(July 10, 2013) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — TrueCar has announced that fuel economy numbers from June light vehicle auto sales indicate TrueMPG remained steady at 23.7 mpg compared to May, remaining at record levels for industry fuel economy. Year-over-year, average fuel economy saw a 0.7 mpg increase, led by Nissan and Chrysler, which both enjoyed better than 1.1 MPG gains in their average fuel economy numbers.

(July 10, 2013) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — The future has arrived early for car buyers, now that vehicles with such features as automated parking and Wi-Fi hotspots are already a reality. And according to Edmunds.com these new car technologies are available — and affordable — to most mainstream drivers a lot sooner than they might have expected.

(July 9, 2013) Perhaps catching some heat from various sectors of the industry, press and customer base, Honda has seen fit to issue a statement on its partnership with General Motors to develop fuel cell vehicle technology. The technology partnership was announced last week.

(July 9, 2013) ARLINGTON, Va. — The Ford F-250 has replaced the Cadillac Escalade as the favorite target of thieves, the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) reports. New antitheft technology on the Escalade, as well as its waning popularity, are two likely reasons the luxury SUV has fallen from first to sixth place in the ranking of vehicles with the highest rates of insurance claims for theft.

(July 8, 2013) CHICAGO — Cars.com today released the results of the 2013 Midsize SUV Challenge which put six of the most popular SUVs in the segment head-to-head in a series of tests to evaluate overall drive, features and capability. The six midsize SUVs tested were the 2013 Ford Edge, 2013 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport, 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2014 Kia Sorento, 2013 Nissan Murano and 2013 Toyota Venza.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(July 8, 2013) The rumor mill is buzzing about Dodge’s future product plans. The reason? Apparently the brand doesn’t have any. Multiple reports claim there is no planned replacement for the Avenger mid-size sedan, that the Durango SUV will soon be dropped, and Chrysler will be the only division selling the minivan. If true, it could spell the end for Dodge.

(July 4, 2013) CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The winners of the 12th annual North American Concept Vehicle of the Year Awards have been announced. The awards recognize those vehicles most likely to shape the future of the automobile industry.

Winners in three categories were the BMW i8, the Ford Atlas and the Hyundai HCD-14 Genesis (pictured below).

(July 2, 2013) IRVINE, Calif. — The estimated average transaction price for light vehicles in the United States was $31,663 in May 2013, up $370 (1.2 percent) from last month and up $269 (0.9 percent) year-over-year, according to Kelley Blue Book kbb.com.

(July 2, 2013) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Patriotic shoppers looking to buy American-made cars over the 4th of July holiday might be surprised to learn that Japanese brands Toyota and Honda produce some of the "most American" vehicles on the market.

In fact, says Edmunds.com the "most American" vehicle in four of eight vehicle segments is made by one of the two Japanese brands.

(July 1, 2013) SAN FRANCISCO — Nationally, a married couple pays an average of 84 percent more for car insurance after adding a teenage driver to their policy, according to a new report from InsuranceQuotes.com. Male teenagers cause significantly higher increases than females (96 percent versus 72 percent, on average).