As gas prices hit an all time high with oil now hitting $126 a barrel, automakers are having a hard time moving cars out of the showrooms. With sales down 2.5% last year to 16.1 million cars sold, automakers are now offering incentives that have never been seen before by the industry.

Chrysler recently announced that it will offer buyers of new Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge customers a gas card to immediately lower their gas price to $2.99 a gallon.

To keep from sales to go down further and to save new vehicles from premature death, automakers are offering incentives on cars considered by auto experts as reliable and of good quality.

So if you’re one of the few in the market for a new car, be sure to check out Forbes list of Top 11 America’s Best New Car Incentives.

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The cost of owning a vehicle goes beyond the purchase price. Expenses like insurance and maintenance can add up.

But most of all, it must start life with a sticker price well below even the most affordable luxury cars. A low purchase price holds down insurance premiums, taxes and fees, financing costs, and, especially, depreciation.

That’s why the priciest car on our list of the Top 10 Least Expensive Cars to Own is the tenth ranked Honda Civic DX, which starts at just $15,010.

Click through for the list of Top Least Expensive Cars to Own.

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While gas prices continue to go up and the economy continues to go down, some could care less and would rather buy the fastest gas-guzzling cars on the road no matter how much they cost. Forbes has teamed up with Tom duPont to find the world’s fastest cars for their latest Top 10 list.

“A Bugatti test driver took a $100 bill and plastered it on the dashboard,” recalls duPont, who was invited to strap into the passenger seat for a demonstration drive. “He told me I could have it if I could grab it once we took off.”

As many of you know the amazing Bugatti Veyron goes from 0-60 in 2.5 seconds with a top speed of 253mph.

“The car accelerates so fast that you can’t touch [the $100 bill],” he said. “You can’t move your hands.”

Click through for Forbes list of the Top 10 World’s Fastest Cars.

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Finding out what appeals to female drivers takes more than just putting on a skirt and high heels. But that can be a start.

To find out which vehicles women prefer, we compiled two lists. One looks at luxury vehicles most driven by women, and the other ranks the overall top 10 vehicles most driven by women, regardless of whether they are luxury or non-luxury.

Click through for the list of the Top 10 Cars Driven by Women.

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Living the Hollywood celebrity life is nothing short of glamorous. Hey, it gives you the power to drop $2 million in one day on a Bugatti Veyron and a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe like Simon Cowell. Of course, then you become known as the worst-polluting celebrity; but who really cares when you’re riding in a Veyron or with your top-down in Rolls.

In a recent survey by City Car Club, Cowell was named the top worst-polluting celebrity with his Veyron emitting a total of 574g/km of CO2 emissions. According to the survey his total fleet emits an average 457g of CO2 per kilometer.

Joining Cowell on the list are well known names like Justin Timberlake, David Beckham and 50 Cent.

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Kelley Blue Book has announced its picks for the Top 10 Coolest New Cars Under $18,000. To make the list, the editors at KBB.com thought like consumers, picking cars that they felt were safe, good in fuel-economy, interior size, comfort, technology and fun-to-drive.

Now remember just because a vehicle is listed first doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the cheapest or the coolest on the list. All cars on the list are considered cool and are under $18,000. They are just listed in alphabetical order.

All the cars on the list were chosen using Kelly Blue Book’s New Car Blue Book Value which reflects real transaction prices and provide a useful comparison to the MSRP of the car.

Let us know what you would buy in the comments section below.

Click through for press release and the list.

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So you want to buy a luxury car but don’t want to end up spending more than $50,000? Check out Forbes list of the Top 10 best luxury cars costing $50,000 or less. Forbespoints out the luxury automakers are targeting young professionals with high-paying jobs and are looking to transition into a luxury vehicles.

“You are treating yourself with these vehicles,” says Stephanie Brinley, senior manager of product analysis at AutoPacific, a market research firm covering the auto industry. “It is reaching a level of maturity.”

Let us know what level of maturity you’ve reached and which car you’d consider purchasing on the list.

Click through for the list of Top 10 best luxury cars costing $50,000 or less.

