Auto News 5

One year ago, the U.S. economy was moribund with the cascading effects of the financial crisis, and auto sales were in a deep freeze. In the first month of 2010, auto sales aren't quite as bad, bouncing back a modest 6% from last January's total. Depressingly, that's less than half the year-over-year uptick seen last month: December sales saw a surprisingly healthy 15% increase over the grim prior year. One possible explanation for the weaker January numbers is that December sales were goosed by carmakers' traditional year-end sell-a-thon.inline_mediumwraptextright26825156/features/news/1002_2010_january_auto_sales1002_02_z+laFontane_cadillac+go_green_dealership.jpgTrue

I've always been a fan of this generation S-class. The car looks elegant and has simple lines. There are luxury features most people haven't even dreamt of and, generally speaking, they're all easy to understand and use.inline_mediumwraptextright26810498/reviews/editors_notebook/1002_2010_mercedes_benz_s550_4matic1002_03_z+2010_mercedes_benz_s550_4Matic+front_three_quarter_view.jpgTrue

Four decades ago, a little Datsun with a long hood and a bullet-proof straight six showed us that sports cars didn't have to be big and they didn't have to come from Detroit or Germany. To celebrate 40 years of the Z cars, Nissan is bringing a special edition model known as the 2010 Nissan 370Z 40th Anniversary Edition to the U.S.inline_mediumwraptextright28062304/features/news/1002_2010_nissan_370z_40th_anniversary_edition2010-nissan-370z-40th-anniversary-side-view.jpgTrue

There aren't many visual reminders that the 2011 Chevrolet Silverado HD trucks are virtually all new beneath the sheetmetal. If we were talking about a midsize sedan that might be a problem, but truck owners will be happy all the development money went into a new Duramax engine, an all-new frame, and significant upgrades to payload and towing capacities instead of new body panels.

Ford's Edge has proven to be rather successful for the company, but as deputy editor Joe DeMatio wrote upon its launch, the model did "little to advance the art of the segment in which it competes." That may have been "business as usual" for the Ford Motor Company of yesteryear, but it isn't the case now. Ford thoroughly re-worked the Edge for the 2011 model year, and the technology, powertrain, and handling improvements packed into the new model could be enough to push the Edge to the head of its class.inline_mediumwraptextright32275269/features/news/1002_2011_ford_edge1002_01_z+2011_ford_edge+side_view.jpgTrue

As the environmentally-friendly car wars continue to heat up, Kia has been quietly working up its own assault dubbed "EcoDynamics." With a fuel cell vehicle, a natural gas-powered model and a hybrid under its belt already, Kia's fuel efficiency division is stepping up its game with a plug-in parallel hybrid concept vehicle called "Ray" which is making its debut at the 2010 Chicago auto show.inline_mediumwraptextright32239407/green/news/1002_kia_ray_conceptkia-ray-concept-front-three-quarter.jpgTrue

Toyota wants people to think about traveling in "Avalon Class" when shopping for a large front-wheel drive premium sedan. The changes to Toyota's big sedan are fairly minor, but Toyota promises it will be enough to give the Avalon better positioning.inline_mediumwraptextright32269125/features/news/1002_2011_toyota_avalon2011-toyota-avalon-front-three-quarters-view.jpgTrue