state-by-state standpoint, domestic vehicles such as the Ford Escape and Chevrolet Malibu are much more popular in their home-state of Michigan, ranking at No.4 and No.5, respectively.

The Civic, Accord and Camry, in varying orders, have been the top three most-researched new-vehicles on kbb.com each year since 2004.