Honda

Not long ago, each time gas prices shot up and car buyers turned to more fuel-efficient models, the Detroit automakers would get hammered. Their lineups favored gas-hogs, and their smaller models left much to be desired. Oh, how times have changed.

Despite its troubles in recent years, Toyota retained its crown in Consumer Reports' annual survey of auto-brand perception, but the survey also showed that Ford is rapidly closing the gap, and other brands aren't far behind.

There was nothing wrong with the old Ford Fusion. In fact, it had its best sales year ever in 2011. It's a good-looking, high-quality sedan and a good value. But when Ford took the wraps off the new Fusion this week, it had been transformed from a good hybrid to a deluxe hottie.

Hyundai and its stablemate Kia have been taking U.S. auto market share gradually for more than two decades. Lately, though, those chunks have gotten bigger. The South Korean car makers' sales are expected to surge almost 25% in September compared to the same month year ago.

GM is expected to show a sales increase of 15.3% from a year ago when it posts August numbers later this week, according to auto industry research firm Edmunds. That would be an improvement of 30,000 cars and light trucks and would eclipse the unit gains of its smaller rivals.

DailyFinance collects all the new recalls here each week to help you keep track of the food and products to avoid. This week's recalls include vehicles, an herbicide from DuPont, a pin from the Build-A-Bear Workshop, step stools and of course, a ground turkey from Cargill.

Keeping track of the latest product and food recalls can be a challenge for any consumer, so Consumer Ally has collected them all in one place for you to check each week. Here is this week's roundup: Target recalled 51,700 pairs of Circo Aloma Infant Girls Sandals because the decorative...

Higher gas prices and a demand for smaller used cars -- like the Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla -- has driven up the price that dealerships are willing to pay for trade-ins to the highest they've been in at least 16 years, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association's used...

Car prices have risen quickly and quietly in the last few weeks. According to auto industry research firm Edmunds, the average amount buyers are paying for cars or light trucks is up $350 since Japan's earthquake and tsunami in March -- and the price of Japanese vehicles is up even more.

Toyota's recent recall woes may have pushed its U.S. sales lower during the past year, but they haven't stopped one popular model from setting a new milestone: The fuel-efficient Toyota Prius hybrid recently surpassed 1 million sales in the U.S.