We Aim to Be the **Dumpster of Automotive Podcasts

Auto makers and car dealers ended the year with a bang, as sales rose 9% compared with last year and 19% over November. The month capped a comeback year for the industry as sales hit 14.5 million and all the big companies posted significant percentage gains.

Podcast Powered By Podbean

For 2013, most of the industry expects strong gains in the U.S. helped by trucks, while Hyundai -- which has been rolling in the last few years -- sees weaker growth ahead.

Sandy cars spurred sales.
Image by Doug Kuntz via Autoblog

On car that had a great year -- the Chevrolet Volt, which had started slowly.

Moving on from car sales to other sales, Avis Budget bought Zipcar this week and it looks like a good deal for both sides.

CES is about to get rolling and cars and vehicle technology promises to be a big deal, with autonomous cars on the horizon from Audi and Toyota. Google and Kia got a head start by announcing a new deal to infuse Google into Kia's Uvo system.


**Dumpster is actually a genericized trademark for a type of mobile garbage bin (MGB)