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Report: New-vehicle purchase price on the rise

The average purchase price of a new car is on the rise, according to a recent report from automotive analysts at truecar.com. The average transaction price for passenger cars and trucks in the United States was $31,087 last month, up $339 from March 2012. Transaction price, or the out-the-door price, includes taxes, titles and fees.

Industry pulse: NHTSA administrator David Strickland talks distracted driving

Editor's note: In an exclusive interview with National Highway Traffic Safety Administration administrator David Strickland, Melanie Batenchuk of Be Car Chic asked about distracted driving and the agency's combined efforts with the Department of Transportation to curb this bad behavior. David Strickland has been championing safer, distraction-free driving since the beginning of his tenure at NHTSA in January 2010. Strickland has been working tirelessly toward this goal alongside stakeholders such as Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, private-sector executives, automobile manufacturers and safety advocacy groups.

Fight parking tickets with the Fixed app

There are those among us, brave warriors in our midst, who battle the demonic and convoluted forces of parking enforcement every chance we get. For innocent victims of bureaucracy, accused perpetrators of victimless crimes who are held hostage by our wallets, we have a new weapon on our side: an app called Fixed that's potentially too good to be true. How this latest San Francisco-based startup app works: first, you take a picture of your parking ticket -- ignoring the nagging voice in your head that says a 13-year old neckbeard hacker from R