Cars.com Names 2010 Green Cities

Site Reveals Most Eco-Friendly Car Shopping Cities

News provided by

Apr 16, 2010, 01:43 ET

CHICAGO, April 16 /PRNewswire/ -- With the 40th anniversary of Earth Day approaching, Cars.com evaluated car shopping behavior nationwide to name the most eco-friendly cities. In the site's 3rd annual Green Cities Index, San Francisco topped the charts, beating out all other cities based on its interest in hybrid vehicles as a percentage of total car shopping activity on Cars.com.

"This Earth Day, there is a lot for car shoppers to celebrate, including the release of the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf electric vehicles," said Cars.com Editor in Chief, Patrick Olsen. "While these new environmental darlings have yet to hit the market, eco-conscious shoppers already have more hybrid options to choose from than ever before and buying a more environmentally friendly vehicle has never been easier. Green Cities takes a look at the cities where these options are most engaging consumers."

Like last year, West Coast shoppers showed the greatest interest in hybrid vehicles. Last year's winner, Eugene, Ore., dropped to fourth. The lone cities outside of California that made the top ten are Glendive, Mont., Madison, Wis. and Gainesville, Fla. The South continues to lag behind most major cities in the country in embracing hybrid vehicles. For the second straight year, Laredo, Texas, had the dubious distinction of being last on our list.

"Outside the West Coast, smaller towns across the country with large state universities continue to show larger than normal interest in hybrid cars," Olsen said. "Madison, Wis., home to the University of Wisconsin; Gainesville, Fla., home to the University of Florida; and Charlottesville, Va., home to the University of Virginia all appear in the top 15."

