As more new car shoppers head to auto dealership websites and avoid newspaper ads, more ad dollars are being spent on the internet, according automotive marketing research firm Friedman-Swift Associates, writes BrandWeek (via MediaBuyerPlanner). Of the 12,270 new-car customers surveyed in 2005, a growing number are using dealer sites before making a purchase.

"As more dealers look at their own numbers and see that only 35 percent of their customers are looking at the newspaper before buying a car, it will change their advertising habits," said Judy George, president of Friedman-Swift, Cincinnati.

In February, eMarketer predicted that over the next two years automakers will increase their online ad spending from 2005's budget of $1.4 billion to $2.7 billion in 2007

"We also see that the consumer is forcing dealers into how their advertising is structured," said George. "Branding on a local level, say, for Bob Smith Ford, is happening more frequently and has become more of a factor in selling cars because people are looking for it on the web."

In January, automaker print ad spending