hyundai

Purchase price is just the beginning of what it costs to own a car. Depreciation, insurance and maintenance costs can vary widely between competing models. But is there any way to estimate all of that in advance? A few experts have taken a stab at it.

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.

Short sellers have significantly increased their bet that GM shares are going to drop: Short interest in the No.1 U.S. car company jumped 26.5% to 41.5 million shares in the two-week period that ended May 15.

Detroit's revival is nearly complete: Chrysler recently made its first profit in five years, Ford has posted its best results since 1998, and GM is poised to retake the crown as the world's biggest automaker. But to hold onto that position, GM will have to adjust to a rapidly shifting auto market.

With all of the turmoil over oil prices and gas prices creeping up daily, along with the Japan earthquake leading to a shortage of fuel-efficient cars, you'd think the world was ending and that Americans would soon be walking everywhere because they can't afford their gas-guzzling cars. Gas prices...

It was a good month for auto sales despite inclement weather across much of the country and surging oil prices. Cars sold near an annual pace of 13 million vehicles. That would make February the best on record since the "cash for clunkers" rebate program in 2009.

Much like the Super Bowl, the Oscar broadcast is also becoming as much about the commercials as it is about the big show. And thanks to the popularity of the Best Picture nominees this year, advertisers are likely to have an even bigger audience than 2010's 41.3 million viewers.

Despite tepid industry sales last year, South Korean carmaker Hyundai set a sales record, thanks to savvy designs and sophisticated engineering. It's come a long way from an early econo-box image. Now, if it could just do as well at home.

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 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.