People are holding onto their vehicles longer than ever with the dip in the economy a good part of the reason. According to the Polk research firm, the average age of cars and trucks on the road in the US is 10.8 years old, still pretty high from a record high of 11.1 years the year prior.

While the economy is a factor, one can also take into consideration that the reliability of cars has and continues to go up. Then again, that all depends on who you talk to as we all have our own preference and opinions.

Via USA Today:

“But Polk Vice President Mark Seng says a rebound in sales last year and expected growth the next couple of years is likely to slow the aging trend. Polk has not predicted if or when the age will start to drop, but Seng doesn’t see that happening for two or three years, if not longer.”

“It’s going to take the good economy several years of very high sales again, and people being willing to let go of those older vehicles that they’ve been holding onto,” Seng said.”

Fortunately, auto sales continue to rise after reaching a 30 year low of 10.4 Million in 2009. Polk expects sales to rise about 1 Million per year through 2015.

“The aging of the American auto fleet has been a boon to repair shops and companies that sell replacement auto parts, and Seng expects that to continue. He says people can hang onto their cars longer because automakers are making them far better than they did in 1995, the first year that Polk began tracking the average age.”

Do you drive an older car?

Average Car On The Road Gets Older, Now Almost 11 Years Old is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Buick Encore is part of a new breed: little SUVs. At the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, Buick unveiled what it hopes will be one of the earliest entries in the growing market of compact luxury crossover SUVs.

The Encore won’t hit roads before early-2013. Audi and BMW are anticipated to add little SUVs to their ranges in 2013, as the SUV attempts to shed its image as a gas-guzzlin’ road-hoggin’ behemoth.

Tighter handling and smaller everything is the order of the day for the Encore. At just fourteen feet long (168.5 inches to be exact), the Encore is considerably shorter than the Volkswagen Tiguan, and comes with a modest 100.6 inch wheelbase. While not the tiniest stats in the little SUV world, Buick says the Encore has a 36.7-foot turning radius that makes it nimbler than the smaller Mini Countryman.

The Encore also boasts features such as lane-departure warning, forward-collision warning, blind-spot alert, and a sweet Bose noise cancellation set-up that gets rid of pesky road noise.

It has a 140-horsepower, 1.4-liter engine and a six-speed automatic transmission box, and will be offered with either front- or all-wheel drive.

Being an SUV though, the inevitable question is: how will it go on the gas? Buick says the front-wheel version will clock up more than 30 miles to the gallon on highways. The company already makes some green-friendly gas-sippers compared to other automakers – most of their big SUVs coming in at 20 – 24 m.p.g – so expect some good economy.

Buick Unveils the Encore, A Compact SUV is a post from: The Inquisitr

American automaker Chrysler, is expected to have a good 2012. Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler and Fiat, said that the company is expected to generate nearly $2 Billion in sales this year.

American car companies, particularly General Motors, haven’t been doing the best since the economy dipped in 2008. Ford however has managed to do well and continues to remain profitable and didn’t take a bailout from the government.

The company plans to fully merge with Fiat by 2015, planning on being one single company by then. Chrysler filed for bankruptcy in 2009 but thanks to increased sales, a 37% increase in December to be exact, it has allowed the company to make a turnaround for the better.

“The company raised its 2011 forecast of cash flow to more than $1.2 billion from previous estimate of above $1.0 billion when it reported in October a swing into profit in the third quarter. Last week the Auburn Hills, Michigan-based company posted the biggest 2011 gain in US vehicle sales among its major competitors: a jump of 26 percent from the prior year.”

Despite the news of the down economy, American automakers seem to be making a rebound as sales increase. Going forward, car makers need to continue to create and develop cars that people want, and not forget to innovate within the industry. As far as luxury car makers such as Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and BMW, they’ve managed to do good as well.

What automobile maker do you prefer? Also, which car manufacturer do you think makes the worst vehicles? Let us know in the comments below.

Chrysler CEO: “We’re generating cash. The house is in good order.” is a post from: The Inquisitr

Saab, a company that began life as an airplane manufacturer in the 1930s but went on to produce, er, distinctive-looking cars that were tough as tanks, delivered the bankruptcy documents to a Swedish court. Actually, it was Saab CEO Victor Muller who personally handed the bankruptcy paperwork over. Which makes this story a little bit sadder, somehow.

The car manufacturer has had its share of glory days. In the 1980s, almost a million Saab 900s were sold, and there are still Saab fans and owners clubs around today. One of those clubs is based in LA, where LA Saab Club member Drew Price says the cars stand out from the pack:

“The market is a lot bigger on the East Coast and places like Colorado because Saabs behave the best in that kind of weather. But they’re even more unusual here in the warm climates. I think a lot of the attraction is that it’s a non-mainstream product – you don’t see a lot of them.”

