SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Jessica Caldwell was named the most reliable U.S. auto analyst in 2012, an honor named by the auto industry blog The Truth About Cars (TTAC).

This is the second consecutive year that Caldwell has earned the top honor, which is awarded to the analyst who makes the most consistent U.S. sales forecasts each month throughout the year. According to TTAC, Caldwell beat out 18 other analysts from competing sites, financial institutions and consulting firms across the world.

"Forecasting is, of course, a team effort, and our team includes several PhDs, statisticians and dozens of other colleagues who are working to translate the data and deliver key insights to help both shoppers and dealers improve the car buying experience," said Caldwell. "You won't find a harder working group of data experts anywhere else in the industry."

In issuing its top prize, TTAC called Caldwell "a great forecaster" whose estimates were only off by an average of 12 percent throughout the year. By comparison, her next-closest competition was off by an average of almost 16 percent.

"If your life, career, wealth, or all of the above depend on forecasting the auto market with precision and reliability," wrote TTAC Editor-in-Chief Bertel Schmitt, "then you can do no better than Edmunds' chief analyst Jessica Caldwell."

Every month, Edmunds.com forecasts U.S. sales across the entire new-car industry, as well as U.S. sales by the top U.S. and Japanese automakers. Edmunds.com also offers yearly forecasts, and early last year, Edmunds.com projected 14.4 million sales in 2012, close to the year's final tally of nearly 14.5 million new cars. For 2013, Edmunds.com is projecting 15 million new car sales.