Now that the market is on a tentative upswing, there is no time to waste – one of the positive points about a recession is that new-car buyers are in charge when it comes to making a deal.

Data collected from a recent survey by the Consumer Reports National Research Center shows that half of those polled believed that they were able to negotiate a much better deal in these tough times. Further results found that around 27 percent of respondents reported no change, while 18 percent said their ability to negotiate has diminished some or a lot.

Other important information gathered from this survey showed that income played a significant role in negotiating tactics. New-car buyers who earned at least $50,000 were more likely to say that their ability to negotiate improved, compared to those with household income under $50,000, while twice as many consumers who earn less said their ability diminished relative to those who earning power was greater.

So how do you ensure you get the best deal? The key to getting the best deal is to do your homework and have a strategy when your go into dealerships. Here are some negotiation tips that will come in handy when you’re ready to start haggling:

• Be sure to get all dealer quotes by email or phone. This allows you to focus on the dealership offering right car and price.
• Don’t be afraid to play one dealer off another in order to get the price lowered, and tell them that you’re going with the lowest price, even if it means driving a few miles out of town.
• It’s important to negotiate up from the bottom line price, not down from MSRP. This tactic keeps you closer to the real target while proving you mean serious business.
• If you have a trade-in, keep it removed from the new-car negotiation, as it’s a totally different transaction that needs to be managed separately.
• Stay away from dealership sales events – the showroom tends to be staffed with its best, profit-creating experts during these promotional events.
• Compare interest rates and get pre-arranged financing. This way, if the dealer can’t meet or beat your best loan option, you still have secured the best rate and are not pressured into taking a bad financial deal to get the car.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

With all the talk of environmental concerns, energy dependence and air quality these days, many commercial fleet operators are looking to alternative solutions to power their vehicles and perhaps save a bit of money in the process. In North America, one of the cheapest and certainly most practical alternatives has been Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). Taxi fleets have been using CNG fueled cars for years and increasingly other segments of the commercial vehicle sector are adopting it, including those that rely on pickups and vans for delivery or contract work.

However, many conversions were traditionally handled, not by the automakers, but outside contractors, which could potentially result in quality and reliability issues, not to mention the fact that such vehicles weren’t backed by the manufacturer’s warranty. However, General Motors is changing all that by performing CNG conversions on it’s full-size vans, the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana in-house.

The vans will be covered by GM’s standard three-year, 36,000 mile  new vehicle warranty and a 100,000 mile, five-year powertrain warranty. In addition, with the CNG conversion, the vans will meet all required CARB, EPA smog requirements as well as federal vehicle safety standards, much like their regular gasoline engined counterparts.

“Our focus from the beginning has been to offer fleet customers a simple ‘check the box’ approach with our CNG Chevrolet Express and Savana vans,” declared Brian Small, general manager, GM Fleet and Commercial Operations.  “Our robust production process is a key enabler and certainly separates us from any competitive offering.”

GM will manufacturer 6.0-liter Vortech V8s for the CNG vans with hardened valves and seats to cope with the gaseous fuel, which will be shipped to the Wentzville, Missouri plant where the vans are built and installed into them, directly on the assembly line.

Part of making effective use of an alternative fuel such as CNG, is being able to successfully store and distribute it and for that, GM has teamed up with Productive Concepts, an Indiana based alternative fuels company, who will also be involved in the engine manufacturing process and helping ensure the required emissions standards are met.

Fiat frenzy is on the horizon and we’re excited for the Fiat 500 to finally come over to America. We imagine it won’t be too long before Abarth renditions are released, regardless, it’s time to shine the spotlight on Fiat/Abarth tuners worldwide.

G-Tech has taken the already hopped-up Abarth 500 and converted it to a 207-hp, 229 ft-lbs of torque street machine. The 1.4L has been beefed up with a Garrett turbo, larger injectors, new spark plugs and cat-back exhaust system. Considering the stock powerplant puts out a meager 135-hp and 152 ft-lbs of torque, we imagine G-Tech’s RS-S Kitted Abarth 500 is a blast to drive.

In addition to the engine mods, G-Tech outfitted their model with some green accents (not our cup of tea, red would definitely be more fitting), 17-inch wheels from OZ Racing and coilovers to adjust the suspension. The only pricing we caught whim of is $37,745 for the complete car as shown here, but we reckon you can order the parts individually.

Check out the video of G-Tech’s Abarth 500 after the break.

[Source: WorldCarFans]

GALLERY: G-Tech Abarth 500 With RS-S Kit

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Potential buyers of Honda and Acura vehicles will now have no reason to buy a lemon after the company agreed to give all recall data to Carfax.

