Introductions Bring Good News for Jeep and Ford

CHICAGO, July 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Newly redesigned, Jeep's Grand Cherokee is clearly driving interest on Cars.com. According to the most recent Cars.com Consumer Lead Index, the new Grand Cherokee saw the greatest increase in leads on the site in July. Another notable car that made the list is the newly launched Ford Fiesta sub-compact.

"The launch of the Jeep Grand Cherokee and the new Ford Fiesta are important for their manufacturers, and it's positive news for them that these cars are generating so much interest among consumers," said Cars.com Editor-in-Chief Patrick Olsen. "For Jeep, it's a much needed redesign for its flagship vehicle at a time when Fiat/Chrysler desperately needs new product in the marketplace. For Ford, the Fiesta marks its attempt to regain its footing in the fuel-efficient sub-compact category."

For most manufacturers, new car leads from consumers experienced a year over year decline, which can be attributed to last year's unprecedented leads and sales volume due to the Cash for Clunkers program that was launched last July. Luxury manufacturers like Land Rover, Porsche, Audi and Jaguar bucked that trend, showing the biggest growth in new car leads year over year.

"New car sales have seen significant gains year over year for most manufacturers for the first half of the year," Olsen added. "July is looking like another great sales month, but it will be interesting to see if the numbers come close to last July's numbers when Cash for Clunkers drove buyers into showrooms, especially for brands like Toyota that benefited most from the government backed incentive program."

Cars Experiencing the Largest Increase in New Car Leads to Dealers Month over Month:

Cars Experiencing the Largest Decrease in New Car Leads to Dealers Month over Month:

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