According to Google, all you want for Christmas is a 2016 Chevrolet Malibu. Or, if you live in Los Angeles, all you want is a 2016 Toyota Tacoma. Note how specifically we’ve marked this down: We don’t say “Chevy” Malibu because that search term isn’t quite as hot as the full “Chevrolet” in California. So while the top-ten car model search term list is out from Google, it hardly translates to car sales or even to car popularity. Through November of this year, the Malibu is being outsold at a ratio of more than 2:1 by the Toyota Camry; the latter car isn’t even on Google’s list of most-searched for cars, even though it’s the top-selling non-truck in the nation.
No, the list is all about what we look at, not what we buy:
1. 2016 Chevrolet Malibu
2. 2016 Chevrolet Silverado
3. 2016 Toyota Tacoma
4. 2016 Chevrolet Camaro
5. Honda HR-V
6. FIAT 500X
7. Jeep Renegade
8. Chevrolet Colorado
9. Lexus NX
10. Hyundai Tucson
The 2016 Chevrolet Malibu topped the list because it remained a very consistent search term throughout the year, from April until this past week. Ditto, “2016 Chevrolet Silverado,” which Google ranked second but is being outsold by Ford’s F-Series by more than 150,000 units through November of 2015. The F-Series did not make it onto Google’s list.
Some car searches are hardly shockers. The 2016 Toyota Tacoma got a ton of buzz early in last spring’s auto show season; interest hit a high-point early this fall when the truck went on sale. According to Google, it’s the third-most searched “term” on their index.
At first glance, the real head-scratcher here is the FIAT 500X, both in that it clawed to the sixth-most searched car term on Google’s list, and that FIAT is spelled all in uppercase. Huh? We’re talking about the 205th “best” selling car in America. There were more Ram ProMaster City vans sold in November than there were 500Xs. But, thanks to strong searches in California, New York and Texas, the 500X is crushing. Our guess? A major boost from Pope Francis’ U.S. tour, during which he rolled around in a Fiat instead of the usual bulletproof rig. The move drew a lot of attention.
See, according to Google at least, we’re not politically or regionally or even religiously divided—at least when it comes to looking at cars on the web.