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Most Buzzed About New Vehicles

Following its unveiling at the Detroit auto show, the Cadillac CTS Coupe concept was the most buzzed about new vehicle to debut there.

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In the week following its debut, this two-door concept car had more people talking about it on the Web than any of the other recently debuted vehicles, data from Nielsen Online indicates.

It accounted for about 12 percent of all the online chatter about the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, even though more than 50 production and concept vehicles debuted there.

This puts the Cadillac CTS Coupe atop our ranking of the 10 most buzzed about Detriot debuts. To get the ranking, Nielsen Online scanned the universe of online consumer-generated media, including message boards, discussion groups, social networking sites, and more than 71 million blogs, for any mention of a particular vehicle during a span of six days, Jan. 13-18. This time period covers the Detroit auto show’s preview days for the press through several days after the opening, when the vehicles were first unveiled to the public.

Go to the slideshow to see the full list of top 10 most buzzed about Detroit debuts.

Consumers showed interest in vehicles of all types, as they chatted heavily about everything from an exotic diesel-powered sports car to a couple of big pick-up trucks.

But equally interesting is what they did not bother to discuss. "It's going to surprise some of the automakers who expected their vehicles to be in the top 10," says Bill Stephenson, vice president of automotive client services for Nielsen Online, a subsidiary of media ratings specialist The Nielsen Company.

Concepts like the Dodge Zeo, Hummer HX, and Jeep Renegade failed to make the top 10 list because they got precious little buzz online. "I'm sure those brands are wondering what's happening: 'How come people aren't talking about our model?" Stephenson says.

Lincoln MKT concept

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It's difficult — if not impossible — to pinpoint why the public talks about one vehicle over another. But generally speaking, the newer the vehicle, the more likely it is to be discussed by consumers on the Web. "In the online space, consumers react quickly to new news," Stephenson says.

He points to the upcoming Hyundai Genesis sport sedan, a daring venture into the premium market by the Korean automaker, as an example. This new vehicle, set to go on sale this summer, received a lot of favorable online buzz following its world debut late last year, and the chatter continued into January. But as soon as new vehicles were unveiled at the Detroit auto show on Jan. 13, the Genesis dropped off the high-buzz roster.

Online buzz doesn't necessarily determine how well a new model will sell, though it does exert influence. "Mainstream consumers who are doing research find these other people talking and that has an impact," Stephenson says.

The most buzzed about vehicle unveiled at the Detroit auto show, the Cadillac CTS Coupe concept car, got mentioned in about 12 percent of all consumer-generated Web postings that related to Detroit debuts during the six-day period Nielsen Online monitored for ForbesAutos.com. And the comments were overwhelmingly positive, such as this one, posted to worldcarfans.com on Jan. 14: "Wow — I expected the CTS-V to debut, but not the coupe. The car looks amazing and that profile is damned near perfection."

To determine how bloggers and other Web posters felt about the Detroit debuts, Nielsen Online looked for words or phrases and expressed the overall sentiment a vehicle elicited with a number between zero and 10. Zero equals loathing, and 10 boundless love.

Lexus LF-A Roadster concept

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The CTS Coupe concept got a high positive sentiment rating of 9.1. But Cadillac is circumspect when it comes to assessing the importance of chatter on blogs and message boards. "Online reaction is important and we do monitor it," says David Caldwell, a Cadillac spokesman. "But it can tend to be a bit extreme on both ends of the spectrum. So there's a degree of caution. But you can get some very interesting and important feedback quickly."

Another American luxury car that debuted at the Detroit auto show also got good buzz. The Lincoln MKT concept placed eighth on our top 10 list, based on how frequently it got mentioned. But it generated the most overwhelmingly positive response of any vehicle on the list, based on what people said about it. The sentiment rating hit 9.5.

"A strong reaction is always good news," says Andrew Fulford, Lincoln design manager. "We would expect any positive buzz generated online about the MKT to translate to into more mainstream approval of the Lincoln brand."

Three sports cars made the list, including two dramatic-looking concepts.

Audi's diesel-powered R8 V12 TDI concept ranked as the second most buzzed about Detroit debut, but got only about half as much buzz — 6.4 percent of the total — as did the top ranking Cadillac CTS Coupe concept. Reactions were neutral to positive (sentiment rating of 6.3) and were dragged down by negative perceptions of diesel engines.

The Lexus LF-A Roadster placed sixth on the list and got a similarly neutral response (6.4).

Chevrolet's new super car, the Corvette ZR1, came in at number four and had the lowest sentiment rating of the sports-car trio (5.5). And unlike the Audi and Lexus, the Corvette ZR1 is a production model, expected to go on sale starting this summer.

Despite what J.D. Power and Associates' Charlie Vogelheim sees as a "trend toward smaller vehicles," only one small car, the Ford Verve, snuck onto the most buzzed-about list at number 10. "There's no denying that something like the Verve gets eclipsed by big daddies," says Vogelheim, who is vice president of automotive development for the consumer survey specialist J.D. Power.

Audi R8 V12 TDI concept

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At the Detroit auto show, those "big daddies" included two significant pickup truck premiers: the 2009 Dodge Ram, seventh in the buzz ranking, and Ford F-150, at number five. Ford's redesigned, 2009 F-150 pickup failed to win the online enthusiasm that greeted its rival, the Dodge Ram.

Vogelheim says one reason could be that the Ford's exterior just didn't look new enough.

"The outside styling isn't significantly different" than the current-generation F-150, he says. "But when you have the number-one selling vehicle, you can't go too wild without risking a lot."

Vogelheim says many of the improvements to the F-150 are on the inside, which people will notice when they actually sit inside the new 2009 model at a dealership later this year.

This brings up an important point about online buzz: its changeable nature. Particularly with Web postings that pour in as soon as vehicles are unveiled at an auto show, most of the comments come from enthusiasts responding to photos and press reports, says Nielsen Online's Stephenson.

"We have seen many cases where pictures simply don't do the vehicle justice," he says. "In that case, initial reaction can be negative. A good example of that was the Toyota Tundra. When pictures first came out, there was some negativity about the exterior design. But when it was launched, the sentiment went way up."

Click here to see the full list of the buzziest vehicles unveiled at the Detroit auto show.