Edmunds.com Tallies "Cash for Clunkers" Numbers; Uncovers Another Discrepancy

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(Business Wire)--
August was perhaps the strangest month in automotive history. Thanks to "Cash
for Clunkers," there was an unprecedented range in analyst`s sales forecasts.
Now that the numbers are out, analysts at Edmunds.com, the premier online
resource for automotive information, have reviewed how things actually played
out, and have uncovered some mysteries in the process.

For example, the government`s press release reported that the program took
690,114 "clunkers" off the road. However, Edmunds.com`s experts tracking the
program report that "clunker" trade-ins never accounted for more than 33.4
percent of weekly sales.

"It is mathematically impossible for there to have been nearly 700,000 new car
sales during the course of the program, given the actual sales numbers announced
by automakers who should have no motive to under-report," remarks Edmunds.com
Senior Statistician Zhenwei Zhou, PhD. "The prominence of that number in the
media does help to explain why some analysts` sales forecasts were way too
high."

Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Michelle Krebs explores the possible explanations for
this discrepancy and covers other interesting "Cash for Clunkers" findings in
her report titled "New Math: Cash for Clunkers Numbers Don`t Add Up" at Edmunds`
AutoObserver.com.

For more information on Cash for Clunkers, please visit
http://www.edmunds.com/cash-for-clunkers/. Lively discussions about Cash for
Clunkers are taking place on Edmunds` CarSpace.com message boards at
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f1db290.

About Edmunds Inc. (http://www.edmunds.com/help/about/)

Edmunds Inc. publishes four Web sites that empower, engage and educate
automotive consumers, enthusiasts and insiders. Edmunds.com, the premier online
resource for automotive consumer information, launched in 1995 as the first
automotive information Web site. Its most popular feature, the Edmunds.com True
Market Value®, is relied upon by millions of people seeking current transaction
prices for new and used vehicles. Edmunds.com was named "Best Car Research Site"
by Forbes ASAP, has been selected by consumers as the "Most Useful Web Site"
according to every J.D. Power and Associates New Autoshopper.com Study(SM), was
ranked first in the Survey of Car-Shopping Web Sites by The Wall Street Journal
and was rated "#1" in Keynote's study of third-party automotive Web sites.
Inside Line launched in 2005 and is the most-read automotive enthusiast Web
site. CarSpace launched in 2006 and is an automotive social networking Web site
and home to the oldest and most established automotive community.
AutoObserver.com launched in 2008 and provides insightful automotive industry
commentary and analysis. Edmunds Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica,
California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.

Edmunds.com Corporate Communications
Jeannine Fallon/Chintan Talati
Media Hotline: 310-309-4900
pr@edmunds.com
www.Edmunds.com

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