Mercedes was able to boost their sales despite reducing their discounts programs by as much as 15% for every vehicle last month while BMW increased its incentives when you buy a unit by 35%.

Mercedes-Benz outperformed BMW because of the impressive 88% jump in sales by its C-Class. The increased demand for the updated C-Class allowed Mercedes to trim off their incentive programs. BMW on the other is trying to unload their available 3-Series as the brand new model will be rolled out.

BMW did not do bad for October since the sales of the Munich based carmaker went up by 13% or 21,873 units , and 199,552 vehicles turned over to consumers from January thru October. Overall, BMW is still ahead of the race with Mercedes trailing behind selling about 192,695 units for the same period.

How about the other brands in the luxury segment? Former head of the crew Lexus dropped to 3rd place after reigning for eleven years. Lexus chopped off 12% from it incentive program but has seen its sales diving by 14% for October selling 18,092 units.

Cadillac did not do well either. The SRX crossover brought a 13% increase in terms of sales but the CTS sales dwindled by 12%. Consolidating all the numbers, it revealed a drop of 12% in total sales.

The VP for Sales of Cadillac noted that their brand was outspent by Mercedes and BWM in terms of incentives on an average of $800 and $1,500 per vehicle, respectively.

Tip #1 Do Your Homework

Before you even consider purchasing a used vehicle, you should make sure to check Consumer Reports in order to determine which vehicle requires the least maintenance and is the safest to drive. Safety should always be your #1 concern. Along with checking online, going to a car repair shop can be a great help as well.

During your visit, ask whether or not they would be able to inspect the vehicle that you are planning to purchase. Obtain written information regarding how long the inspection will take, how much it will cost and what they will look for when examining the car. Another great question to ask is what vehicles they have most frequently in the shop and what the difficulties are with these vehicles. This will give you more of an idea of the difficulties that arise with different types of cars.

Once the mechanic has examined the vehicle, ask him what the cost will be for any repairs that are necessary. Make sure that you estimate includes the make of the vehicle along with the model and the VIN. Providing the seller with the estimate is a great way to negotiate for a lower price on the car.

Tip #2 Become Familiar with Vehicle and It’s Previous Owner

Sellers who are not attached to any dealership and are selling their private vehicle are typically not required to use a Buyer’s Guide or follow certain other guidelines that dealerships are required to follow. However, using the Buyer’s Guide as a purchasing tool is always a good idea. Request that the seller allow you to bring a mechanic to inspect the vehicle before purchase. If he or she does not agree to this, you should probably move on to another vehicle because you don’t want to purchase a vehicle from someone who seems like they have something to hide. This could wind up costing you significant amounts of money in repairs if the vehicle is not in acceptable condition.

Depending upon the age/mileage on the vehicle, the car may still be covered under a service contract or warranty. However, in some cases, these warranties are not transferable from one owner to another. Make sure that you thoroughly go over the service contract or warranty so that you are familiar with the information.

Depending upon your state of residence, the vehicle may be required to pass inspection before the car is purchased. Make sure that you are familiar with the state’s requirements prior to purchasing a used vehicle.

Tip #3 Conduct a Vehicle Inspection Yourself

According to JuliaCar.com, becoming familiar with what to look for in the vehicle is also a good idea. No one is more concerned about your used car purchase than yourself.

Make sure that you check all systems such as the air conditioner and heater. If you are able, test the vehicle on different terrain and under different weather conditions. Along with adequately examining and testing the vehicle on the road, become familiar with the maintenance record of the car. If the owner is unable to provide copies of the record, go to the repair shop where the car has been worked on and ask them for the information.

But although recovery did not come easy, enough years of low profits and international ridicule seem to have finally gotten across the point to most of the major players on the United States automobile scene. Without discarding the power and roar that American cars have become famous for, many United States automakers are adding the handsome exteriors, luxury interiors, and other relevant details that signify success in today’s automobile industry. Today, there is definitely more than one great reason to buy American cars. Here are a few of my favorites.

American Quality

According to trusted source Consumer Reports magazine, the quality of many American cars is now sufficient to rival even that of many Japanese and German makes. The most recent J. D. Power study on automobile dependability placed the General Motors Buick in a tie with Jaguar for first place, much to the surprise of fierce contenders Toyota and Lexus. Out of the 11 divisions of automobile dependability studied, General Motors placed in the top three of eight divisions. Most other United States automakers have also made huge leaps and bounds toward improving the quality of their recent models. Ford, for instance, is no longer synonymous with Fix Or Repair Daily, and an American car no longer means inferior quality.

