Auto News 5

Early indications were that November would see a moderation of new-car demand, but once the final tallies were counted, the Thanksgiving Weekend -- centered around every marketer's holiest holiday, Black Friday -- pushed the monthly totals to a 9% gain over last year. Beating last November was no easy feat, because November 2012 was puffed up by sales to buyers all along the East Coast who had lost cars in Hurricane Sandy. But this November's torrid annualized sales rate of 16.4 million vehicles was much better than we had seen in October, and beat the hottest months from earlier this year. If December can maintain the trifecta of brisk sales, strong transaction prices, and low incentives, it's going to be a very Merry Christmas in the auto industry.

Despite advances in stability control electronics and tires, rear-wheel drive still scares away drivers who live in snowy regions. That apparently includes ATS buyers. Cadillac says about 60 percent of them opt for all-wheel drive with the 2.0-liter four-cylinder and 3.6-liter V-6. (The base 2.5-liter four-cylinder is only offered with rear-wheel drive).

It’s a fact: women make 62 percent of new car purchases and make nearly 80 percent of car purchasing decisions in the United States. So why are automakers still struggling to effectively target this huge buying audience? Tinesha Craig, director of the i on Women division of the market research firm Insights in Marketing, took a look at how women view the car buying process. She found that only 26 percent of women said they were "extremely satisfied" with the options available to them in the automotive market.

We've whined about its clunky transmission, we've raved about its simple touchscreen, and we've taken it on road trips across the country, but after eleven months we're still finding more small things to love about our 2013 Dodge Dart SXT.

When you first start up the 2013 Volkswagen Beetle Turbo Convertible in cold weather, there is a persistent beeping as the outside temperature display below the speedometer flashes a snowflake logo to alert the driver. Many cars flash similar warnings when it’s cold out, but this alert seems even more urgent in our Beetle droptop, as if the car itself knows that it’s being driven outside of its comfort zone.