Edmunds.com Readers Compare Honda Civic, Mazda 3 and Toyota Corolla in Professional Road Test Setting

Business Wire, June 4, 2008

SANTA MONICA, Calif. -- Edmunds.com, the premier online resource for automotive information, today published the results of its second Consumer Comparison Test. Six Edmunds.com "Guest Editors" spent the day evaluating the 2008 Honda Civic, 2008 Mazda 3 and 2009 Toyota Corolla at Willow Springs International Raceway. Edmunds.com Editors chose the testers from a pool of applicants who submitted essays online in April.

"Edmunds.com is a Web site built for consumers, and their opinion and insights are valuable to other like-minded shoppers," said Kevin Smith, Editorial Director for Edmunds.com. "Our first consumer test last November generated a tremendous amount of positive feedback and helped people distinguish between popular midsize cars, so we're excited to see what effect the participants' reviews of the three economy cars will have this time around, especially as high gas prices encourage more people to look at these vehicles."

The six consumers are a demographically diverse group, hailing from Decatur, Texas; Atlanta, Kan.; Worcester, Mass.; Spokane, Wash.; Norwell, Mass.; and Tucson, Arizona. Two are women and four are men. When applying for the opportunity, three of the participants noted that value would be an important attribute in their next vehicle and three emphasized dependability and reliability.

The six were flown to Los Angeles, given appropriate accommodations and training, and encouraged to put the comparison test vehicles through a series of driving exercises at Willow Springs International Raceway. They carefully evaluated the vehicles and wrote up their own comparison test results, which are published on Edmunds.com at http://www.edmunds.com/apps/vdpcontainers/do/vdp/articleId=126610/page Number=1.

Five participants gave the Honda Civic top honors and one selected the Mazda 3. Five of the consumers relegated the Toyota Corolla to third place. Excerpts of the commentary follow:

"The Civic's handling felt crisp with responsive steering and a good feel for the road," observed Anne Adams, a 60-year old IT Project Manager from Decatur, Texas. "This car took the bumps in the street with grace and stability."

"[The Mazda 3] is a fun car to drive," noted Damien Gaudet, a 27-year old graphic designer from Worcester, Mass. "It won't pin you to the seat or do burnouts, but it will make that slog to work a heck of a lot more enjoyable."

"The Toyota had the best manners of the three," said Jim Smith, a 68-year old retiree from Tucson, Ariz. "It drives like a mini Buick - soft and cushy."

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([R]), 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 2007 and provides insightful automotive industry commentary and analysis. Edmunds Inc. is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, and maintains a satellite office in suburban Detroit.

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