IRVINE, Calif., April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelley Blue Book's www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new car and used car information, today announces another traffic record in March 2011, shattering its previous best month and best day records.  In addition, kbb.com has delivered its dealer partners a record number of used-car leads in the first quarter of 2011.

Traffic on kbb.com has been steadily increasing since the beginning of 2011, with the number of site visits in January and February 2011 initially topping previous record highs.  Then in March 2011, kbb.com traffic jumped an additional 7.4 percent year-over-year to reach a staggering 19,371,523 visits, the most of any month in the website's 16-year history.  Furthermore, on March 28, 2011, Kelley Blue Book trampled preceding daily records to achieve an all-time high of 717,655 visits in a single day.

In addition, in-market car-shoppers to kbb.com have been submitting a record number of leads for used cars since the beginning of 2011.  Used-car leads were up 56 percent year-over-year in January 2011, 70 percent year-over-year in February 2011 and 70 percent year-over-year in March 2011.  Kbb.com analysts attribute an increased market demand for used vehicles to rising gas prices and a recovering economy as reasons for the surge in used-car leads.

"In-market shoppers are flocking to kbb.com as a one-stop resource for their next new or used car," said Justin Yaros, executive vice president of product design and development for Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com.  "Many areas of Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com are experiencing tremendous increases in traffic and engagement, a trend that we expect to grow throughout the year as we launch our new website redesign in the coming months.  With an all-new kbb.com design in the works and brand-new groundbreaking tools set to debut for the increasing number of shoppers coming to our site, kbb.com is the best place on the Web for the automotive industry to reach in-market car shoppers."

In March 2011, the most-researched segments among new- and used-car shoppers were Sedans, SUV/CUVs, Pickups, Hybrids and Vans/Minivans (respectively).  The top new-car brands consumers researched on kbb.com included Toyota, Honda, Ford, Chevrolet and Hyundai (respectively).  Among used-car brands, Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda and Dodge (respectively) topped the minds of online shoppers.

For more information and news from Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com, visit www.kbb.com/media, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kelleybluebook (or @kelleybluebook), or like our page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/kbb.

About Kelley Blue Book (www.kbb.com)

Founded in 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, is the only vehicle valuation and information source trusted and relied upon by both consumers and the industry.  Each week the company provides the most market-reflective values in the industry on its top-rated website www.kbb.com, including its famous Blue Book® Trade-In and Retail Values, and Fair Purchase Price, which reports what others are paying for new cars this week.  The company also provides vehicle pricing and values through various products and services available to car dealers, auto manufacturers, finance and insurance companies, as well as governmental agencies.  Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, used car values, car reviews, new cars for sale, used cars for sale and car dealer locations. Kelley Blue Book Co., Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of AutoTrader.com.

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book