2010 Green Cities Ranking – Greatest Hybrid Shopping Activity as a Percent of Vehicle Search on Cars.com:

1	San Francisco - Oakland - San Jose
2	Eureka, CA
3	Portland, OR
4	Eugene, OR
5	Glendive, MT
6	Santa Barbara - Santa Maria - San Luis Obispo, CA
7	Seattle – Tacoma, WA
8	Madison, WI
9	San Diego, CA
10	Gainesville, FL
11	Monterey – Salinas, CA
12	Chico – Redding, CA
13	Bend, OR
14	Charlottesville, VA
15	Sacramento - Stockton – Modesto, CA
16	Salt Lake City, UT
17	Medford - Klamath Falls
18	Fairbanks, Alaska
19	Missoula, MT
20	Washington DC (Hagerstown)
21	Denver
22	Austin, TX
23	Rochester - Mason City - Austin
24	Minneapolis - Saint Paul
25	Boise, ID
26	Los Angeles
27	La Crosse - Eau Claire, WI
28	Tucson (Sierra Vista), AZ
29	Boston
30	Phoenix
31	Burlington – Plattsburgh, VT
32	Mankato, MN
33	Bangor, ME
34	Helena, MT
35	Lansing, MI
36	Juneau, AK
37	Raleigh - Durham (Fayetteville), NC
38	Lexington, KY
39	Columbia - Jefferson City, MO
40	Butte – Bozeman, MT
41	Portland – Auburn, ME
42	Cedar Rapids - Waterloo & Dubuque, IA
43	Honolulu - HI
44	Palm Springs, CA
45	Fresno – Visalia, CA
46	Harrisonburg, VA
47	Lafayette, IN
48	Bakersfield, CA
49	Twin Falls, ID
50	Reno, NV
51	Yakima - Pasco - Richland – Kennewick, WA
52	Springfield – Holyoke, MA
53	Syracuse, NY
54	Roanoke – Lynchburg, VA
55	Kansas City
56	Rapid City, SD
57	Las Vegas, NV
58	Spokane, WA
59	Green Bay – Appleton, WI
60	Albany - Schenectady – Troy, NY
61	Evansville, IN
62	Albuquerque - Santa Fe, NM
63	Idaho Falls – Pocatello, ID
64	Cincinnati
65	Des Moines – Ames, IA
66	Springfield, MO
67	Tallahassee – Thomasville, FL
68	South Bend – Elkhart, IN
69	Birmingham (Anniston and Tuscaloosa), AL
70	Sioux Falls (Mitchell), SD
71	Billings, MT
72	Anchorage, AK
73	Richmond – Petersburg, VA
74	Peoria – Bloomington, IL
75	Providence - New Bedford, RI
76	Fargo - Valley City, ND
77	Chicago
78	Norfolk - Portsmouth - Newport News, VA
79	Davenport - Rock Island – Moline, IA
80	Saint Louis
81	Milwaukee, WI
82	Tulsa, OK
83	Jonesboro, AR
84	Nashville, TN
85	Omaha, NE
86	Charlotte, NC
87	Indianapolis
88	Wilmington, NC
89	Columbus, OH
90	Dallas - Fort Worth
91	Champaign & Springfield – Decatur, IL
92	Panama City, FL
93	Fort Wayne, IN
94	Orlando - Daytona Beach – Melbourne, FL
95	Grand Rapids - Kalamazoo - Battle Creek, MI
96	Fort Myers – Naples, FL
97	Fort Smith - Fayetteville - Springdale – Rogers, AR
98	Colorado Springs – Pueblo, CO
99	Youngstown, OH
100	Salisbury, MD
101	Lincoln & Hastings – Kearney, NE
102	Knoxville, TN
103	Baltimore, MD
104	Dayton, OH
105	Cheyenne – Scottsbluff, WY
106	Watertown, NY
107	Binghamton, NY
108	Louisville, KY
109	Topeka, KA
110	Columbia, SC
111	Greensboro - High Point - Winston-Salem, NC
112	Jacksonville, FL
113	West Palm Beach - Fort Pierce, FL
114	Chattanooga, TN
115	Tampa - Saint Petersburg (Sarasota), FL
116	Johnstown – Altoona, PA
117	Jackson, TN
118	Rockford, IL
119	Atlanta
120	Oklahoma City, OK
121	Hartford & New Haven, CT
122	Mobile - Pensacola (Fort Walton Beach), AL
123	Greenville - Spartanburg - Asheville – Anderson, SC
124	Lubbock, TX
125	Wausau – Rhinelander, WI
126	Philadelphia
127	Presque Isle, ME
128	North Platte, VA
129	Cleveland, OH
130	Greenville - New Bern – Washington, NC
131	Terre Haute, IN
132	Harrisburg - Lancaster - Lebanon – York, PA
133	New York
134	Saint Joseph, MO
135	Pittsburgh
136	Rochester, NY
137	Great Falls, MT
138	Parkersburg, WV
139	Little Rock - Pine Bluff, AR
140	Detroit
141	Grand Junction – Montrose, CO
142	Joplin – Pittsburg, MO
143	San Antonio, TX
144	Toledo, OH
145	Duluth – Superior, MN
146	Wichita – Hutchinson, KS
147	Houston
148	Paducah - Cape Girardeau - Harrisburg - Mt Vernon, KY
149	Utica, NY
150	Buffalo, NY
151	Huntsville - Decatur (Florence), IL
152	Traverse City – Cadillac, MI
153	Dothan, AL
154	Charleston, SC
155	Miami - Fort Lauderdale
156	Marquette, MI
157	Minot - Bismarck – Dickinson, ND
158	Wichita Falls & Lawton, KS
159	Beaumont - Port Arthur, TX
160	Columbus - Tupelo - West Point, MS
161	Bowling Green, KY
162	Memphis, TN
163	Casper – Riverton, WY
164	Tyler - Longview (Lufkin & Nacogdoches), TX
165	Amarillo, TX
166	Flint - Saginaw - Bay City, MI
167	Sherman – Ada, TX
168	Elmira, NY
169	Augusta, GA
170	Ottumwa – Kirksville, IA
171	Savannah, GA
172	Columbus, GA
173	Sioux City, IA
174	Waco - Temple – Bryan, TX
175	Lima, OH
176	Zanesville, OH
177	Yuma - El Centro, AZ
178	Biloxi – Gulfport, MS
179	Wilkes Barre – Scranton, PA
180	Baton Rouge, LA
181	Macon, GA
182	Tri-Cities, TN-VA
183	Montgomery (Selma), AL
184	New Orleans
185	Florence - Myrtle Beach, SC
186	Clarksburg – Weston, WV
187	Quincy - Hannibal – Keokuk, IL
188	Abilene – Sweetwater, TX
189	Albany, GA
190	Charleston-Huntington, WV
191	Alexandria, LA
192	Odessa – Midland, TX
193	Wheeling – Steubenville, OH
194	San Angelo, TX
195	Bluefield - Beckley - Oak Hill, KY
196	Erie, PA
197	Monroe - El Dorado, AR
198	Lake Charles, LA
199	El Paso, TX
200	Meridian, MS
201	Harlingen - Weslaco - Brownsville – McAllen, TX
202	Lafayette, LA
203	Shreveport, LA
204	Corpus Christi, TX
205	Jackson, MS
206	Hattiesburg – Laurel, MS
207	Alpena, MI
208	Victoria, TX
209	Greenwood – Greenville, MS
210	Laredo, TX

Producer's Note

Broadcast news outlets will now have access to Cars.com's expert editorial staff 24 hours a day, seven days a week through Cars.com's new broadcast studio. To book one of Cars.com's editors for an interview, contact Steve Nolan at (312) 601-5163 – [email protected], or Jackie Brennan at (312) 601-6229 – [email protected]. To book the shot please contact VideoLink Operations at (617) 340-4300.

About Cars.com

Cars.com is the leading destination for online car shoppers, offering credible, easy-to-understand information from consumers and experts to help buyers formulate opinions on what to buy, where to buy and how much to pay for a car. With comprehensive pricing information, side-by-side comparison tools, photo galleries, videos, unbiased editorial content and a large selection of new- and used-car inventory, Cars.com puts millions of car buyers in control of their shopping process with the information they need to make confident buying decisions.

Launched in June 1998, Cars.com is a division of Classified Ventures, LLC, which is owned by leading media companies, including Belo (NYSE: BLC), Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI), The McClatchy Company (NYSE: MNI), Tribune Company and The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO).

SOURCE Cars.com