Recent weeks have seen the company desperately seeking a buyer to step forward and rescue the limping company. In early 2010, GM clinched a deal to sell Saab to Dutch supercar maker Spyker Cars. More recently, Saab was hoping for a cash injection from Chinese investors, but GM did not support the deal.

Should Saab end up in the scrapyard, 3,700 employees stand to lose their jobs.

Saab Closing its Doors Soon as Company Files for Bankruptcy is a post from: The Inquisitr

They can replace a bumper or a windshield, but once this happens your whole car is completely destroyed forever.

Car is Ruined is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Acura division at car manufacturer Honda is set to unveil a revised version of its former NSX supercar, a high-tech model that will be small and eco-friendly.

‘Small’ and ‘eco-friendly’ are not two words you’d use to describe the monstrous V10-powered Acura Advance Sports Car Concept (pictured above looking silver and mean) that appeared at major auto shows in 2007.

Cars to emerge from under Honda’s Acura division, the company’s luxury motors arm, have not always sold that well.

Honda bigwigs hope to change this, by giving Acura cars more of an identity. That’s not empty corporate speak, however: in the past, Acuras have been models adapted from existing Hondas sold in Europe or other markets. When the new NSX rolls out at the Detroit Auto Show in January, it will be its own design. And part of this will involve placing greater importance on affordability and sustainability, rather than features and horsepower alone. Jeff Conrad, Honda sales VP, says:

“That doesn’t mean we won’t create high-performance vehicles, but the way we do it will be unique to Acura.”

So what can we expect from the new NSX? A mid-engine two-seater, it’ll be a V6 gas-electric hybrid with multiple electric motors to improve the all-wheel-drive system. Said motors will be independently controlled by the car’s computer.

The revised NSX will succeed the $90,000 NSX original that was manufactured from 1990 to 2005, a 175-miles-per-hour beast. This new NSX is performing quite the U-turn in many aspects of its design – but can it keep the fans happy?

Honda Acura Division to Reveal New NSX Supercar is a post from: The Inquisitr

Joe LoCicero’s 1990 Honda Accord may not look impressive despite its remarkably good condition, but the vehicle has brought the Maine resident good luck as it rolled over the one million mile mark on the odometer.

LoCicero had an advantage in keeping up with the clearly reliable million mile Honda, as he’d worked as a mechanic for years and knew how to take care of it. But his advice for vehicle longevity- good parts, regular services and careful operation- are within the abilities of most car owners. Luckily for Honda, not many people are up to the challenge of keeping a car in good nick for the long haul. Local car dealer Ron Russell commented:

“Joe is a testament to what you can do if you maintain your car. Thankfully, not many people do it, or we’d be out of business.”

Honda was in on the celebrations for LoCicero’s million mile Honda- including a parade and a new 2012 Honda Accord for the diligent driver- and became aware of the unusually healthy, two-decades-old vehicle back when it hit around the 950,000 mile mark. And LoCicero says he’s happy with the new car, but tells a local paper he doesn’t know what to do with the old one now:

LoCicero said he’s not sure what he’ll do with the 1990 Accord now that he has a new model, also made in Ohio.

He’s tried to sell the older model to a few car dealers recently for $1 million, hoping they’d want to display it to advertise the longevity of Honda vehicles.

“A buck a mile. That’s fair,” LoCicero said. “I didn’t get any bites.”

What’s the highest mileage you’ve gotten out of a vehicle? Would you be proud to own the million mile Honda?

Million Mile Honda Gets Man Parade, 2012 Accord is a post from: The Inquisitr

Changing a spare tire on your car could soon be a thing of the past, with a growing number of automakers in the United States producing new models with liquid tire sealant and a portable electric air pump instead of a spare.

In 2011, 14 percent of new cars that go on sale will drop the extra tire, in a bid by manufacturers to lose pounds and boost fuel efficiency. GM already includes the kit as standard on 17 of its 22 U.S. models.

It’s not all roses, however. Although the sealant is effective in a majority of cases, a hole in the tire larger than a quarter of an inch or a puncture on the side of the tire will mean your only option is to get towed. GM has stated the kit can mend 85 percent of punctures, but as Gene Petersen, tire program leader for Consumer Reports magazine, told the Washington Post:

“The last thing you want to do is find out the hard way that you don’t have a spare tire if you’re stranded on the side of the road.”

Despite this view, the automakers appear convinced. By 2025, the car and truck fleet in the US will have to average 54.5 miles per gallon, and manufacturers are clearly exploring all possible avenues to achieve this.

Many point out the sealant and pump solution makes for lighter cars (by about 20 pounds) with more spacious trunks, and argue the sealant is far easier and cleaner to use.

