(July 11, 2011) Negotiating a deal on a new car is a Texas cage match between you and the salesman, and he has the metal folding chair to wield as a weapon. In other words, advantage: dealership.

The sales person and the finance manager have you outgunned at the closing desk. They have a variety of gimmicks to make a deal appear more attractive than it might actually be, so here’s where a little education and preparedness can level the playing field before you hit that showroom floor.

(July 10, 2011) ATLANTA (PRNewswire) — With the steady decline in gas prices throughout June, American consumers are showing signs that they want to shift their focus back to trucks and SUVs. 

AutoTrader.com's June Trend Engine report, which provides analysis of site traffic as it relates to consumer shopping behavior, shows that trucks and SUVs have gained consumer interest since May and that interest in compact cars is starting to subside.

Karl Greenberg      
MediaPost

(July 9, 2011) Toyota will probably get more attention than it bargained for with its new campaign for the Venza crossover. That attention may be at least as much about the campaign's sociological commentary as it is about the Venza itself.

WASHINGTON (July 7, 2011) – The current crop of hybrid vehicles demonstrate automakers know how to provide dramatic fuel savings and pollution reductions, but have yet to fully deliver those benefits, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) announced Wednesday.
 
The organization’s new Hybrid Scorecard evaluated 34 hybrids for their fuel efficiency, environmental improvement, consumer value, and the “forced features” automakers install that artificially inflate the cost of some models.