By Laura T. Coffey

The economy is in the toilet, the job market is disheartening and many of us don?t have a lot of extra cash to spare. Under circumstances like these, how can you extend the life of your vehicle and steer clear of costly repairs?

Fortunately for all of us, Csaba Csere has plenty of smart advice to share in this arena. The former editor-in-chief of Car and Driver magazine offered up the following suggestions to help motorists retain value for their wheels and avoid unexpected, high-dollar surprises.

1. Don?t let your owner?s manual sit neglected in your glove compartment. Instead, crack it open and spend a few minutes reviewing the recommended maintenance schedule for your particular vehicle. ?Follow it religiously and use quality oil, fluids and parts,? Csere advised.

2. Don?t overwork a cold car. ?You don?t need to engage in a lengthy warm-up, but drive moderately until the engine is approaching operating temperature,? Csere said.

3. Check out your ?check engine? light. It?s quite common for drivers to ignore ?check engine? lights when they turn on. People also can go into prolonged states of denial about strange noises and smells coming from their vehicles. Even if money is tight, it?s worth it to get these issues checked out by a reputable mechanic. ?None of these things will go away by themselves, and a repair later is likely to be more expensive than a repair now,? Csere said.

4. Protect your car from the damaging effects of the sun. Whenever possible, park your vehicle in the shade or inside a garage. By making that extra effort, you?ll safeguard your car?s paint and interior.

5. Check your oil and coolant regularly. By doing this, you?ll find out about leaks sooner rather than later, and you?ll sidestep the problems that can be caused by low levels. As referenced in Tip No. 1, regular, timely oil changes can help you avoid costly repairs.

6. Check your tire pressure regularly. Proper tire inflation will help the tires handle better and last longer, and it will help you get the most out of a tank of gas. It?s also a good idea to have your tires checked for wear regularly.

7.Pay attention to the way you drive. Aggressive driving, hard stopping, accelerating to stops and riding the brakes or clutch can make almost everything on your vehicle wear out early and also can hurt your fuel economy.

8. Reduce the number of short trips you make. ?Cold starts cause the most wear on your engine,? Csere noted. One way to avoid an unnecessary number of cold starts and save fuel at the same time is to run errands with efficiency. Try saving all your errands for one morning or afternoon and planning out your trip ahead of time. Consolidate drives to locations that are close to each other. If possible, park your car in one spot and walk when you get there.

9. Do you have a brand-new vehicle? If so, it?s a good idea to follow its break-in recommendations with care. ?An oil change at 1,000 miles, whether recommended or not, is a good idea to make sure that any impurities left over from manufacturing don?t spend too much time in your engine,? Csere said.

10. Keep it clean. You?ll help your vehicle retain its value and appeal if you clean it regularly, both inside and out. ?Sap, road tar and salt can all make your paint deteriorate more rapidly,? Csere noted. Regular waxing also can help your paint job hold up nicely and can stave off rust and other unsightly blemishes.

In a chilling story, of which details are still emerging, a 45-year-old Swedish man has been found alive after being stranded in his snow-covered car near the Arctic Circle for a reported two months. He survived without food, but was apparently able to melt snow for water. According to authorities, men on snowmobiles were traveling through the forest in Sweden's northern town of Umea when they came across a vehicle buried in the snow. Being nearly a mile from the main road, they cleared the windows to peer inside and were shocked to see a man huddled in a sleeping bag on the back seat. Rescue services soon arrived, in tracked vehicles, to bring the seriously emaciated man to the hospital. Since the rescued man is barely able to speak, the medical staff has estimated that he was trapped in the vehicle for about two months â?? about as long as a human can survive without food. Despite temperatures plunging a low as -22 degrees Fahrenheit, the vehicle and its thick layer of snow apparently helped to protect him from the extreme weather. The man is currently recovering in an intensive care unit at UmeÃ¥ University Hospital.

