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Report: New-vehicle purchase price on the rise

The average purchase price of a new car is on the rise, according to a recent report from automotive analysts at truecar.com. The average transaction price for passenger cars and trucks in the United States was $31,087 last month, up $339 from March 2012. Transaction price, or the out-the-door price, includes taxes, titles and fees.

BMW i Genius could replace a car salesman – if it actually worked.

Text you i3 or i8 question to BMW i Genius and get a proper salesman’s reply The cars sales market is moving online more and more with many buyers using the interwebs for all their new car research, and a growing number actually buying cars directly from their devices. Now it seems that BMW are looking for a new way to sell their new range of electric cars – the BMW i3 and BMW i8 – which are about to hit the road and offer car buyers the first chance to jump in to a ‘Premium’ EV. So with a new market place potentially opening up, BMW has already appointed ‘i Geniuses’ at many of their UK dealerships to answer buyers’ question on the i3 and i8, and now they’re going a step further in a move that looks set to undermine, or even replace, BMW car salesmen (and women).

Mercedes launch new 9G-Tronic gearbox on E350 BlueTec

New Mercedes E350 BlueTec (pictured) gets 9-speed 9G-TRONIC auto It’s not exactly a million years ago that automatic gearboxes offered poorer performance and economy than manual gearboxes, and came as standard with just three gears. But now, automatic gearboxes are so good they can  change quicker than any driver and, with the proliferation of eight-speed auto ‘boxes, offer improved economy and performance too. The next logical step is even more ratios in an auto ‘box, and Land Rover has already revealed they’ll be fitting the Evoque with a 9-speed ZF ‘box from 2014, and the new Jeep Grand Cherokee gets a nine-speed auto ‘box too.