By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver
When Lexus first burst upon the scene in late 1989, it was a revelation if not a revolution. Toyota, which had no upscale brand to which it could send customers once they outgrew its mainstream offerings, was taking on the overpriced Germans, BMW and Mercedes. Audi, at the time, was in the midst of the 60 Minutes-hyped unintended acceleration nonsense, and was not a player.
(May 15, 2013) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Certified pre-owned (CPO) vehicles are more popular than ever, according to a new report from Edmunds.com. The report, which evaluates the landscape of America’s used car market through the first quarter of 2013, found that CPO sales this year are up 6.2 percent over the first three months of 2012, and that the segment’s 21 percent share of all used car sales by franchise dealers in first quarter 2013 was the highest it has ever been.
(May 15, 2013) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar has announced that fuel economy numbers from April light vehicle auto sales indicate TrueMPG have steadied at 23.7 mpg, remaining at record levels although ending a three-month rise in industry fuel economy. Year-over-year, average fuel economy saw a 0.4 mpg increase.
(May 14, 2013) MCLEAN, Va. — Auction prices for full-size pickup trucks are up nearly 7 percent through the first four months of 2013, says the NADA Used Car Guide in its May edition of Guidelines .
(May 18, 2013) SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Andy Warhol’s 1979 BMW M1 Art Car will be the center piece of the exhibition “BMW – The Ultimate Driving Machine,” which opens this weekend at the Saratoga Automobile Museum. The exhibition will also feature the BMW 3.0 CSL which won the Daytona 24 Hour race in 1976. 
(May 17, 2013) COSTA MESA, Calif. — Hyundai is uniting with the Energy Department on a new public-private partnership called H2USA, which will focus on advancing hydrogen infrastructure to support more transportation energy options for U.S. consumers, including fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs). 
