CHICAGO, Jan. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Several key audience statistics measured on Cars.com show positive gains to start the New Year, a sign that consumers who were taking a "wait and see" approach to car buying because of the economy might now be coming back to market.

"While we are looking at a relatively short period of data, we are seeing lifts in several key metrics that correlate with purchase behavior -- an encouraging sign for dealers looking for a rebound after a tough close to 2008," said Mitch Golub, president of Cars.com. "Based on activity we saw in the first full business week of the year on Cars.com, we are optimistic that automotive sales will pick up in the first quarter of 2009."

Measures of consumers entering the car-shopping process appear to be improving, based on key site metrics on Cars.com for the first workweek of 2009.

-- More consumers are going to Cars.com; site visits are up 19 percent over the same time last year. Consumers are more engaged in the process: Time spent per visit is up 8 percent since December and 12 percent over a year ago; it's now 15 minutes for each visit.*1

-- Searches conducted are up 19 percent since December, and searches for new cars are up 16 percent over a year ago.

-- Leads submitted to dealers are up 18 percent over December and up 8 percent over a year ago.

In addition, Cars.com also has had record visits to its mobile site, with vehicle searches via mobile devices up 30 percent over December. A recent survey conducted by Cars.com showed that 39 percent of consumers who accessed Cars.com through their mobile device were on a dealer lot shopping for a car when they did so.

"While it is still early to tell if this trend will continue, we are encouraged to see such solid year-over-year gains, especially since last January was a strong month. We see all of these measures as positive signs for the automotive business as we head into the New Year," Golub said.

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).



    1 Based on Cars.com site metrics Jan. 5-Jan. 11, 2009. Represents the
      first complete business week of the new year. Comparable dates for 2008
      are Jan. 7-Jan. 13, 2008. Monthly comparisons are based on Cars.com
      site metrics from Jan. 5-Jan. 11, 2009 versus Dec. 5-Dec. 11, 2008.

SOURCE Cars.com