New Vehicles

Autumn is a grand time to be a gearhead. By fall, most of next year's vehicles are in dealerships and we can finally compare and contrast them for ourselves. No more idle speculation about how much oomph the new Audi will have. No more flame wars in the blogosphere about whether Chevy or Ford makes the most capable pickup.  We invited a quartet of auto experts to discuss some of the new (and imminent) SUVs, crossovers and trucks that have critics raving and drivers craving.

That spare tire in your trunk may be going the way of the typewriter and transistor radio. Automakers are selling more cars without an extra wheel to trim weight, boost gas mileage and shave a few bucks off their costs. What happens if you get a flat? Some manufacturers equip cars with run-flat tires, while others are putting flat repair kits in the trunk. Both alternatives have drawbacks, and many motorists say the trend is unsettling. "I like the security of having a spare.

The road to recovery for U.S. automakers could be jammed with hundreds of thousands of gas-guzzling used cars, which President Obama hopes will be traded in for more fuel-efficient vehicles -- with the lure of government money. So-called cash-for-clunkers programs in Germany and France have worked well this year to spur new car sales. But similar initiatives aimed at reducing smog in Southern California have not fared so well in recent years.

Attention all car buyers: The era of cut-rate financing, generous cash-back offers and big discounts is coming to an end. With the effects of the earthquake in Japan rippling through the industry and causing shortages, prices are rising for both new and used cars, and fewer models and options will be available come summer, especially for the hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles that Japan produces. That's prompted many experts to voice something rarely said in the sales-happy auto industry: With consumers facing the toughest market in recent memory, if you can, put off purchases until things sort out, probably early next year.

So much for the long-held notion that Americans purchase a new car and flip it every three or four years. People who buy new cars are holding on to their vehicles for a record amount of time, an average of almost six years, according to the automotive research firm R.L. Polk & Co. The recent recession has pushed people to hold on to their cars and pay off their loans. In the process, they discovered that their vehicles were more reliable than they might have expected, said Mark Seng, a Polk analyst.

Unlimited mileage . Surely, those are two of the most seductive words you can whisper to anyone contemplating a road trip in a rental car. But leading U.S. rental car companies, looking to cover increased overhead costs, have stopped their whispering and started experimenting with cutbacks in mileage allowances.

While some Americans are congratulating themselves on switching to fuel-sipping cars, their old gas guzzlers just won't die. Lowered trade barriers are giving them new life south of the border. Thousands of used vehicles from as far away as Colorado and Missouri jam tiny car lots and auto salvage yards in this gritty border city. An estimated 25,000 families make a living here hustling U.S. castoffs. Among them is Jose Zavala, a wiry used-car dealer with a trucker's cap and an eye for bargains.

Jovita Marquez and Virginia Villa were among the thousands of Southern California Latinos drawn to La Luz de Oro Corp., whose name means "The Light of Gold." At the company's festive sales rallies--marathon sessions mixing evangelism with secular promises of money, cars and homes--the two women were told they could realize their financial dreams if they invested in the telecommunications company, followed its rules and held on to their faith. But faith has given way to anger.

Is Mercury headed for the junkyard? Speculation is mounting that Ford Motor Co., preoccupied with reviving its Ford and Lincoln brands, might decide to retire the Mercury nameplate rather than spend scarce resources trying to restore its former luster. Despite denials from Ford, the conjecture got a boost last week when Jerome York, a former auto executive and advisor to billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, said shedding the brand would be a smart move for the struggling automaker.