NASHVILLE -

Gas prices are rising, but this time around, shoppers don’t seem very worried.

According to Dataium’s July Automotive Shopper Index report, despite fuel rate spikes, interest in trucks continues to gain ground.

And the Chevrolet Silverado led the pack, ranking highest in ASI for new vehicles: a first for the domestic OEM.

Furthermore, Dataium officials commented on consumers’ rising interest in trucks, noting, “Despite rising fuel prices, the July ASI revealed increased demand for trucks with the Ford F150 and both Toyota’s Tacoma and Tundra ranking in the top 10 of all new vehicles.

“While the ASI forecasts increasing demand for trucks, it projects dwindling interest in luxury sedans, with the Audi A6, Infiniti G25x, and the Volvo S60 among the lowest ranked vehicles in the ASI,” they continued, noting that dealers might struggle to get luxury units off their lots in the near future.

According to brand, the ASI ranked Toyota, Hyundai, and Ford at the top, citing large incentives as one of the factors pushing increase shopper interest.

Specifically, lead submissions on Toyota’s dealership websites grew 12 percent from the previous month. Similarly, lead submissions on Hyundai and Ford dealer websites grew 13 percent and 7 percent, respectively, from the previous month.

Sales to Slow This Coming Season

And offering a big-picture view, Dataium noted the ASI index, a predictive indicator of automotive retail sales, illustrated a slight gain in auto demand in July from the previous month, “partly due to a steady stream of incentives in the market.”

That said, the company noted the industry should expect the ASI to remain relatively “flat” this coming season, due mostly to “economic uncertainty” combined with the looming November elections, factors which the company thinks should  “sustain the current pent-up demand.”

Eric Brown, Dataium chief executive officer stated, "We continue to see consumers’ concerns in the marketplace play out in their online behavior."

He added, "We will be watching to see how those concerns impact the seasonal adjustment occurring now as well as any impact the presidential election may have on consumer auto demand over the next several months."

And recent LMC Automotive data suggest a similar outlook. In fact, the company recently revised its outlook for total light-vehicle sales in the U.S. downward to 14.3 million units from 14.5 million units, with retail sales at 11.4 million units, down from 11.5 million units.

Why the change?

The company cited “weaker economic growth and concerns with the European crisis” as “the driving factors for slower growth during the second half of the year.”

The said, the company still expects the industry to reach the 15-million-unit level in 2013, “but the outlook has been tempered from a projected 15.2 million units, as the risks in 2012 spill over into next year,” officials noted.

Further explaining the company’s SAAR revision,  Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at LMC Automotive, said,  "The strength in August light-vehicle sales takes some of the pressure off expectations for the balance of the year, but a high level of risk lingers.

"We expect the current seesawing in auto sales to continue for the foreseeable future, but the overall picture in 2012 remains positive,” he added.