GM says it can still provide a spare on any new model for an additional $100, but which way do you fall on the spare tire debate? Are you happy to lose it and have a lighter car, or keen to avoid a towing?

Spare Car Tires Being Replaced by Air Pumps is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Walt Disney announced that its animated feature film with Pixars “Cars 2” has already earned $189 million in the U.S. since its first showing on June 24, 2011, making it the top grosser among this year’s animated features.

Combined with international earnings, “Cars 2″ has now grossed $548 million to date, making it the 16th highest grossing animated film in global cinematic history. The film has also surpassed the worldwide box-office totals of other Disney/Pixar hits such as “Monsters, Inc.” and “WALL-E.”

“Cars 2″ is the 12th feature-length animated film from Pixar Animation Studios. Its first 11 have earned $6.5 billion at the global box office.

The reported earnings of “Cars 2″ is in line with the movie review by Peter Travers of Rolling Stone magazine when he said:

“This is the real fast and furious and it’s even better than before. The sequel is a tree-burning burst of action and fun with a beating heart under its hood. You can bet “Cars 2″ will rev your engines.”

The Hollywood Post Alliance nominated “Cars” in two categories: Outstanding Editing-Feature Film (Stephen Schaffer, A.C.E./Pixar Animation Studios) and Outstanding Sound-Feature Film (Tom Myers, Michael Semanick and Michael Silvers/Skywalker Sound).

John Lasseter directed “Cars 2,” a follow-up to his 2006 two-time Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe-winning “Cars.” “Cars 2″ is co-directed by Brad Lewis, producer of the Oscar-winning film “Ratatouille,” and produced by Denise Ream (associate producer, “Up”).

With three months left this year, will “Cars 2″ maintain this dominance?

“Cars 2″ Tops Domestic Box Office Among This Year’s Animated Films (So Far) is a post from: The Inquisitr

Kbb.com, the web’s gateway to the world’s largest auto valuation service, has gotten an internet facelift.

The company describes the new site as shifting the “standard online car-research paradigm” to allow for a more “engaging” manner. In a press release, Kelley Blue Book explains the new task-based navigation included in KBB.com’s makeover:

New tools now available on kbb.com include Reality Check^SMfor New Cars and Total Cost of Ownership, both calculated with Kelley Blue Book’s sophisticated valuation forecasting model and critical financial data from third-party providers. These new tools provide shoppers with up-to-date, easy-to-read charts and graphs showing them what others typically are paying for a new car this week, and providing a clear understanding of the financial implications associated with overall vehicle ownership costs through the initial five-year ownership period.

The site’s redesign is the culmination of 18 months of consumer research, and flips the search structure to be more focused on consumer-set parameters than the original standards of “new” and “used.” Kelley Blue Book director of product management Mike Wulf had this to say about the changes:

“The redesigned kbb.com brings a heightened level of transparency to vehicle values and new-car pricing via all-new design and shopping tools… The new approach eliminates the confusion and angst consumers feel during the research process by taking what is often perceived as complex information and displaying it in a way that is visual and easy to understand.”

How do you gather intel when looking for a new or used car on the web? Do you use KBB to get pricing information before buying or selling a vehicle?

Kelley Blue Book Gets Makeover on Web is a post from: The Inquisitr

Making random things social- like vending machines and grocery shopping- is a marketing trend that is likely to plague us for some time.

Of course, with more than one in three people hitting up the money-printing machine that is Facebook before they brush their teeth each day, a measure of it is to be expected. Sometimes, it makes some sense even if it is of little value and use. Then there are times like this where it’s difficult to even see how it would work and you kind of just think it would have been easier for Toyota to slap a “Like” button decal on the side of a Matrix and call it the 2012 Status Update.

Toyota’s not the first automaker to encourage this sort of bizarre interaction between drivers and their vehicles- we just posted last week about Ford introducing apps to monitor your health. I am not a luddite by any means- indeed, many have accused me of over-reliance on technology- but can someone explain to me how this would even work? How can your car “tweet” you if you’re low on gas? Does that mean all your friends find out you’re irresponsible and forgot to get your oil changed at 3,000 miles?

Toyota described the new Toyota Friend service in a press release, but there’s scant information on how the information- private or public by user choice- is disseminated to drivers:

Toyota Friend will be a private social network that connects Toyota customers with their cars, their dealership, and with Toyota. Toyota Friend will provide a variety of product and service information as well as essential maintenance tips, creating a rich car ownership experience. For example, if an EV or PHV is running low on battery power, Toyota Friend would notify the driver to re-charge in the form of a “tweet”-like alert. In addition, while Toyota Friend will be a private social network, customers can choose to extend their communication to family, friends, and others through public social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. The service will also be accessible through smart phones, tablet PCs, and other advanced mobile devices.

