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Hertz's partnership with Amazon is another step in the e-commerce giant's slow march into auto sales. The deal could be a boon for the rental car giant, which is trying to sell more of its cars directly to consumers. Some experts say the shift toward direct online sales, especially involving e-commerce giants like Amazon, could spell trouble for dealerships, possibly even large publicly traded companies such as AutoNation, Group1, Sonic Automotive, Penske, and Asbury. Wholesale auction companies such as Manheim and AVC are also liable to be watching the shift, as direct to consumer sales could threaten their inventories. Why...

In today’s environment, buying a new car has become a stretch for many households - fueling demand in the used-car market. But not all used vehicles are created equal, and reliability plays a major role in long-term ownership costs.For buyers looking to avoid expensive repairs down the road, brand reputation is more important than ever.In this graphic, Visual Capitalist's Marcus Lu ranked the best used-car brands of 2025, using data from Consumer Reports.Data & MethodologyTo come up with these reliability scores, Consumer Reports asked its members to report how many problems they’ve had with their vehicles over the past 12...

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: California Governor Gavin Newsom claimed the Democrats have become "toxic" and need to reach out to the Republicans in search of common ground on issues on the Friday, March 28 episode of 'Real Time with Bill Maher'. The Democratic politician recently launched a podcast, 'This is Gavin Newsom', where he has invited far-right guests such as Steve Bannon and Charlie Kirk. Newsom told Bill Maher that he was attempting to open dialogue between the political left and the right and praised the host for agreeing to meet President Donald Trump at the White House for a...

The fundamental problem is this: electronic technology advances far too rapidly to be something that gets permanently integrated into a car that you may want to own for more than, say, five years or so. There’s nothing that ages an otherwise perfectly-fine car more dramatically than integrated technology that was cutting-edge when the car was new.

"What's the best car?" Getting asked that question is an occupational hazard in this business. (And, yes, we realize that it's not actually hazardous, at least compared with the occupational dangers faced by, say, ironworkers who build skyscrapers or zookeepers who feed lions.) When you drive and test hundreds of cars every year—as our editorial team collectively does—it's a natural query. And our annual 10Best awards provide the answer. Since 1983, we've been conducting this exercise: We identify the very best of what's available, not merely our favorite new models introduced for a given year. An onslaught of new or...

The small South Caucasus nation of Georgia has become a multi-billion dollar hub for the international used car market. The vehicles are mostly sourced from the US, and many appear to be ending up in Russia. Equivalent in size to more than 40 football pitches, it hosts thousands of vehicles up for sale. He says that his company has responded to “a lot of demand for Western-produced vehicles”. Today the firm has 600 employees.

My friend's truck sustained a lot of damage from an exploding tire. She can't afford to fix it. I thought she should look for a hatchback car instead of a truck, as it would be cheaper. What would be some decent hatchbacks which would carry plenty of cargo and give her several years, at least, of service? How should she further research cars? I was lucky, inheriting all my father's used cars until I finally bought my present car, which I bought new. So I don't have much experience in buying used cars or where to find a good one.

Wholesale used car prices dropped by 4.2 percent from May to June, marking the largest monthly decrease since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index (MUVVI). The index, which is a measurement of wholesale prices of used vehicles, also saw a drop of 10.3 percent from a year ago. “The 4.2 percent drop is among the largest declines in MUVVI history and the largest decline since the start of the pandemic in April 2020 when the index plunged 11.4 percent,” Chris Frey, senior manager of economic and industry insights for Cox Automotive, said...

People living in the east of Russia have once again been targeted in a television and radio hack, apparently suggesting they had been subject to a nuclear attack. It is the third time media stations in the country have broadcast hoax warnings in just over two weeks. Today’s message, however, included a chilling new detail – an instruction for those listening to ‘take potassium iodide pills’, which are typically used in radiation emergencies. ‘Seal the premises. Use gas masks of all types. In the absence of gas masks, use cotton-gauze bandages.’ Screens also flashed up with a black and yellow...

Used car prices have soared, recording the largest February increase in 14 years, according to reports. The spike in prices comes as inflation continues to drive consumer prices. Wholesale used-vehicle prices increased 4.1 percent from January through the first half of this month, signifying the largest February increase since 2009’s full-month 4.4 percent gain, according to the mid-month Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index from Cox Automotive. This comes just a month after markets were hit with a massive rise in used car prices, according to the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index. The used vehicle index rose to 234.0, down 7.3...

