Porsche

Gas prices are going up again, and it feels a lot like Groundhog Day: Same old problem, and media outlets are dispensing the same old advice. Not us! Here are the most interesting and innovative ideas our readers offered for reducing your pain at the pump.

A slowly brightening economy combined with low financing rates and generally stable fuel prices have put consumers in a buying mood. New models, particularly from Ford and GM, are also helping to keep U.S. auto sales on a positive trajectory as 2011 starts.

The gap between America's super-wealthy and the rest of us has grown so vast it's hard to even comprehend the sums they spend on their luxuries. But if you measure, say, a $200 million luxury yacht in terms of the average U.S. family's household income, the picture comes back into focus.

The nation's automakers ended 2010 strong, with most reporting higher sales for December. Consumers seemed to put concerns about the U.S. economy on hold and more than offset reduced demand by fleet customers, such as corporations and rental-car companies.

Buoyed by consumers' increased confidence in the U.S. economy, most automakers reported higher sales of cars and trucks in the U.S. during October compared to a year ago -- making it the best October in three years for the auto industry.

Carmakers are expected to report a mixed picture for October sales: mostly better than a year ago, but down slightly from September. Still, the pace appears strong enough that the upper end of full-year forecasts is reachable.

If you're still waiting for a merger between the parent companies of VW and sports car maker Porsche to close, don't hold your breath. VW's CEO is warning that it may not happen at all. "The chances are 70 to 30 that it comes to that," Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said in an interview with...

Although Honda and Toyota remain the benchmark of reliability in the U.S. automobile industry, General Motors has made considerable strides in improving the quality of its cars and trucks, according to the magazine's 2010 Annual New Car Reliability Survey.

Legal wrangling may delay Volkswagen's (VLKAY) merger with Porsche, Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn said. Volkswagen planned to complete a merger with Porsche in 2011. Porsche originally planned to buy Volkswagen by securing stock options, only to see its debt levels surge. Sponsored...

Vehicle sales have been less than stellar in recent months, disappointing some analysts. But the industry is gradually improving in a broad trend that is benefiting nearly all automakers -- including the Big Three, which have returned from the brink.