new car

13 Stories

For New-Car Buyers, an 'Affordability Shift'

More consumers—and not just cash-poor ones—are opting for lower-priced new vehicles

(Newser) - Had she wanted to, Michelle Chumley could have afforded a pricey new SUV loaded with options. But when it came time to replace her Chevrolet Blazer SUV, for which she'd paid about $40,000 three years ago, Chumley chose something smaller—and less costly. With her purchase of a...

Stick Shifts Are Fading, but You Can Still Get One

Edmunds runs down the list of new vehicles that still come with manual transmissions

(Newser) - Much like film cameras losing out to digitals, the disappearance of the manual transmission from cars seems inevitable. As the AP reports, modern automatic transmissions are better for quick and efficient shifting and automakers have largely switched to them entirely. The vast majority of electric vehicles don't have geared...

New-Car Smell Is More Dangerous on Hot Days
New-Car Smell Is More
Dangerous on Hot Days
NEW STUDY
Jul 28, 2024 4:35 PM CDT

New-Car Smell Is More Dangerous on Hot Days

Chinese researchers raise health concerns as our days keep getting warmer

(Newser) - It's no secret that what people call the "new car smell" is the result of a chemical soup of volatile organic compounds within the vehicle's interior, notes ZME Science . Now, a new study raises a related concern in a warming world: The VOCs appear to intensify when...

America, Your Cars Are Getting Old
America, Your Cars
Are Getting Old
May 25, 2024 2:10 PM CDT

America, Your Cars Are Getting Old

The average age of a US vehicle is now 12.6 years, as consumers coax extra life out of them

(Newser) - Cars, trucks, and SUVs in the US keep getting older, hitting a record average age of 12.6 years in 2024 as people hang on to their vehicles largely because new ones cost so much. S&P Global Mobility, which tracks state vehicle registration data nationwide, said Wednesday that the...

Want a New Car Under $20K? You've Now Got One Option

It's the Mitsubishi Mirage, and it's apparently going the way of the dodo

(Newser) - Not so long ago, in a United States not so far away, car buyers looking for a new ride under the relatively bargain price point of $20,000 had a dozen options from which to choose. Just five years later, that car buyer has one—the Mitsubishi Mirage—and even...

Average New Car Loan Tops $40K as Prices Climb

Used buyers also are borrowing more

(Newser) - Gas gets more attention, but the price of new vehicles has skyrocketed, too—hitting a record average of $46,259 this month. That's led to another record: The average new vehicle loan in the US reached $40,290 in the second quarter, Experian reported Thursday. The company calculated that...

Here's How Expensive It Is to Buy, Own a Car

Average price paid for a new vehicle hit the highest on record in July

(Newser) - It's more expensive than ever to purchase a new vehicle, and keeping it on the road is becoming more costly, too. The average cost of owning a new vehicle is currently $10,728 per year, or $894 per month—up 11% from 2021, according to AAA , which considered the...

The Auto Market Is a Weird One at the Moment

For modest-income buyers, new cars are out of reach

(Newser) - Two years after the pandemic tore through the economy, America’s auto market looks something like this: Prices are drastically up. Supply is drastically down. And gasoline costs drastically more. The result? A widening disparity between the richest buyers and everyone else, per the AP . The most affluent buyers keep...

Some New-Car Buyers Seeing Real Sticker Shock
Some New-Car Buyers
Seeing Real Sticker Shock
The Rundown
Jan 31, 2022 1:30 PM CST

Some New-Car Buyers Seeing Real Sticker Shock

Some luxe brands selling for thousands over MSRP, but overall prices declining from December

(Newser) - While buyers of new higher-end SUVs, sports cars, and pickup trucks have been paying thousands more than the recommended sticker price, the overall price of new vehicles is slowly on the decline, multiple sources report. Classic trends such as leasing are also changing with the times:

In This Market, Prepare to Pay Over List Price for That Car

New cars are harder to find and selling for sticker price or more

(Newser) - Workers are turning back into commuters, and many of those workers are going out to buy a new car. But there aren’t a lot of new cars out there, which means the wheels on the lot aren’t cheap. There are shortages related to pandemic shutdowns—a global chip...

She Walked 14 Miles to Work. Then She Got a Surprise Tip

Couple buys Denny's waitress in Texas a car after hearing about her long commute

(Newser) - She gave them extra ice cream; they gifted her a new car. Adrianna Edwards definitely got the sweeter deal this week after two customers at a Texas Denny's, where she works as a waitress, gave her a much-needed tip: a 2011 Nissan Sentra, per CNN . While dining at the...

His Shift Starts at 4am. His Commute: an 11-Mile Walk

Trenton Lewis' co-workers have just remedied the commute, however, and given him a car

(Newser) - Trenton Lewis has never missed a shift and never been late for his 4am shift at a UPS facility in Little Rock, Ark., a dedication driven by his love for his 14-month-old daughter, Karmen, per CNN . His attendance is even more impressive when you consider his wakeup time and commute:...

'Cash for Clunkers' Can't Beat Buying Used
 'Cash for Clunkers' 
 Can't Beat Buying Used 
ANALYSIS
Jul 24, 2009 12:00 PM CDT

'Cash for Clunkers' Can't Beat Buying Used

(Newser) - The government’s Car Allowance Rebate System—the “Cash for Clunkers” plan—goes into effect today, but it might not be such a good deal for you or the environment, Elisabeth Leamy and Nathalie Tadena write for ABC News. New-car buyers who trade up more than 4mpg in mileage...

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