Idaira Chavez is just the type of car buyer that BlackRock’s new social-impact fund might have had in mind when it bought a stake in Tricolor Auto Group. Tricolor gave Chavez, 21, a loan to buy a 2012 Kia Optima off one of its lots earlier this year. She needed the car to get to her job at a Dallas pet store after she moved to a nearby suburb. ... But Chavez says being a Tricolor customer hasn’t made her life any better: A few months after buying her car from the company in January, the vehicle stopped working and...

With soaring borrowing costs, the Federal Reserve has slammed the brakes on the once-booming used car market. The latest data on wholesale used-vehicle prices show October's decline on a year-over-year basis was the worst since the financial crisis over a decade ago. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index for October declined to 200, or about 10.6%, the worst decline since December 2008 when the global economy was melting down (and the 5th largest decline ever)... The Fed's rapid pace of rate hikes this year is slowing demand, as Edmunds data showed the average annual percentage rate on used-car loans was...

Thousands of cars are damaged or destroyed by floods every year, but don’t assume all those vehicles end up in a junkyard. Some are repaired and resold in other parts of the country without the buyer being aware of the car’s waterlogged history. In fact, Carfax says were 378,000 flooded cars were back on the roads in 2021, and Hurricane Ian is certain to see many more damaged cars added to the high-demand used-car market. (snip)

High prices and rising interest rates are putting used cars out of reach for a growing number of car shoppers. That’s bad news for CarMax, the nation’s largest used car dealer. CarMax reported Thursday that its earnings plunged 54% as the number of cars it sold in the quarter fell 6.4% compared to a year ago. The company blamed “vehicle affordability challenges that stem from widespread inflationary pressures, as well as climbing interest rates and low consumer confidence.” Although higher prices lifted the company’s overall revenue, the results were well below forecasts from analysts surveyed by Refinitiv. That set off...

Prepare for an exploding supply of used automobiles… And like most economic disruptions these days, it’ll be thanks to the pandemic.COVID-19 brought about never-imagined lifestyle changes. Families that used to live in crowded apartments and concrete jungles made the move to suburban areas with yards and trees. And trains, subways, and shuttle buses were no longer reliable forms of transportation.Everyone needed cars.This change in demand (along with global supply-chain issues) made cars a precious commodity. Prices nearly doubled as a result.But recent indicators show the car market’s strength is starting to fade. And for the first time in years, prices...

It’s been a challenging year for consumers. And with the highest inflation in four decades, some are paring back spending on big-ticket items, such as used automobiles. After jumping 90%, since the start of the virus pandemic, used car prices are cooling as buyers balk due to affordability issues stemming from soaring interest rates. Outside of the COVID shock and Great Financial Crisis of 2008/09, the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, a wholesale tracker of used car prices, printed the most significant monthly decline in terms of rate of change averaged out over three months in April at 6.4%. It...

U.S. companies has struggled with supply chain congestion, bottlenecks, and the inability to adequately re-stock certain items that roiled the automotive industry. As a result, new car production has been hindered as consumers panic bought used cars, sending prices sky-high. On Feb. 9, we outlined a major inflection point for the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, a wholesale tracker of used car prices, possibly topping as peak supply chain constraints had passed and more parts would be readily available for automakers to restart and or increase output for new vehicles. At the time, we said this could reverse used car...

Photo: Honda Both the new and used car market is a hot mess right now, and will be for sometime. Just how hot of a mess are we talking? Well, a writer for The Verge managed to sell his 2014 Honda Fit to Carvana sight-unseen for $20,905—$90.20 more than he paid for it brand new off a dealer lot. That’s a mighty caliente market. How could such an old car possibly be worth more today than when it had 23 miles and still smelled like plastic? How could a company that buys such cars at such high prices before even...

Another month, another record (see prior records: here & here). New data shows used car prices continued to soar in the first half of December, suggesting inflation has been anything but transitory. The Manheim Index, the most recognized wholesale used-vehicle price index by financial and economic analysts, reported that the wholesale used car index rose 3.1% in the first 15 days of December compared to November. The overall index has jumped a mindboggling 48.9% from December 2020.“On a year-over-year basis, all major market segments saw seasonally adjusted price gains through the first 15 days of December. Pickups had the smallest...

The cost of driving in America is accelerating–and not just because gas prices are up 60 percent from last year. The prices of new cars and trucks jumped a seasonally adjusted 1.4 percent in October and another 1.2 percent in November, data from the Department of Labor’s Consumer Price Index showed Friday. Compared with a year ago, prices are up 11.1 percent. That’s the fastest annual pace of inflation for vehicles since 1975.