green living, smart spending
Seats five, gets 40 mpg highway and 28 city, has a fun, sporty driving feel, a top safety rating, and a base price of $16,500. Even the fully-loaded top-of-the-line model clocks in at just $22,500. No wonder the Ford Focus is one of the bright stars in the Ford garage. The Ford Focus has been
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Some people say it’s funny looking, but there’s nothing funny about the price of the 2011 Nissan Juke crossover — $19,570 MSRP for a model with the handline and perfomance of a sports car and the cargo space of an SUV. The 2011 Nissan Juke offers a sporty driving position and handling, thanks to a
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Price, fuel efficiency, US government safety ratings, depreciation and residual value, and warranty coverage all determine whether a vehicle is a good buy. NADA Guides, a top provider of vehicle information and pricing, scores hundreds of vehicles each model year to determine the Best Car Buys. Here’s the 2011 list for the most popular car
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Fuel efficient, fun to drive, starting price of just $15,800. No wonder nearly half of all Mazda models sold in North America are the Mazda3, which has been racking up awards — the latest of which is as a “top safety pick” by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), for achieving the highest crash
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The all-new 2011 Kia Optima has been collecting notable awards that would be impressive even for a sedan that costs a good bit more than this class-leading, family friendly, fuel efficient sedan with a starting price of $18,995. Most important for my money is that the 2011 Kia Optima is the first Korean-built vehicle to
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Simply, the 2011 VW Jetta is great car. This is a family-friendly, budget-friendly sedan that does double duty as a peformance sedan. This all-new, redesigned model is precision German engineering and safety features, lots of cabin and cargo space, and what I call ‘creature features’. Combine that with fuel economy of up to 42
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The all-new 2011 Chevrolet Cruze is a best buy for offering the interior space and amenities of a mid-size car with the fuel economy of a compact or hybrid and impressive safety features, at a starting price of $16,995, plus it is fun to drive and is good-looking, too. Now that I have your attention:
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Summer vacations with Fido, Fluffy and maybe the kids, too, can stress out the budget. There’s a growing list of pet friendly hotels, especially in the budget category that will help stretch your travel dollars. Motel 6 earns its ‘four paw’ rating by welcoming pets at each and every one of its 900-plus locations. One
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