Kelley Blue Book and Friedman-Swift Associates have joined to offer a new market research service. Auto dealers now can predict which used cars will sell well in their local market,

according to the companies.

The Used Car Local Demand Report will identify which makes and

types of vehicles local area shoppers are most interested in, what

factors are most important to promote to local consumers, and what

advertising resources local used car buyers plan to use when shopping.

"Dealers who know what buyers are looking for are dealers who sell

more used cars," says Judy George, chief operating officer at

Friedman-Swift Associates. "The Used Car Local Demand Report will help

dealers determine which vehicles to buy at auction, which ones to keep

in trade, and which ones to wholesale."

In addition to profiling the used car makes, styles and colors

preferred in a dealer's marketing area, the Used Car Local Demand

Report will help dealers pinpoint which cars are worth spending

advertising dollars on and what types of advertising, both online and

print, will reach most local used car shoppers, according to the companies.

Access to in-market buyers through kbb.com enables dealers to

anticipate local demand rather than rely on broad-based historical

reports. According to Paul Johnson, president of Kelley Blue Book,

"The significance and value of the Used Car Local Demand Report is

that it is local and timely. This is only possible given the enormous

number of geographically dispersed in-market buyers that visit kbb.com

everyday."

According to Johnson, each dealer who purchases the Used Car Local Demand Report will

have a research survey conducted with used car shoppers in his local

area who visit www.kbb.com Kelley Blue Book's web site, according to

research by J.D. Power and Associates, reaches more people who buy

used cars than any other web site, by nearly a 2 to 1 margin. The

automotive research firm Friedman-Swift Associates will design the

survey and report key findings to the dealer.

About Kelley Blue Book

Based in Irvine, Calif., Kelley Blue Book

is relied on by both consumers and the automotive industry, as a resource for car-buying research and information. The company

is currently celebrating its 75th anniversary. Its website, www.kbb.com is

the number one automotive site in the nation, according to Nielson

NetRatings and Jupiter MediaMetrix. Over 4 million unique visitors

generate nearly 30 million pricing reports per month.

About Friedman-Swift Associates

Friedman-Swift Associates

(www.friedmanswift), based in Cincinnati, Ohio, is a

provider of automotive market research to automobile dealers.

Dedicated to helping dealers better serve consumers since 1979, the

company has conducted over 4,000 automotive research studies,

including work for dealerships in 75 of the largest 100 dealer groups

in the U.S.