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This year’s crop of new droptops doesn’t follow the ‘green’ trend — most are built for performance and speed.

Improvements in folding tops and other technology make convertibles much better suited to year-round driving than in the past, which means you now have fewer excuses not to buy one.

The latest crop of new and significantly revamped convertibles highlighted in our list of Hottest Convertibles of 2008 brings even more refinement, performance, and comfort.

Click through for the list of the Top 12 Hottest Convertibles of 2008.

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You don’t need to buy a small and cheap car to drive a vehicle that’s kind to the environment. What comes out of a car’s tailpipe is just as important as what goes into the fuel tank.

Our two least-polluting lists, one for luxury vehicles and one for non-luxury vehicles, are based on examining each model’s Air Pollution Score and Carbon Footprint ratings as determined by the EPA.

The Air Pollution Score represents the amount of health-damaging and smog-forming airborne pollutants a vehicle emits. Among these are hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde. Scoring is based on a 10-point scale, with 10 representing a zero-emissions vehicle, meaning higher numbers are better.

Click through for the list of Top 10 Luxury Cars That Pollute the Least.

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If you’re a true patriot, you were probably disappointed with the recent Consumer Reports Top Picks list for 2008 as the only American car was the Chevrolet Silverado for the pickup truck category (the only category where American automakers are always shining).

Well to your pleasure, Consumer Reports has released their American Top Picks list for 2008. But don’t be too excited because it’s… well it’s really crappy. The reason? Well to be a Top Pick, Consumer Reports has to have data on the reliability of the car showing at least a rating of ‘average.’ A car must also have stability control and if crash tested, the results need to be pretty decent.

These requirements leave some very good new comers like the Chevrolet Malibu and the new Cadillac CTS out of the list. Five categories on the list including the small sedan, small SUV, minivan, fun-to-drive and green car have been left completely blank simply because Consumer Reports doesn’t have the data available on a new model or the car doesn’t offer stability control as a standard option.

Head over to the Consumer Reports website for more details.

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Consumer Reports has named its Top Picks list for 2008 and for the first time a Korean automaker (Hyundai) has made it onto the list. Also for the first time since 2005, since a U.S. model made the list.

Hyundai made it on the list for two categories including the small sedan and midsized SUV with the Hyundai Elantra SE and the Hyundai Santa Fe. Chevrolet took the top choice for the pickup truck category with its new redesigned Silverado. The Toyota Prius remains the Top Pick in the green car category for the fifth year in a row while the Lexus LS 460L took the best luxury sedan.

Honda Accord took the Top Pick in family sedans over the Nissan Altima since starting this year, automakers must provide critical safety features, electronic stability control, either as standard or as a readily available option. So while the Altima scored higher in CR’s testing over the Accord, it lost the Top Pick since it offers ESC as a pricey option on the V6.

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From a gravity-defying Dodge Charger to a futuristic Ford Mustang, we take a look at the 10 most memorable cars to appear on the small screen.

K.I.T.T. is back in action.

One of the most memorable television stars from the 1980s, K.I.T.T. was a smart-talking Pontiac Trans Am driven by David Hasselhoff in the series Knight Rider. Now K.I.T.T. returns in a new television movie that premiered to such big ratings NBC executives are hinting a weekly series is likely again.

The original K.I.T.T., or Knight Industries Two Thousand, was remarkable for its sarcastic personality and array of high-tech features. In its four years as a reluctant crime-fighter on a hit show, it became an icon worthy enough to make our list of the top 10 most famous TV cars.

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Forget the kids and cargo — you can ride in high style as a true individualist thanks to the latest crop of coupes.

More than 26,000 Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedans were sold in the U.S. last year, according to CNW Marketing Research in Bandon, Ore., but only 3,672 people bought its striking two-door equivalent, the CL-Class.

Don’t get the wrong idea — the Mercedes-Benz CL-Class is not a bad car. It’s just less convenient for drivers who sometimes need to take along more than one passenger.

Click through for the list of the Top 10 Hottest Coupes of 2008.

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