The U.S. auto industry is revving its engine heading into the new year. The three largest domestic carmakers posted strong gains to close out 2011 in another sign that the U.S. economy is coming back to life following the Great …
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A New Study for Drivers Who Hate the Check Engine Light
Every driver dreads the appearance of the Check Engine light. The foreboding glow next to the odometer means that a visit to the auto repair shop is needed, and that money will soon be leaving your possession. So which automakers …
Come Again? American Auto Workers Get Signing Bonuses?
As the auto industry climbs out of the worst economic slowdown since the Great Depression, workers are demanding higher pay. But the closest thing they are likely to get from a labor agreement between the United Auto Workers and …
The Rebirth of the U.S. Auto Industry? Not So Fast
Over the past year, story after story has touted the rebirth of the U.S. auto industry. Ford Motors, which unlike General Motors and Chrysler survived the 2008-2009 crisis without taking bailout money from the federal government, …
Buy a New GM Car, Get Free Auto Insurance for a Year
Don’t be impressed when a car dealership manager offers to throw in a few free oil changes on a new car purchase. General Motors is upping the ante in buyer incentives by including MetLife auto insurance coverage for a full year …
GM Raises Car Prices Now So It Can Lower Them Later
It’s a screwy time in the auto business. Used car prices recently hit a 16-year high, while average prices paid for new cars also soared in May—at the same time overall new car sales slumped that month. Now that prices seem to …
Everything that Guzzles Gas Must Go!
GM’s Hummer brand is being shut down, but there are still thousands of the oversized, impractical gas guzzlers sitting at car dealers needing to be bought—hence a going-out-of-business sale.
Um, Yes, Apparently This Is the Best Week to Buy a Car
At least if you’re buying a Saturn or a Pontiac. To move the cars off their lots in a hurry, GM is basically giving dealerships an extra $7,000 per vehicle to play with in negotiations with car buyers. The net result: It’s possible to buy a car for nearly 50% off the sticker price.
Is This the Best Week to Buy a Car?
Car dealerships are saying good riddance to 2009—which was a clunker of a year in more ways than one—by trying to get rid of as many vehicles as possible. As the year’s end approaches, there are tons of rebates available to car buyers, and sales managers are expected to be especially willing to negotiate in order to move inventory. …
Will Just Any Old Car Do? Will No Car at All Do?
Back-to-back stories in the NY Times point out two interesting trends in the automobile market. First, brand loyalty is long gone. Second, for many consumers, the car itself is gone as well.
With Saturn All But Gone, the Mourning Begins
I’m not the only one saddened by the demise of Saturn, the once-innovative auto brand that was created—and also killed—by GM.
Can’t Somebody Save Saturn?
I have a soft spot in my heart for Saturn. The first new car I could truly call my own was a bare bones Saturn SL. The sticker price was around $11,000, and with Saturn’s original no-hassle-no-haggling policy, I happily paid the sticker price. I delivered pizzas and drove cross-country in that super reliable, unsexy, no-A/C vehicle, and …