Despite the average price for a gallon of gas rising above $3 and reports that it could soon top $4 per gallon, consumers still showed strong interest in large trucks and SUVs listed for sale on AutoTrader.com in January. Trucks and SUVs accounted for nine of the top 20 most-searched new cars, 12 of the top 20 most-searched used cars and 11 of the top 20 most-searched Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) cars.

 

“With automakers debuting many small cars in 2011—combined with predictions about the future cost of fuel—the battle of the small cars could really heat up this year," said Chip Perry, AutoTrader.com president and CEO. “However, our site traffic for the past couple of months clearly indicates that $3 per gallon isn’t enough to dissuade American consumers from large vehicles in the large numbers we’ve seen during previous gas price spikes.”

 

In examining previous times of rising gas prices, AutoTrader.com analysts noted that $3.50 per gallon may be a tipping point for consumers—where searches for trucks and SUVs can start to decline and searches for more fuel-efficient cars begin to increase.

 

“Every time there’s a spike in gas prices the ‘new normal’ for gas prices goes up, requiring even higher prices to encourage consumers to alter their car shopping patterns,” said Perry. “When gas prices crossed $2 per gallon, we saw an increase in interest in smaller fuel-efficient cars. Two years ago when gas prices went really high, that interest was magnified dramatically. Right now, consumers seem relatively comfortable with the price of gas, which pushes other things to the top of their consideration lists when shopping for a car—things like utility, style and size. If gas prices continue to creep up, there is a price at which more consumers will again put fuel economy back at the top of their car-shopping list and we will likely see that change in activity very early on our site."

 

Ford was the No. 1 most-searched brand for new and used vehicles in January, according to the site. Performance vehicles included the new Chevrolet Camaro at No. 11 and the new Chevrolet Corvette at No. 17.