Nearly one-half of new-vehicle buyers using the Internet in their shopping process visit an independent Website when starting research on a new vehicle, while 46% go to a manufacturer site first, according to J.D. Power and Associates' "2007 New Autoshopper.com" study.

In 2003, 62% of new-vehicle online shoppers went to independent sites first, compared with only 36% who started at automaker sites.

"As automotive manufacturers have steadily pulled advertising dollars out of traditional media and redirected them toward digital media and search engine marketing, manufacturer Website visitation has increased," said Steve Witten, executive director of marketing and media research at J.D. Power and Associates, in a statement.

Nearly 69% of new-vehicle buyers who used the Internet in their shopping process used one or more types of consumer-generated content. Nearly two-thirds of those shoppers used consumer ratings and reviews.

J.D. Power surveyed nearly 30,000 new-vehicle buyers in May and July of 2007.