So… It’s like an app? Or it emails you? Or it texts you? Other services integrate with smartphones and tablets, but what makes the Toyota Friend network more social? Do you think this would influence a vehicle purchasing decision for you? Or does it sound a bit like Christine?

Toyota to add entirely nonsensical social networking capabilities to cars in 2012 is a post from: The Inquisitr

Have all those hours spent casually smashing up your car in Burnout or falling off Rainbow Road in Mario Kart affected your real-life driving skills? Yes! According to who? Science, that’s who.

A poll of 2000 motorists commissioned by Continental Tyres reveals that those who game are crappier drivers than those who don’t. The study, which questioned drivers aged between 17 and 39, found that gamers are twice as likely to run red light, run red lights, make insurance claims, and generally misbehave on the roads.

On the flip side, gamers statistically suffer less prang damage, and do pass their driving test quicker (though not in my case: after sixty-five hours of lessons, I gave up – to my eternal shame, that’s actually true).

“It seems that while gamers develop useful skills and are more confident, they need to apply some balance with a sensible assessment of risk,” tooted Continental’s Tim Bailey. “Playing computer driving games means good concentration levels and improved reaction times, however, they can take more risks than non-gaming drivers, possibly due to the lack of real consequences in games.”

As a gamer, I want to defend my brothers and sisters, but that does make sense. Also see aforementioned anecdote about me being inept in a car.

[Via Edge]

Study claims gamers make worse drivers is a post from: The Inquisitr

I’ve been following much of the Super bowl nonsense via my two Twitter streams, not that you can avoid it, and I think much of the conversation is being split between the game and the ads that are being run during the commercial breaks.

Groupon is the early failure with what apparently are totally tasteless and insensitive ads but in the winner circle at this point is the ad from Chrysler starring Eminem and – Detroit.

I just finished watching the ad (via Jalopnik) and I gotta admit, it’s a pretty powerful ad.

Chrysler’s most awesome Super Bowl ad with Eminem – Imported from Detroit [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

MyFord Touch is one of the most interactive car systems to date, unfortunately some technology illiterate customers are so confused about the technology that they have begun taking classes to learn how to use their vehicles.

If you are unfamiliar with MyFord Touch, the system uses color-coded menus, a central touch panel and even a four-way controller on the steering wheel for system navigation, users can also use voice recognition to control their cars systems.

While MyFord Touch is easy enough to figure out for the technology generation, Consumer Reports recently tore the system apart, calling it unnecessarily difficult for first time users.

To help fight off confusion over the new system, various Ford dealers around the United States have begun offering 45 minute one-on-one courses to help explain the new system to confused car owners.

Just a thought, but why in the world would someone buy a vehicle if they were confused with it’s controls before the sale? [via Freep]

MyFord Touch Confusing Some Customers, Dealers Offering Classes is a post from: The Inquisitr

Because, screw you, that’s why. (Text reads: “When life gives you lemons, you paint that shit gold.”)

[via reddit]

The only cool Buick Skylark you will ever see is a post from: The Inquisitr

I know when I was growing up the idea of having a van with a beautiful airbrushed painting was all the rage but then as vehicles got smaller this form of mobile art seem to fade into the past. Recently though there seems to be a resurgence in of all places – Russia. The name has changed to areography but the idea is the same – some pretty incredible artwork on vehicles of all types.

via Fresh Pics

10 awesome pieces of art on wheels is a post from: The Inquisitr

This might only be a concept car from Citroen but what an absolutely gorgeous looking car. They should make it against the law to create such beauts without a promise to bring them to market. Talk about getting a guy’s dreams all built up.

via Zeutch

OMG – what a gorgeous looking car is a post from: The Inquisitr

There is no doubt that we have this crazy love affair with our automobiles. From souping them to blinging them out we constantly try to push what they can do to the limits and beyond.

Not satisfied with just making them the fastest or the best looking we also like to use our creative energies to make them physical manifestations of our nightmares or some bad acid trip come to life. These eight (courtesy of Holy Taco) have to be some of the best – or would it be the worst – example of car love carried too far.

8 of the wackiest cars you will ever see is a post from: The Inquisitr

Haven’t played a “serious” racing game since 2001. Fair to say things have moved on a bit since Metropolis Street Racer:

See also: How realistic is Gran Turismo 5?

[GT Planet, via VG247]

[VIDEO] Gran Turismo 5 brings the car porn is a post from: The Inquisitr

We may never see them on the road and some even end up as one-off’s hidden away in a private car museum but there is no denying that most of us would give  right arm to own any one of these concept cars. These ten from a larger collection at Ikab Magazine are my favorites of the 70 plus shown.

10 absolutely jaw dropping concept car designs is a post from: The Inquisitr