American Style

Recent years have seen United States automakers managing to maintain the bossy American style that they are famous for while adding a level of class never before seen in muscular American cars. The Ford Mustang and the Dodge Charger both have classy looks that are uniquely American and unequivocally gorgeous. The Chevy Camaro and the Pontiac G8 are two other models that combine an American blueprint of power and grit with a subtle refinement that beautifully and gracefully rounds out both the exteriors and interiors of the vehicles.

American Savings

Even at raw pricing levels, American models are at least as cheap if not cheaper than similar foreign models. The Ford Fusion and the Chevy Malibu, for instance, have similar price tags as the foreign-made Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. The Ford Fusion, however, comes with a consumer rebate of as much as $3,500. The Chevy Malibu offers zero percent financing. Little details like these are what give the American automobile industry an edge over foreign competitors even in the pricing arena.

American Solidarity

If the quality, style, and savings sections above didn’t lay enough reasons on the table to buy American, consider that both Ford and General Motors have recently begun to offer payment protection plans to their customers. Under these plans, the car payments of customers that lose their jobs will continue to be made by Ford or General Motors for as long as nine to 12 months. In the current harsh economic climate, it is this kind of empathy with the plights of their customers that distinguishes the good automakers from the great ones, and American automakers are definitely some of the greats.

It’s probably one of the most amazing machines ever made, and when you hear it, it sounds like that’s what it’s saying….

“I AM AWASOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!”

Yes, FF, You are!

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Of all the Corvettes, isn’t the ZR1 just pretty?

The new Bentley Azure’s 6.75 liter V8 engine will be able to produce 505 horsepower and 752 pound-feet of torque. For maximum performance, this engine will be paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Although the car will weigh a lot, 3 tons, to be exact, it will be able to sprint within five seconds from zero to a speed of 60 mph.

Recently, it was reported that the production of the large, British four-seater cabriolet was ending due to financial issues. The Azure was produced in the Crewe plant, United Kingdom, and was based on the Arnage Saloon. The latter was assembled by hand. For a while, people thought that the Rolls-Royce Phantom would be able to hog the market of luxury cabriolets. Bentley’s not ready to quit the fight, however, and now the new Azure is clearly underway.

The first generation Azure was built on Continental R platform in 1995. It was also equipped with a 6.75 liter V8 engine which generated 400 horsepower and 645 pound-feet of torque. It was able to sprint to a speed of 62mph in a matter of 6.1 seconds.

The purpose of the showcase was to highlight the vehicle’s charging options. This includes Coulomb’s undisclosed Level 2 home-charging system. The second generation Smart EDs will include 16.5 kWh lithium ion battery packs, a 3kW motor each, and a 3kW on-board charger. According to the press release, the charging system and battery pack were both supplied and developed by Tesla Motors. The vehicle charges for 4 to 6 hours.

The recorded driving range on a full charge is 100 miles. When interviewed, Smart USA VP Derek Kaufman said that he himself drove the Smart ED to a few destinations in the USA. So far, he only received positive feedback. He was very optimistic about the reaction of students in one of the colleges he visited that he said he could have sold 50 units of the Fortwo Smart ED in an hour.

There’s still scarce information about the second generation Smart ED, aside from its powertrain, but it seems like a very eligible first car. The general review is that the Fortwo is perfect for electric drive. Most people who’ve seen it can’t wait to test drive it, themselves.

It seems that the only thing missing for the chop to look “new” enough are Gran Coupe slick mirrors. On a double take, though, it wasn’t much of a change from the previous model.

The 2011 improvement on the concept sounds too much like an attempt to make the present 5-series sleeker with not very original design designations at that. Do any of these “new” features sound familiar to car lovers out there? Spell Maserati and you’re right on the money.

Some consumers think that it might be time for BMW to go back to the board room to rethink their design choices.

On the plus side, though, the chop is said to be roomier than the 6-series model we have today. Introduced in 2004, the previous 6-series model had controversial and extremely aggressive design deviances. The 2011 6-series chop gives more legroom for the passengers (around 5.5 inches increase, to be exact) at the back seats.

The cockpit of this model will also be sportier, with a more driver-oriented layout for the console. BMW is letting go of the awkward trunk design featured in 5-, 6-, and 7-series.

According to Bill Schiering, BMW is opting for a more streamlined chop. Consumers will also be given a choice between 507, 408, and 306 horsepower engines. The 306 horsepower engine will use BMW’s thin turbo inline-6 also found in 335i.