n a bold departure from traditional auto marketing, Chevrolet chose Super Bowl XLVI to launch the Sonic's first-ever television campaign with a minute-long spot featuring death-defying stunts designed to capture the attention of young car buyers. This marked GM's most aggressive attempt yet to position the Sonic as the edgy choice for millennial drivers.

From surprising price increases to important maintenance warnings and exciting new reveals, these were the three auto news stories that dominated conversations this week

The 2013 Nissan Altima marked a significant turning point in the competitive midsize sedan segment. As Nissan's best-selling passenger car globally, the Altima's fifth generation represented more than just a refresh—it embodied Nissan's renewed commitment to innovation, design excellence, and technological advancement in a category dominated by established players like Toyota Camry and Honda Accord.

In the competitive luxury automotive segment, technological innovation serves as a key differentiator. Lincoln's introduction of Digital Light Processing (DLP) head-up display technology in its Continental flagship represents a significant leap forward in automotive interface design. This breakthrough addresses longstanding limitations of HUD systems while introducing unprecedented clarity and functionality.

The 2008-2009 automotive industry crisis represented one of the most significant economic challenges in American industrial history. As the global financial system teetered on collapse, General Motors and Chrysler—two of Detroit's "Big Three"—faced imminent bankruptcy with potentially catastrophic consequences for the broader economy.

In 2018, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued a stark warning about a growing threat to vehicle safety: counterfeit airbags infiltrating repair shops across the United States. Their investigation revealed that these fraudulent components weren't just inferior—they were dangerously malfunctioning, with test results showing failures ranging from non-deployment to violent explosions that projected shrapnel toward vehicle occupants.

There's something magical about the combination of music and motion that transforms ordinary car rides into cherished family memories. From the viral video of a family perfectly timing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" to their school run to countless families creating their own road trip traditions, music has the power to turn daily commutes into bonding experiences and travel fatigue into joyful singalongs.

Where a teenager learns to drive significantly impacts their safety outcomes, according to a comprehensive study by WalletHub that ranked all 50 states based on teen driver safety. The analysis reveals dramatic disparities in safety outcomes, regulatory frameworks, and economic factors that make some states markedly safer for young drivers than others.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's (IIHS) small overlap frontal test has emerged as one of the most challenging evaluations in automotive safety testing. When applied to 13 popular compact crossovers—a category representing one of the fastest-growing vehicle segments—the results revealed significant safety concerns, with 11 of the 13 tested models earning Marginal or Poor ratings.