General Motors is thinking long term for its back-seat entertainment. It worked with students from the Future Lab at Bezalel Academy of Art and Design in Israel to develop apps that run on a car's rear side windows. The project, called Windows of Opportunity, was inspired by studies that say passengers often feel disconnected from their environments. GM asked the students to design interactive displays for children that would stimulate awareness, nurture curiosity and encourage a connection with the outside world. The students had free reign on the project, without worrying about cost or scale. GM says it has no immediate plans to put the displays in production vehicles. The students produced a full-scale functional prototype of a rear seat and window. They used motion and optical sensors developed by EyeClick to turn the window glass into an iPad-like multitouch and gesture-sensitive surface. The first app called Otto projects an animated character over passing scenery that responds to the car's performance, weather and landscape. With Otto, according to GM, passengers can learn about their environment in playful ways. Foofu allows passengers to create, explore and discover by finger drawing on fake window steam. Spindow is a link to other people's interactive windows around the globe in real time. The future could see kids talking to each other and joining in on multiplayer games. Pond is an app that lets passengers stream and share music with other cars on the road, download tracks and share messages with other passengers on the road. GM says that if interactive windows were put into automotive production they would use electrically charged smart glass that is capable of various states of translucence and transparency and can reflect projected images. "Projects like this are invaluable, because working with designers and scholars from outside of the automotive industry brings fresh perspective to vehicle technology development," said Omer Tsimhoni, lab group manager for human-machine interface at the GM Advanced Technical Center in Israel.

We have a hard time imagining anyone would find the Smart ForTwo uncomfortably large or the Scion iQ too big for their needs, but a group of businessmen in the UK believe there's a market for even smaller transportation. The group has resurrected the Peel brand, and the manufacturer is now accepting orders for both the P50 and the Trident. Both models will launch with a 49 cc two-stroke gasoline engine making just 3.35 horsepower, but buyers will also be able to choose one of two electric motors as well. A brushless electric motor producing 1.6 horsepower and 2.5 pound-feet of torque can propel either vehicle to a golf-cart rivaling 15 mph. So equipped, the P50 and Trident deliver an operating range of around 50 miles. A more potent 4-horsepower motor is also available, which propels the three wheelers to a top speed of 50 mph with the same range. Both Peel models are limited to 28 mph. With the Trident weighing just 130 pounds and the P50 tipping the scales at a slightly heavier 198 pounds, even the most atrophied among us should be able to drag the machines into a convenient parking space or elevator. As of the time of writing, only 9 of the 50 first limited edition Peel models remain available. Prices start at around $10,772, but if you want one, you'll need to place a $1,546 deposit.

I purchased a vehicle in April 2011 from Hakim, from start to finish of the sale the customer service was excellent. The day after Christmas my key broke, and within 2 hours Hakim had arranged for a locksmith to come to my home and cut me a new one. In my opinion that is above and beyond customer service considering most dealers would have said tough luck. I will never purchase another vehicle from any other dealer. I highly recoment West County Auto to anyone who his looking for a quality vehicle at a good price and top notch customer service. Ask for Hakim and you will be very happy!

As we prepare to flip our calendars from 2011 to 2012, it's time to say goodbye to a handful of vehicles that are being sent to the Great Parking Lot In The Sky before the 2012 model year completely takes hold. And while we're not exactly upset about having to bid farewell to things like the Mitsubishi Endeavor, Mazda Tribute or Chevrolet HHR, there are a few vehicles that we're truly going to miss. The Mazda RX-8, for example, has grown to be one of our favorite sports cars since its introduction in 2003. We love its lightweight construction, high-revving rotary engine and surprisingly functional suicide door design. It's kind of like a Miata with a roof and rear seats. Speaking of the Miata, Tesla's two-seat Roadster - the automaker's first production vehicle - proved to us that open-top motoring can be thrilling even with a stack of batteries driving the wheels. We'll miss the Honda Element and its rugged, utilitarian nature. We'll miss the Volvo V50 and its capacious cargo area made for Ikea runs. And we'll really miss those large lords of luxury, the Cadillac DTS and Ford Crown Victoria. We've already said goodbye to the faithful but overripe Ford Ranger, and as ridiculous as the BMW X6 ActiveHybrid was, it was a shockingly good-to-drive electrified crossover.

