Car Reviews and Automotive Information

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Cars: Buy, Sell, Repair, Maintain and Learn about Autos

Everyone from the greasiest gearhead to the automotive layman will benefit from the Web's easy-to-use resources on cars. Research tools and classified listings abound for the car buyer: for the eager reader, breaking automotive news, commentary, and perspective via magazines and blogs, will keep you entertained and informed. Learn about these resources and more in the findingDulcinea Car Guide.

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Car Reviews and Automotive Information

Next time you're in the market for a new car, treat the Web as your definitive research source. Determining car valuation, reading expert reviews, comparing financing plans, and accessing important safety information takes only a click of the mouse. You have the best chance of making a smart purchase if you have access to relevant, authoritative automotive information.

Dulcinea's Insight

The following sites are rich with articles and features to help grow your understanding of the car market. Give each a thorough surf to reveal the breadth of their content.

BusinessWeek’s Web site has a helpful video with tips for online car shopping.

Some nontraditional sources have car reviews worth checking out. For instance, Newsweek's "Road Test" reviews a new car weekly, and there are plenty of blogs that conduct reviews independently. For more on auto blogs, check out the “Auto News and Commentary” section of this guide.

Whenever reading car reviews, it helps to understand the relationship between the reviewer and the car reviewed. Biases can be the result of corporate affiliation or individual preferences.

Dulcinea's Picks

For auto reviews …

CarAndDriver.com is the online home of Car and Driver magazine. The site is pretty extensive, with a host of feature articles and multimedia resources, but for your car research purposes its strengths are the expert reviews, buying guides, and road test/comparison summaries. The buyer's guide offers a variety of services. For new cars you can read detailed reviews. For old cars you can access the Kelley Blue Book values, do a free CARFAX Record check, and much more.

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Autosite is an automotive research Web site with car reviews, price listings, and free quotes. Reviews for new cars are extremely thorough, covering nuts and bolts issues, design, safety and technology, vehicle specifications, and more. Most vehicle summaries include detailed price breakdowns with and without options, photo galleries, and car comparisons. If you're looking for a used car you can check the local inventory by specifying a desired location and model. Unfortunately the resulting descriptions range in quality from moderate to skimpy.

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Consumer Reports magazine has long been an authoritative source for car reviews and comparisons. Vehicles are subjected to rigorous testing in Consumer Reports laboratories, and the results, along with other substantial buyer resources, are published in print and online. This site is great for model reviews, pricing and reliability information, and reviews of car tires and accessories. To access Consumer Reports' expert content, you'll need to subscribe ($5.95 per month, $26 per year).

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MotorTrend.com is the site operated by the magazine of the same name. The first thing you’ll notice is the annoying homepage video that you have to pause if you want to shut off the audio. Don’t let it deter you; MotorTrend.com is a quality source of car reviews and research, auto news, multimedia entertainment, community interaction, and editorials.

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Motor Books is one of the world's premier publishers of automotive books. On the site you can browse an impressively large collection of books, sorted by topic, with the option of buying. You’ll also find calendars, DVDs, videos, and posters for sale.

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U.S. News & World Report US News & World Report created this new, yet very informative site of rankings, reviews and prices for cars. The site is based on the peer analysis that made U.S. News famous for its college rankings. Use this site to find rankings like, “Best Luxury Large Cars,” and “Best Hybrid Cars.” Also, read an article about U.S. News’ new car rankings endeavor here.

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For car valuation information and more …

Kelley Blue Book (KBB) is the largest automobile appraiser in the United States, and their Web site should be your first stop when looking for the valuation of new and used cars. The site is essentially a buyer's guide, with tools to help visitors determine which car is the best fit, and articles that cover financing issues and how to get the best value from a car over time. The "reviews and ratings" section lets you access KBB reviews.

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For auto safety information ...

The National Highway Traffic Saftey Administration 's official Web site has important vehicle safety and driving information. In the "Vehicles and Equipment" section you can read technical service bulletins, access recall information, or get safety advice on items like seat belts, air bags, brakes, tires, and more.

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SaferCar.gov is a site operated by the NHTSA. The site is broken into three sections, which makes finding relevant information simple. In the "Equipment and Safety" area there's information that addresses child seats, electronic stability control, tires, air bags, rollovers, and hybrid cars. In the Five Star Crash Test and Rollover Ratings" section you can review results from these tests since 1990. Finally, the "Defects and Recalls" portion provides visitors with an outlet for voicing complaints or reviewing recall information.v

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