Does Money Matter More than Looks?

    Car buyers often see with their wallet instead of their eyes.

    Automakers slave over car design, trying to make each of their products as attractive as possible while also satisfying aerodynamic requirements in the name of performance and fuel efficiency. The automotive press fawns over attractive designs, and auto journalists have spent the past few years praising automakers for bringing eye-catching looks to previously staid segments, like the mid-size sedan class. Automakers love to tout redesigns of major models, and conventional wisdom holds that buyers who know that their target model is set for a redesign will wait before pulling the trigger on a purchase.

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    Five Great Used-Car Daily Drivers

    These rides are slightly used, but still solid.

    Lots of car buyers opt to purchase a slightly used car in the hopes of saving money up front. But used-car buyers who plan to drive their new wheels daily will need something reliable (and preferably, fun to drive). Something that is close to a new car without actually being new.

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    Avoiding Supercar Scams

    Scams permeate the supercar replica niche market.

    Car-enthusiast Web site Jalopnik recently published several reports detailing a possible scam involving Super Replicas, a company that promised to build replicas of mega-expensive super cars for the price of mainstream family cars. Jalopnik's reporting probes the company's apparent lack of ability to deliver on its promises-and it's a story we've seen before.

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    Subcompact Sales Sink

    High gas prices aren't driving Americans to smaller cars.

    Common sense would suggest that rising gas prices would force SUV-loving Americans to shift into more fuel-efficient small cars, especially at a time when subcompact cars have been improving in quality and performance across the board. Yet subcompact-car sales have suffered over the past few months, while SUV sales have soared. That doesn't necessarily mean that American buyers are opting for inefficiency.

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    Leases Pricier, but More Popular

    Lower down payments and other factors causing payments to go up.

    According to car-leasing swap Web site Swapalease.com, which works to pair customers who have a lease they'd like to get out of with folks who 'd like to get a short-term lease, car lease payments have been rising lately. The company compared lease payments in 2006 to payments in 2012, and found that most were higher.

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    Things to Know at the Dealership

    Arm yourself with knowledge to make the buying process easier.

    Buying a car can be a stressful process, and many customers fear that they will leave the dealership feeling screwed. There's no reason for consumers to feel that way, though, if they prepare themselves with the proper buying and negotiating techniques.

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