Business

Internet resources to help in your personal business, especially cars.

NHTSA. www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cars/testing/NCAP, Car Safety Crash Test Ratings

Click & Clack. www.cartalk.cars.com - Brothers Tom and Ray Magliozzi, a.k.a. "Click & Clack," write a weekly newspaper column and host Car Talk, a syndicated public radio talk show about all things automotive. Their Internet site has the same jocular personality as the brothers' radio show. You can search through 10 years of newspaper reviews of just about anything on wheels, and there's even an auto loan calculator.

Consumer Reports. www.consumerreports.org -This site is considered to be among the most helpful on the Internet to- day, providing a mountain of free automotive information. Used- car buyers will appreciate the "Ten Way’s to Check a Used Car" feature report. Consumer Reports also publishes a paperback version of its annual Buying Guide.

Edmund’s.- www.edmunds.com - Edmund's is another excellent resource for automobile consumer information from A to Z. See the site's listing of national and large regional rebate and incentive programs currently available on a wide array of vehicles.

Kelley Blue Book. www.kbb.com - This site is a great place to price new and used cars, as well as motorcycles, in a step-by-step process that lets you pick the make, model and features you want in your vehicle. Be sure to check out the "Do your homework" section. If you're buying a used vehicle, Kelley has a title-search function that helps prevent you from buying a lemon. Kelley also publishes a paperback version of its famous Blue Book.

National Automobile Dealers Association, www.nada.org - NADA's site offers used-car price guides to help you negotiate a trade-in deal. It lists your vehicle's average trade-in value and average retail price at a dealership. NADA also publishes guides for cars and trucks, as well as recreational vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs, snowmobiles and personal water- craft.

USAA Educational Foundation, www.usaaedfoundation.org - This nonprofit organization is sponsored by USAA and dedicated to enhancing consumer awareness and quality of life through education and research. It offers two publications, The 1999 Car Guide and Finding and Financing a Car, on buying (or leasing) a vehicle. Call 1-800- 531-1582 to order your free booklets.

USAA Federal Savings Bank. www.usaa.com - Get familiar with USAA Auto Pricing Plus", a fee-based research service that gives you current information for most makes and models. The service provides new car pricing information such as factory invoice, retail and target price, cost of ownership, destination fees, luxury tax information, available national rebates or incentives and safety data. Auto Pricing Plus also provides consumer information about standard and safety features, as well as the vehicle's dimensions.

Source: USAA 1999

Car Buying Guide Information about buying, selling, and owning a car or truck. Contains a useful directory of original auto related articles.