The next in the never-ending list of 'OTYs comes courtesy of Motor Trend and the buff book's crowning of the 2012 Ford F-150 as its Truck of the Year. Aside from the expansive list of standard and optional features, the F-150's general fitment and polish, and Ford's claim that you can spec your workhorse in one of 650,000 different varieties, what seemed to win over the Motor Trend crew more than anything else was its drivetrain. And one engine in particular. While the 5.0-liter V8 was a favorite, after all the judges sampled a Platinum EcoBoost SuperCrew variant fitted with the twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6, the vote was unanimous. The combination of 365 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque, along with commendable - if not world-beating - fuel economy and 11,300-pound towing capacity was enough to put the EcoBoost over the top.

For Best Used Car Prices, Buy During Holiday Season

• By Colin Aylesworth
• 11:05AM Dec 02, 2011

If you're looking to purchase a used car in the near future, CarGurus, a car research and shopping site, says that now is the time to get the best deal, rather than waiting for the hustle and bustle of the holiday season to subside. According to a recent press release, the "CarGurus" Used Car Price Index data shows used car prices typically hit their lowest average of the year in the period between Thanksgiving and the first week of January, before rapidly correcting by February as demand comes back in the New Year." Kelley Blue Book makes a similar recommendation about buying a used car now, rather than later. They expect there to be fewer leases and trade-ins, so as the demand for used cars continues to increase without a gain in supply, prices will climb. CarGurus Founder and CEO Langley Steinert attributes the price drop to relatively low demand during the holiday season. With lower demand for used cars, dealers will likely be more generous in their negotiations in order to make sales. "However," Steinert says, "demand will come roaring back in the New Year, and dealers will be quick to adjust their prices." Data provided by CarGurus shows that in 2010, used car prices dropped 3.4 percent during the holiday season, and started rising again Jan. 8. In 2011, analysts found that used car prices dropped by 2.7 percent between late-August and Nov. 22, and are projected to decline another 2 percent by Jan. 8.

It was just a few months ago that Nissan announced it had sold over 10,000 all-electric Leaf electric cars around the world. Speaking before the start of the Tokyo Motor Show today, company officials confirmed to Autoblog that the automaker has sold over 20,000 Leafs since the electric car went on sale in December of 2010. Of that total, over 60 percent of the roughly 9,000 Leafs sold in the U.S. so far this year (we'll get specific numbers later this week) have found homes in California. Furthermore, Nissan is on track to eclipse 10,000 Leafs sold in the U.S. by the end of the year - perfectly in line with what the automaker expected.

A recent study conducted by the Highway Loss Data Institute claims that hybrid vehicles do a better job of protecting their occupants in accidents compared with their conventional gas-powered twins. "On average, the odds of being injured in a crash are 25 percent lower for people in hybrids than people traveling in nonhybrid models," the HLDI reports. The main reason the HLDI says hybrids are safer for passengers is that they typically weigh more than their gas-powered siblings due to their heavy battery packs. "For instance, a Toyota Highlander Hybrid weighs about 4,500 pounds compared to 4,170 pounds for the gas-powered Highlander," Kicking Tires reports. "The extra mass gives the weightier vehicle an advantage in a crash because it will push a smaller, lighter car backward on impact, according to IIHS."

The HLDI, which is an affiliate of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, says that it comes down to physics. ?In a collision involving two vehicles that differ in size and weight, the people in the smaller, lighter vehicle will be at a disadvantage,? the HLDI says. The HLDI study analyzed gas-only vehicles with a hybrid sibling, so hybrids like the Toyota Prius weren?t included because they have no gas-only version.

Despite doing a better job of protecting occupants in a crash compared with their gas-only siblings, the HLDI says that hybrid cars can be more dangerous for pedestrians. Hybrid vehicles are up to 20 percent more likely to be involved in a crash with a pedestrian compared with their gas-powered counterparts.

?At low speeds in densely built areas, hybrid cars and pure electric vehicles rely on electric propulsion,? MSNBC reports. ?That makes them much quieter than gas-powered cars, posing a risk to pedestrians.?