(April 11, 2013) SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Car buyers can avoid expensive financing charges by purchasing a low-priced used car outright, but they should be aware that there will likely be maintenance and repair speed bumps along the way. That's the key takeaway from Edmunds.com following its year-long "Debt-Free Car Project," which tested the theory that shoppers can find a reliable used car for under $5,000 without the burden of monthly payments.

(April 9, 2013) In the jockeying for world luxury-brand supremacy in the auto business, Audi is unique because it measures success in this endeavor by more than relative sales volume and even profitability comparisons alone. The first and foremost objective for Audi is to create the world’s most premium mainstream-luxury car brand.

(April 8, 2013) WASHINGTON — A new economic impact study confirms that the motor vehicle parts manufacturers industry — made up of the original equipment, aftermarket, heavy duty and remanufacturing sectors — is the largest employer of manufacturing jobs in the United States. 

The industry directly employs more than 734,000 American workers and generates nearly $355 billion in GDP contribution, or 2.3 percent of the total U.S. GDP.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(April 7, 2013) This is the first of a couple of Nissan videos I stumbled across, and know you’ll enjoy. It shows Hiroshi Kato and Naoki Maekawa sculpting the new Nissan Note clay model. Note the Sumo sculpture in the foreground made of modeling clay in the picture below.