Searches for electric cars, gas prices, fuel economy and gas mileage up 300% and more

Hitwise found that searches for gas price-related search terms increased 300% or more for the week ending March 26, 2005 compared to a month earlier. Searches for "electric cars" are up 2,900% month-over-month; searches for "gas prices" are up 559%; "fuel economy" is up 333%; and search queries for "gas mileage" are up 300%. Visits to FuelEconomy.gov increased 334%, www.gasbuddy.com rose 214%, and GasPriceWatch.com rose 282%. Hitwise found that searches for "hybrid vehicles" were flat, while searches for "toyota prius" increased 36%. Also, after "toyota" and "toyota.com," "toyota prius" was the top search term driving traffic to Toyota Web site in the four weeks ending March 26, 2005. Toyota was the most popular automotive manufacturer Web site during the same period.