(May 9, 2014) McLEAN, Va. — Consumers looking to buy a new car this spring are in luck: slowing sales and extreme competition in the mid-size car segment have prompted manufacturers to dramatically increase incentive spending for many models.

"What is traditionally a good month to buy new vehicles across all segments will be even more so for consumers looking at mid-size cars this May," said Larry Dixon, senior automotive analyst of NADA Used Car Guide.

By Christopher A. Sawyer
The Virtual Driver

(May 9, 2014) This concept Mini Paceman Adventure pickup concept isn’t as daft as it might first appear. There’s a market for a small, fun-to-drive unit-body pickup, but no manufacturer has had the nerve to move from concept to production. Kia showed a Soul pickup concept, the Soulster, in 2009, and made noises about it going into production. It never did.

(May 8, 2014) U.S. auto safety regulators have refused a request from two U.S. senators to encourage owners of cars affected by General Motors’ ignition switch recall to ground their cars until they can be repaired. GM recalled 2.6 million cars in February over the faulty switch, which can be jolted out of position, cutting off the engine and the airbags.

The defect has been linked to dozens of crashes in which the airbags did not deploy, and at least 13 fatalities.

(May 8, 2014) DETROIT — The all-new 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban are once again proving why they are the segment leaders with demand for the updated SUVs outpacing expectations, General Motors says.

Chevrolet created the SUV segment with the Suburban in 1935, and has been the sales leader in the full-size SUV market ever since. Today, the average turn rate, or how quickly it takes a particular vehicle to sell after it is delivered to the dealer, is 17 days for the Tahoe and 10 days for the Suburban.