A recent report from Nielsen Online finds that a growing number of Americans are using the internet to help find and research their next car purchase.

The study found that even while the car industry struggled in recent months, more people in the car market have been increasing their use of sites like Edmunds.com and the Kelley Blue Book site, kbb.com.

From December to January, Nielsen Online says five of the top automotive websites saw their traffic increase, which the company says is typically a leading indicator of short-term vehicle demand.

Because the traffic for sites like kbb.com have been an indicator of future car sales, Nielsen Online says that if traffic continues to increase, it could mark an increase in the car market in the coming months.

The internet is having an increased effect on car buyers as more Americans turn to their computers to get information on cars before they step foot in a showroom or auto auction. Earlier this year CarFax reported that 75 percent of used car shoppers had been influenced by its report.

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Authorities in New Jersey will have a number of wet cars on their hands in the next month when they begin to pull submerged vehicles from the Hackensack River in an attempt to clean up the waterway.

The Record of Bergen County reports that over the last week New Jersey state police have used sonar and help from environmental advocates to locate cars that have been dumped into the river over the course of decades.

The Hackensack Riverkeeper organization has been working with state troopers to help locate the vehicles and the organization’s head says the plan to remove the cars is good for the community.

“As they deteriorate they add even more pollution to the river,” he told the Record. “It makes a good statement to the community that we’re working with the state police to get these cars out of here. It also shows that we’re not going to tolerate this.”

State police hope to be able to identify the owners of the submerged vehicles and plan to prosecute.

It appears to be an effort throughout much of the region as the Newark Star-Ledger reports that state police also scoured the Passaic River in the past week.

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It appears that car owners have been taking better care of their vehicles in recent years, which means the purchase of a used car is more reliable than it was in the past.

Especially as the economy has sagged, more people have put money into their cars to make improvements that they might have ignored in prior years.

Time Purcell, owner of Christie’s Service Station in Westport, Connecticut told the New Canaan News that he has seen an increase in people spending money on the maintenance of their vehicles instead of just buying a new car.

Purcell told the news provider that people have become used to having their cars services regularly when they were under warranty. When the warranty expires, drivers continue to use shops like his to get extensive checkups.

The rise in maintenance of these cars combined with increased reliability of new cars over the last decade has made used cars more attractive than they once were.

“[Consumers are] realizing that the used cars of today are not the used cars of a few years ago, and that realization is not positive for new car sales,” Jesse Toprak, an analyst at Edmunds told Dow Jones recently.

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In these tough economic times many American families are being forced to downsize, but it’s still necessary to have a vehicle that can make it back and forth to the store and still be comfortable for the whole family.

According to MSN autos, there are a number of vehicles families should consider if they’re looking to trade in the gas-guzzling SUV for a used car that’s more economical.

Jeff Bartlett, deputy online autos editor at Consumer Reports says there are a number of reasons families should consider taking a step down from the monstrous vehicles they thought they needed in more prosperous times.

“You save upfront, you save at the pump, you save in your annual maintenance and you’ll recoup a greater percentage on trade-in,” Bartlett told MSN autos.

One of the vehicles that makes the MSN auto list is the Toyota Rav4, which has been in production for over a decade. The site says the vehicle is tiny in comparison to other SUVs so it might be well suited for families with small children.

It appears that a growing number of people who would have normally purchased a new car are turning to used cars. A recent study from Edmunds finds that a half million people who would have normally purchased a new vehicle bought a used car in the three months leading up to February.

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A new report finds that the median age of cars is increasing, showing that the reliability of cars has increased over the last decade which may make a used car a smart purchase.

The study from R.L. Polk & Co. finds that the median age of the American car is 9.4 years, breaking the previous record of 9.2 years.

Trucks also saw their median age increase, although they still were slightly behind the age of cars. The age of light trucks increased from 7.1 years in 2005 to 7.5 years in 2008. Overall trucks had a median age of 7.6 years.

As automakers have increased the reliability of new cars over the last few years, it has trickled down to the used car market. Buying a used car today means that it’s likely more reliable than a used car was a decade ago.

“[Consumers are] realizing that the used cars of today are not the used cars of a few years ago, and that realization is not positive for new car sales,” Jesse Toprak, an analyst at Edmunds told Dow Jones recently.

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With the high price of gas and the fear that the world’s supply of oil is in decline, some automakers are looking to alternatives to power the next generation of automobiles including some outside-the-box ideas.

At the Geneva Motor Show this week French company MDI unveiled a car that it says can run on something that is in great abundance in the world – air.

The company says that the car, dubbed the AirPod, can travel for 137 miles on a 46-gallon tank of compressed air, according to the International Herald Tribune.

In order to refill the vehicles, the news provider says drivers can plug the car into any standard outlet for eight hours to recharge the tank or visit “air stations” which will fill the chamber in two minutes.

The three-wheeled car is expected to hit roads later this year for about $7,500.

Also unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show was Toyota‘s next generation of its gas/electric hybrid, the Prius. The company says the 2010 model will get an EPA rated 50 miles per gallon, making it the most fuel efficient production car in the U.S.

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