HUMMER.com Ranks Highest in Usefulness to New-Vehicle Shoppers Among Manufacturer Web Sites

J.D. Power and Associates Reports: Redesigned Web Sites Can Bounce Back from Initial Stumbles in Visitor Satisfaction

HUMMER.com earns the highest ranking among automotive manufacturer Web sites for usefulness in new- vehicle shopping, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2007 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study(SM) (MWES) -- Wave 2 released today.

The semi-annual study measures the usefulness of manufacturer Web sites during the new-vehicle shopping process. New-vehicle shoppers evaluate Web sites in four key areas: appearance, speed, navigation, and information/content.

HUMMER ranks highest with an index score of 870 on a 1,000-point scale -- a 5-point improvement from Wave 1 of the study, which was released in January 2007.

"A continuing focus on clear, simple navigation and crisp images and videos that demonstrate both the appearance of HUMMER's models, as well as the features included in them, allow HUMMER to regain the highest ranking for usefulness among automotive manufacturer Web sites," said Steve Witten, executive director of marketing/media research at J.D. Power and Associates. "This is the third time that HUMMER has achieved the difficult feat of outpacing the industry since the brand was first included in the study five years ago."

Following HUMMER in the rankings are Toyota, Jeep, Suzuki, Land Rover, Lexus and Kia, respectively. A broad range of manufacturers score above the industry average, including premium, non-premium, entry, niche and full line-up brands.

"The wide variety of manufacturers scoring significantly above the industry average demonstrates that these companies truly understand the needs and the limitations of their specific shoppers and have designed sites that showcase their models within those parameters," said Witten. "As manufacturers feel more empowered to take risks, there will be a further explosion in creativity on these Web sites. New and unique forms of interactive media, tools, and page design will emerge. But manufacturers must always balance that creativity with site usefulness and usability to help site visitors find the information they need easily at the same time that they are 'wowed' with the experience."

In the previous MWES wave, eight of nine Web sites that had undergone major redesigns declined in overall index scores. In the current study, all nine of these previously redesigned sites improve in overall index score, with four showing considerable improvement. In particular, Mitsubishi's Web site improves by 38 points after experiencing the largest index score decline of these redesigned sites in the last wave of the study.

"Newly redesigned Web sites often stumble because of the sheer size of the undertaking," said Witten. "In the process of trying to incorporate innovative tools and designs across an entire Web site, seemingly minor usability issues may be overlooked. However, continuous minor modifications to the original 'big' idea can pay off in huge strides. For example, Mitsubishi made small changes in navigation, usage of colors and shifting label positioning that made it much easier for shoppers to get to their desired information quickly."

The 2007 Manufacturer Web Site Evaluation Study -- Wave 2 is based on evaluations gathered between April and May 2007 from 10,865 new-vehicle shoppers who indicated they would be in the market for a new vehicle within the next 24 months.

Manufacturer Web Site Ranking
(Based on a 1,000-point scale)

HUMMER               870
Toyota               858
Jeep                 856
Suzuki               855
Land Rover           854
Lexus                854
Kia                  852
Chrysler             849
BMW                  848
MINI                 847
Honda                845
Mazda                845
Pontiac              845
Mitsubishi           843
Lincoln              842
Saab                 842
Chevrolet            840
GMC                  840
Saturn               840
Dodge                838
Cadillac             837
Ford                 836
Industry Average     836
Volvo                835
Buick                833
Subaru               832
Nissan               831
Infiniti             830
Jaguar               828
Porsche              828
Mercedes-Benz        826
Acura                822
Hyundai              820
Scion                811
Mercury              803
Volkswagen           792
Audi                 773