When potential car buyers turned to Kelley Blue Book's Web site for guidance in 2008, they were often drawn to Honda and Toyota vehicles.

Slideshow: Most-Researched Vehicles In 2008

In releasing its list of the top 20 most-researched vehicles on its site, Kelley Blue Book said Honda and Toyota nabbed 13 of the spots.

Because kbb.com is one of the most trafficked automotive research sites, drawing more than 140 million unique visitors in 2008, visitation to specific vehicles has become a leading indicator of sales patterns for manufacturers.

The Honda Civic topped the list, moving up from No. 3 last year, with the Honda Accord coming in second. Last year's No. 1 vehicle, Toyota's Camry, fell to No. 3 in 2008.

The top five was rounded out by the Toyota Corolla, Nissan Altima, Honda CR-V, Toyota Prius, Toyota Highlander, Toyota RAV4 and Mazda3.

The Honda Civic, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry (in varying orders each year) have been the top three most-researched new-vehicles on kbb.com each year since 2004.

Several vehicles made noteworthy jumps into the top 20, including some that were not on the list for 2007.

Chevrolet's redesigned Malibu made the most impressive leap, jumping 55 places from its 2007 ranking of 72 to this year's rank at 17. Also climbing into the top 20 were the Honda Fit (last year ranked 35, this year 15), the Toyota Yaris (last year ranked 23, this year 11) and the Volkswagen Jetta (last year ranked 25, this year 20).

"Continued interest in Honda and Toyota, Chevrolet's home-run Malibu redesign and an increase in visits to more fuel-efficient, economical vehicles is an accurate reflection of the marketplace in 2008," said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book and kbb.com.

When examining the data from a regional and state-by-state standpoint, domestic vehicles such as the Ford Escape and Chevrolet Malibu are much more popular in their home-state of Michigan, ranking at No. 4 and 5, respectively.