Ford tops Google's list of top ten auto searches in US

Ford has topped the list of search queries in the entire automotive brand category in the U.S. over the last 30 days, followed by BMW, Audi and Nissan, according to a report by Google's North American auto team.

The Google team had visited the 2011 North American International Auto Show in Detroit to take a closer look at consumers' interests.

Google’s auto team, headquartered out of Detroit, works with automakers, parts suppliers and agencies across the country to help market their latest and greatest products.

“Like everyone else, we’re hopeful for a continued recovery across the industry and continue to be impressed by our clients’ creativity and innovation. NADA’s (National Automobile Dealers Association) chief economist Paul Taylor put it best when he recently said, “A revitalized auto industry benefits everyone every consumer, every dealer and every manufacturer.” the team said in a blog post.

The team also said consumers and car shoppers in the United States are also searching for vehicles featured in movies, music and video games. A vehicle, jeep black ops, featured in the video game called “Call of Duty: Black Ops” has drawn huge attention of consumers. The game was released last November and became popular in a short period of time.

Again the automotive category for both green and black beauty, names of the cars from the famous movie “Green Hornet”, are at record levels, said the team.

Also due to the hip-hop song “Aston Martin Music” by Rick Ross searches for Aston martin and Aston martin music are also on demand.

Along with new Audi A8 with built –in Google earth navigation this time consumers will have choices in 700 new car models on display.

Automakers from Detroit and abroad showed off all-new sedans, sports cars, trucks and SUVs, led by the Chevrolet Volt which was named Car of the Year and the all-new Ford Explorer—which won 2011 Truck of the Year at the show, said the report.

“But based on data from Insights for Search, 2011 appears poised to be the year of the “crossover.” Consumer interest in the category has steadily risen over the past few years and some of the hottest car models in search like nissan juke, honda crosstour and mitsubishi outlander are all crossovers,” said the blog post.

On the other hand, the Google team also informed that this time Luxury buyers aren’t waiting for deals; rather, they’re looking to upgrade, and smart marketers are connecting with these shoppers.

“Interestingly, in the luxury market, consumers are doing their car-buying research from their mobile phones. In fact, according to our latest research, 8% of luxury buyers used a mobile phone at the very beginning of their car buying research, 43% of luxury buyers used a mobile phone in the middle of their search and 28% of luxury buyers used a mobile phone at the very end of their car buying search. Savvy marketers like BMW, Mercedes Benz, Audi and Infiniti are capitalizing on the opportunity as they target specific marketing campaigns to consumers and car shoppers' mobile devices,” said the blog post.