Cars.com Ranks the Most-Improved Cars of the 2000s

Does the term “most improved” come off as a backhanded compliment? We’d like to think not. When Cars.com put together its list of the top 10 most-improved cars of the first decade of the 21st century, we looked at the vehicles that made great leaps, but not just from awful to not-so-awful. We wanted to highlight the cars that moved away from the rest of the herd to the forefront. Check out our winners for the decade’s most-improved vehicles.

Most-Improved Cars of the 2000s (Cars.com)

Cars.com's College Driver's Guide

Every year we have our editorial interns weigh in on what it’s like to be a college-age driver, car owner or perspective buyer. This year, Lauren Makholm and Emily Maters lend their expertise to our College Driver’s Guide. They look at whether college kids need a car, which car deals are available to college students, those must-have car supplies and finally, they tackle the art of the road trip. Check out all of the stories for crucial insight into the world of college-age car ownership.

Related:
Car-Themed Road Trip
Do You Need a Car?
Student Car Deals
Must-Have Car Supplies

Cars.com Demystifies Tires, Motor Oil

Have you ever been confused when buying tires? Have you ever wondered what kind of tires you even have? Cars.com’s Joe Wiesenfelder explains what the complicated code on the sidewalls of your tires means and how it can help you choose the best tires to buy for your vehicle and climate.

And if that's not enough do-it-yourself auto goodness, check out the All About Motor Oil advice page that offers lessons on when to change your oil and how to choose the right oil for your car.

Advice: Owning And Repairing Your Car (Cars.com)

Cars.com Lists Eligible New Cars for Cash for Clunkers

Are you thinking about taking advantage of the government’s new Cash for Clunkers program? Cars.com wants to help you out by listing all eligible new cars, listed according to combined city/highway gas mileage. Check out the list in our Advice section to see if your potential new car made the cut.

Cash for Clunkers: Eligible New Cars by Gas Mileage
Cars.com Guide to Cash for Clunkers

Cars.com Picks 10 Cars for the Next 'Transformers' Movie

Many car fans are eagerly awaiting the June 24 opening of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and all its slick new vehicles transforming into good and evil robots. Thanks to plenty of hype, most of the vehicles are already well-known, but here at Cars.com we got together and thought about what might be missing. What vehicles could make it into the next “Transformers” movie, and which side would they fight for? Check out the story in our Advice section, and feel free to let us know which vehicles you would like to see.

Transformers: 10 Cars We’d Like to See in the Next Movie (Cars.com)

Cars.com Compares Midsize Crossovers

Drivers who need the space and utility of an SUV to accommodate their families but who prefer the handling and better mileage of a car have made midsize crossovers a popular option. In our last look at the midsize crossover category, the Honda Pilot came away from our panel of reviewers triumphant. Now we stack the 2009 Pilot against the 2009 Nissan Murano and Ford Edge Sport. Find out which vehicle excels in which categories, and which took the overall prize.

Cars.comparison: Midsize Crossovers

Which Options Are Worth It?

You don’t buy a car as an investment. Cars depreciate so rapidly that the average five-year-old car is worth only 28.5% of its original value. Non-standard features raise a car’s resale value, though, and some raise it significantly enough that it may be worth adding them just to get a better deal when you finally sell your car. Lucky for you, Cars.com has compiled a list of features that will benefit you the most.

Car Options: Which Ones Are Worth the Investment? (Cars.com)

Cars.com Rolls Out 2010 Model Year Preview

Despite an adverse year for the auto industry and mounting challenges as automakers attempt to recover, there are still plenty of excellent and interesting vehicles hitting dealer lots for the 2010 model year. Cars.com offers a comprehensive look at all the new vehicles coming to dealerships in this comprehensive preview for 2010.

2010 Model Year Preview

Cars.com Ranks the Greenest Cities

How does a car consumer website rank the greenest cities in the country? In Cars.com’s case, we measure the interest each locality expresses in hybrid vehicles. We built the list by evaluating the number of searches for hybrid vehicles as a percentage of overall car searches in each market.

The rankings aren’t very surprising. Hewing to stereotypes, the West Coast and Pacific Northwest had the greatest interest in hybrid vehicles, while the Deep South hardly expressed any interest in driving hybrids.

Also, college towns tend to rank high on the list of cities with an interest in greener cars. The Universities of Virginia, Florida and Wisconsin seem to have raised the interest in hybrid vehicles in their respective homes of Charlottesville, Va.; Gainsville, Fla.; and Madison, Wis., putting those cities toward the top of the list.

Read after the jump to find out the 10 cities most interested in hybrids and the 10 cities that couldn’t care less.

The Weekend Athlete Compares Compact Cars

Compact cars usually garner attention for their low price tags and advantageous fuel economy numbers, but our Weekend Athlete, Bill Jackson, wants to put the spotlight on the utilitarian side of these vehicles. With this in mind, he lined up three of the most popular compacts: The Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris. Which vehicle best matches utility with economy? Read this Cars.comparison to find out.

Cars.comparison: Weekend Athlete Cars