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Cars

Sat Sep 5 2026

Happy Saturday from the USA TODAY Cars team!

I'm Keith Laing, and I report on automotive news, conduct vehicle reviews and write consumer advice for USA TODAY. If you have topic suggestions, consumer advice, maintenance questions or general queries, you can reach me at klaing@usatodayco.com.

Here's how I find the best car deals, and how you can too

When it's time to do a roundup of the best car deals of any given period of time, I usually start by scouring the biggest carmakers websites for their list of monthly incentives. You know the ones with the biggest-selling nameplates: General Motors, Ford, Jeep, Toyota, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Kia, Nissan, Mazda etc.

From there, I tend to start by looking at the models that are not their highest sellers because those are usually the ones that carmakers offer the biggest deals on. Since the federal government stopped offering $7,500 in tax credits, I always check the incentives on any electric car a manufacturer sells because those discounts can sometimes r each as high as $10,000.

When I did a recent round of the best deals that are going to be available for Labor Day weekend, four of the top 10 mark downs were on electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles have become a lot more popular as gas prices have risen, so deals on those cars might be harder to come by.

Now, it's your turn. What are some of your tricks for finding the best deals on new and used cars when it's time for you to shop for a new vehicle? Tell me (and share photos of any recent cars you got a great price on, if you have them) at klaing@usatodayco.com.

Take a spin through this week in cars

•	We took at the 10 best new cars deals that are available for shoppers this Labor Day weekend. We also took at look at the five models that have the most used inventory on dealership lots for people looking for deals on previously-owned vehicles.
•	My colleague, Charles Singh, took a look at the best lease deals that are available for shoppers this weekend.
•	We also took a look at Tesla's Cybercab launch this week, and examined federal regulators chances to stop it with a newly-launched investigation.
•	Charles took look at the roomiest SUVs that are currently on the market.
•	I reviewed the 2026 Kia EV9, which is one of the few fully-electric three-row family cars that are on the market now.
•	Charles reviewed the 2026 Honda Pilot, which is another popular gas-powered family car.

You take the wheel

We're working on a story about the sticker shock people who are entering the car market for the first time since before the Covid-19 pandemic are feeling. Have you bought a car for the first time recently since sticker prices jumped after the pandemic? How did that affected what type of car you decided to buy?

Email me at klaing@usatodayco.com and share your advice for anyone who is navigating this tough new car market.

Thanks for reading this week. What would you like to see in our next newsletter? Email me your feedback or connect with me on LinkedIn.