“Recall completion is critically important to us,” said Jim Roach, senior vice president of Parts & Service for American Honda. “By working with Carfax, American Honda provides another way for customers to increase their awareness and need to address recall repairs.”

Carfax, which provides vehicle history information to potential buyers of used cars, is a commonly used tool among used vehicle shoppers. Recall information will be available to Carfax customers upon entering a Honda or Acura VIN number.

[Source: Honda]

Hit the jump to read the official press release

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Subaru has announced pricing for their 2011 Impreza WRX and STI models with the WRX starting at $25, 495 for both the 4-door and 5-door models, while the STI 4-door starts at $33,995, $1,000 less than last year’s 5-door model.

The STI 5-door, now available only in “Limited” trim, will run you $35,995. Big changes for this year include the adoption of the STI’s wide fenders and bumpers as standard on the WRX, and the aforementioned 4-door STI model.

Hit the jump to check out the official press release

[Source: Subaru of America]

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Anticipating a drop in demand, Toyota will begin cutting domestic output starting in October. The sluggish demand is being blamed on the end of a subsidy given out by the Japanese government for purchasing an environmentally friendly vehicle.

While Toyota currently makes about 14,000 vehicles per day, output will fall to under 12,000 vehicles, but was expected to make its yearly target of selling 3.2 million vehicles.

Toyota’s Prius hybrid is currently the best selling vehicle in Japan, and sales will almost certainly be affected by the subsidy’s end.

[Source: Reuters]

Porsche AG says it wants no part in the ever escalating horsepower race, and will instead focus on engineering the vehicle as one unit, taking into account the power, handling and fuel economy aspects to develop world beating vehicles.

“Our engineers are holding back on power – they are looking elsewhere now” for optimum performance, Alexander Schildt, manager-product planning for Porsche Cars North America, told Ward’s Auto. “We want our customers to be able to pull up in front of their children’s schools and not feel like they are causing climate change all by themselves.”

Schildt suggested that Porsche was deliberately holding back power on some engines. He invited journalists to compare the high horsepower being obtained by Mercedes-Benz’s AMG division, and noted that Porsche could easily attain that level, but capped the Panamera Turbo’s output in the low 500-horsepower range.

Reducing weight will become Porsche’s number one priority. With a federally mandated fuel economy target of 35 mpg for their entire fleet, and the need to stay on the edge of the performance envelope, lighter cars will allow Porsche to satisfy both requirements. “Take weight out of a car and it does magic for the handling,” said Schildt. “That’s how we will continue to satisfy our customers.” Schildt also said that hybrids will be a necessary part of Porsche’s future.

[Source: Ward's Auto]

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has mandated that vehicle tire pressures must be checked during routine service and in line with the recommended factory settings.

The initiative comes as part of a bid to cut down on under-inflated tires, which use more fuel and by extension, emit more greenhouse gases. While the law was initiated in 2009, the law was revised to include maintenance shops but exempts auto body shops, auto glass installers, auto dismantlers, and auto parts retailers.

Despite being well intentioned .here are numerous problems with the law; tire pressures can vary based on the weather, how hot or cold the tires are, and customers with nitrogen filled tires can decline the service if the shop doesn’t have a nitrogen re-filling system. The law also smacks of yet another intrusions of an overly paternalistic government. Perhaps if CARB legislators kept their mouths shut, less hot air would escape, leading to a further reduction in emissions.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

The Roush Shelby Mustang SR-71 has finally been officially revealed, and the car looks, well, just like the concept renderings we brought you not long ago. With a supercharged 5.0L V8, full Recaro bucket seats, a custom paint job and a Ford Racing handling pack, this one-off Mustang is like nothing else ever produced. The vehicle will be auctioned off for charity Thursday, July 29th at 7:30 PM (Central Time) at the EAA Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. All proceeds benefit EAA’s (Experimental Aircraft Association) Young Eagles program, a foundation that Ford has supported for the past 15 years.

Gallery: Roush Shelby Mustang SR-71

Hit the jump to read the official press release

[Source: Motorwad]

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A post from a “BMW Insider” on web forum E90 Post is reporting that the BMW Gran Coupe will go into production as a sub model of the 6 Series lineup. An M model as well as an “Active Hybrid” model will be available, and we can expect BMW’s 4.4L twin turbo V8 and twin turbo straight 6 motors to appear as well. The strangest tidbit of news is that a Shooting Brake (think two door station wagon) has been announced as a design study.

We’re not sure why BMW needs yet another model in its lineup, but at least the Gran Coupe is an attractive design. The Gran Coupe is set to bow at this September’s Paris Auto Show, and AutoGuide will be on hand to cover the launch.

[Source: E90 Post]