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U.S. new-vehicle sales in 2018 rise slightly to 17.27 million [UPDATE]

DETROIT — Sales of new vehicles in the U.S. rose slightly in 2018, defying predictions and highlighting a strong economy. Automakers reported an increase of 0.3 percent over a year ago to 17.27 million vehicles. The increase came despite rising interest rates, a volatile stock market, and rising car and truck prices that pushed some buyers out of the new-vehicle market. Industry analysts and automakers said strong economic fundamentals pushed up sales and should keep them near historic highs in 2019. "Economic conditions in the U.S. are favorable and should continue to be supportive of vehicle sales at or around their current run rate," Ford Chief Economist Emily Kolinski Morris said after the company and other automakers announced their sales numbers Thursday. That auto sales remain near the 2016 record of 17.55 million is a testimonial to the strength of the economy, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. The job market, he said, has created new employment, and wage growth has accelerated. "That's fundamental to selling anything," he said. "If there are lots of jobs and people are getting bigger paychecks, they will buy more." The unemployment rate is 3.7 percent, a 49-year low. The economy is thought to have grown close to 3 percent last year, its best performance in more than a decade. Consumers, the main driver of the economy, are spending freely. The Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate four times in 2018 but is only expected to raise it twice this year. Auto sales also were helped by low gasoline prices and rising home values, Zandi said. It all means that people are likely to keep buying new vehicles this year even as they grow more expensive. The Edmunds.com auto-pricing site estimates that the average new vehicle price hit a record $35,957 in December, about 2 percent higher than the previous year. It will be harder for automakers to keep the sales pace above 17 million because they have been enticing buyers for several years now with low-interest financing and other incentives, Zandi said. He predicts more deals in the coming year as job growth slows and credit tightens for higher-risk buyers. Edmunds, which provides content, including automotive tips and reviews, for distribution by The Associated Press, predicts that sales will drop this year to 16.9 million.

What's in a trademark? Sometimes, the next iconic car name

The United States Patent and Trademark Office is a treasure trove for auto enthusiasts, especially those who double as conspiracy theorists.
Why has Toyota applied to trademark "Supra," the name of one of its legendary sports cars, even though it hasn't sold one in the United States in 16 years? Why would General Motors continue to register "Chevelle" long after one of the most famous American muscle cars hit the end of the road? And what could Chrysler possibly do with the rights to "313," the area code for Detroit?

2017 Buick LaCrosse an evolution of sharp Avenir concept

After years as a bloated, uninspiring, but comfortable near-premium sedan, Buick has taken the wraps off a leaner, lither, far more stylish LaCrosse. The third-generation model has just made its debut at the 2015 Los Angeles Motor Show. While there's a lot to talk about, let's first address the new, Avenir-inspired sheetmetal. The fascia is basically the concept car smoothed over into production form, featuring the same winged trishield. In place of the chrome-trimmed waterfall, the LaCrosse gets a blacked-out, recessed grille with a chrome surround. It looks good in photos but it's better in person, adding a real sense of complexity and depth to the front end. The headlights and lower fascia, meanwhile, adhere closely to the concept. The same cannot be said of the LaCrosse's tail. While the taillight lighting pattern is similar, the overall shape of the lighting element is radically different, refining the design featured on the back of the Regal. Also gone, sadly, is the Avenir's boattail rear deck. Instead, the LaCrosse gets a small rear deck that curves up into a pleasant duckbill spoiler. The rest of the tail is pleasantly restrained. Perhaps the weakest point is the profile, where Buick has instituted a "split-spear" design, featuring a strong shoulder line above the rear wheel well, which sits below an even stronger character line that curves down and towards the front of the car. It strikes us as just a little too much, like the Impala. Underneath that sheetmetal, Buick has managed to trim nearly 300 pounds of body fat, nearly half of which came from the vehicle's actual structure. That 300 lbs, according to Buick's engineers, is equivalent to a Kenmore side-by-side refrigerator, in case you needed a helpful comparison. Despite the weight savings, Buick has upped the torsional rigidity for this new model by 15 percent. The LaCrosse's cabin features a strong, cockpit-like design, with a high, floating-bridge center console. This is possible due to Buick's adaption of the Electronic Precision Shift system, introduced earlier this month on the new Cadillac XT5. Despite the new-fangled console design, Buick's retained the wraparound cabin style introduced on the second-gen model. Based on a quick crawl around the interior, space is great in front, although ingress in back is somewhat difficult due to the roofline. You're probably wondering why we haven't said anything about the mechanicals just yet.