Delaware Car Buyers Differ in Choices from Rest of U.S. - WBOC-TV 16, Delmarvas News Leader, FOX 21 -

WILMINGTON, Del. – Compared to their national counterparts, Delaware car buyers spurn pickups and opt for sedans and crossover SUVs.

Nationally, the Ford F-150 is the top selling vehicle, while Delawareans made the Nissan Altima sedan number one.  When it came to picking a color for their dream car, Delaware buyers mirrored the national trend making black, white, silver and gray the top four choices. Local car buyers rounded out the top five colors with red, while nationally blue came in at number five.

These are some findings from AAA Mid-Atlantic and its partner, TrueCar™, which supplies data for AAA's Auto Buying app and website. The research comes ahead of the first birthday of AAA's Auto Buying app for iPhone.

 AAA's Auto Buying app has been downloaded 35,000 times, and car buyers have researched nearly 145,000 vehicles with it. With the app, prospective buyers can build the car they want, including options and available incentives, while viewing TrueCar™ average market price, estimated dealer cost, crash safety ratings, AAA reviews, images and much more.

 An analysis of TrueCar™ car-buying data finds interesting differences, says AAA Mid-Atlantic.

Nationally, the Ford F-150 is the most-sold vehicle, and two other pickups, the Chevy Silverado (4) and the Dodge Ram 1500 (8) also rank in the top ten. However, there are no pickup trucks making the top ten auto models in Delaware.  While pickup trucks are workhorses of many American communities, they are not the most popular choice in suburbanized Delaware, which according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is the sixth most densely populated state.  In fact, half of the state's top ten most popular vehicles are commuter-friendly sedans (see table below).

Yet local car buyers are still rugged in their own way.

Four of the most popular vehicles are crossover SUVs, with the Honda CR-V ranking number two, followed by the Jeep Wrangler (6), Nissan Rogue (7) and Honda Pilot (8).  While not showing up on the national top ten, the Subaru Outback wagon was the third most popular new car choice in Delaware.  Jeep (Chrysler Group LLC ) was also the only American car company to make Delaware's top ten.

 TOP-SELLING VEHICLES IN DELAWARE AND NATIONALLY

And the gender gap? Not so much in Delaware. Practical and versatile sedans and crossover SUVs rule the road for Delaware men and women alike. For the top ten-selling vehicle models, male and female car buyers in the Diamond State share six models in common. Nationally, males and females also share six vehicle models in common (Honda CR-V, Accord, Civic; Nissan Altima; VW Jetta; Subaru Outback).  Interestingly, the only mini-van on the top selling list for Delaware came in at number nine on the list for male car buyers.

TOP-SELLING VEHICLE MODELS BY GENDER –DELAWARE

MOST POPULAR OPTIONS –DELAWARE AND NATIONALLY

This week is the largest ever Philadelphia Auto Show (January 19-27), with a 630,000 square-foot display floor, about 11 football fields in size, filled with new cars, trucks and automotive accessories.  This year's event will have hundreds of vehicles including concept, classic, luxury, pre-production and exotic models. AAA Auto Insurance is an official sponsor of the show.  In 2012, nearly 91 percent of attendees in the market for a new vehicle reported that visiting the Auto Show influenced their next purchasing decision, according to exit surveys.

The Delaware Auto Show will take place October 4-6, 2013 at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. A record 30,000 people attended the show in 2012, making it the largest annual event ever held at the Chase Center on the Riverfront.

* AAA urges motorists to minimize distractions behind the wheel by not using wireless devices, such as cell phones with mobile applications, while driving.