Today is the birthday of the U.S.A. In honor of that birthday, today's special Saturday edition Idle Chat Topic is What American Car Would You Most Like to Drive in the Independence Day Parade? (And for the sake of this blog post, we'll consider any car that wears the badge of one of the three American automakers and is sold new in this country to be an American car, k?)

Ms. MacKinnon: The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is my pick, because it is an American car to be proud of. Looks great, comfortable ride, a pleasure to drive, roomy back seat, great fuel economy. Plus it has an elegant user interface that trains you to drive more efficiently, but it doesn't ask you to make the compromises that hybrids can sometimes require. Now hold my lemonade, Brent, while I put on this Lady Liberty hat.

Mr. Romans: Bryn, I love how you accessorize! That hat matches your eyes. But I'd have to go with a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro SS as my parade choice. It's unapologetically American (erm, except that's it's built in Canada), looks great and has a 426-horsepower 6.2-liter V8 under the hood. Drop the hammer for an apocalyptic burnout (they let you do those in parades, right?) and you've got your own personal fireworks show.

Idle Chat is hosted by Brent Romans and Bryn MacKinnon, two editors at Edmunds.com. Each Sunday (except this Sunday) in the Idle Chat Lounge (read: the break room building a bust of Ben Franklin out of Rice Krispy Treats and purple Skittles ), they pontificate on a topic that's kinda about cars.

The latest highlights from Edmunds.com and its blogosphere.

Inside Line: Honda's New 2010 Insight Joins Our Long-Term Test Fleet  
Honda's new and improved Insight hybrid pulls into our garage. Silently, of course.

AutoObserver: Have Car Sales Finally Begun Their Turnaround? 
With some saying that the downturn "appears to be reaching a turning point," automotive analysts have expressed cautious optimism. Surprisingly, Ford has emerged as a sales leader.

Inside Line News: Suzuki Expands Lineup with 2010 SX4 Sportback
Suzuki says its new five-door hatchback -- which is based on the SX4 Crossover -- rivals a "Eurocentric sport sedan." The Sportback loses the crossover's roof-mounted rack and gains a subtle aero package, along with minor tweaks to both its front bumper and grille.

As always, Edmunds provides more than one way to skin a cat. In fact, we've got five. Which is good, because comparing vehicles will teach you a lot about the individual models.

1. Editors' Side-by-Side Comparisons
Our Comparison Center provides many side-by-side comparisons of two similar vehicles selected by our Editorial staff, based on their extensive industry experience and first-hand testing experience.

2. Build Your Own Side-by-Side Comparison
Choose Build Your Own Comparison to select up to five models -- or even different trims -- to compare side-by-side (see photo). You can print out the entire comparison with all the features, ratings and specs by choosing "Printable View."

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Independence Day weekend means dealers are trying to move older vehicle inventory off their lots to make room for new models. This year, dealers are doubly pressed to move inventory because of months of sluggish car sales. So this 4th of July is a great time to bargain hunt.

Expect to find specials everywhere you look, but here are three of note:

Hyundai has a new Gas Lock program on most models bought or leased through August 31st. It guaranties $1.49/gallon regular fuel for your next 12,000 miles.

Not to be outdone, Suzuki is offering Free Gas for Summer on the Suzuki SX4 sedan or crossover. Manual transmission customers get an extra $2,000.

GM's 72-hour sale is underway, with 0% for 72 months finanancing on many of their 2009 models and 60-month 0% financing on the rest. Must take delivery by July 6th.

Make sure to check our Incentives and Rebates page to find out all the incentives you qualify for. Often, you'll have to choose between the lowest financing, cash back, and/or the gas programs. Do the math to figure out what's best for you.

As all you diehard Weekly Top 3 fans will recall (come on, I know you're out there, you silent majority you!), I was pretty smitten with the new Volkswagen Touareg 2 V6 TDI after driving it to San Francisco and back. But the Touareg's theoretically the runt of this litter, upstaged by its Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne platform-mates. Now, there's no Cayenne diesel, so I'll spare you my "OMG I <3 this car!" paean to the Porsche.

There is a Q7 TDI, though, and it just so happens to share the Vee-Dub's powertrain. And I just so happened to snag the keys to one last weekend for my sojourn in California's ancient bristlecone pine forest.

Three reasons why I'd buy the Touareg TDI instead, coming right up.

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Off-roaders know that they have to give up a little fuel-efficiency for the privilege of driving an AWD vehicle. Subaru is countering that idea with their all-new 2010 Outback, which will be available at the end of August. The base model 2.5i with CVT transmission gets up to 24 mpg combined and 29 mpg highway, even while interior volume is up over 7-percent.

The combined mpg beats the Toyota Venza, Volvo XC70, VW Passat, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Ford Explorer, and the smaller Suzuki SX-4 AWD.

The new Outback with the 170HP 4-cylinder Boxer engine goes for $23,995 MSRP, $700 more than the outgoing Outback 2.5i with auto transmission. It's less quirky-looking than the outgoing model, as well.

The thought of owning an AMG version of a given Mercedes-Benz would appear to be senseless fantasy for most car nuts.  But if you don't mind the boutique roadster (or "secretary's car" as some colleagues are fond of saying) reputation of the first-generation SLK, there's some serious performance to be had for less than new Miata money...

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With the CARS (aka Cash for Clunkers) program expected to go into effect July 23, Edmunds.com has released a handy list of vehicles that are eligible as trade-ins. You can review this list to see if that old car in your driveway qualifies as a trade-in vehicle (clunker), and note that the list shows in what category the trade-in belongs.

We've also got a complete list of new cars that meet the Clunkers mpg requirements, these are the vehicles which you can apply your clunkers trade-in amount towards. Again, the category is called out so you can see how best to maximize the program.

Edmunds.com is working to make the Cash for Clunkers bill as understandable -- and more importantly useable -- as possible. For more information, and to see a table that describes the fuel economy requirements see our Cash for Clunkers page. Check back often for updates and additional resources.

Ford Motor Company announced a recall of the 2009 Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs for an improperly adjusted brake lamp switch. An estimated 1,357 vehicles are thought to have been affected. According to NHTSA's recall summary, "this may result in a delay in brake stoplamp illumination when the brake pedal is depressed. In situations of very mild brake application, the brake stoplamps may not illuminate."

All Ford and Lincoln dealers will adjust the stoplamps switch free of charge. Owners with the affected vehicles can get more details from a few sources: the Ford Customer Relationship Center can be reached at (866) 436-7332 or at ownerconnection.com, the National Highway Traffic Administration's vehicle safety hotline (888) 327-4326, and safercar.gov. For reference, this is Ford recall NO.09C09.

Here is the final bracket for the Face-Off Hot Hatch Tournament. For the second time in a row, the Volkswagen GTI squeaked into the next round by a slim two-vote margin (as of votes closing at 3 p.m. Tuesday). And before you cry foul, both myself and John DiPietro did recounts to assure we didn't have any funny business going on. There was a pregnant chad attached to dougtheeng's ballot, but we counted it nonetheless.

The Face-Off Tournament final will be Monday morning at 9 a.m. between the GTI and the Mazdaspeed 3. The winner will be crowned the following Thursday and will receive the mighty Travolta-Cage Face-Off Cup.

James Riswick, Face-Off Ayatollah

Subaru redesigned its compact Impreza for 2008, and made some additional, and notable, improvements for 2009. These improvements include standard stability control and 4-wheel disc brakes, along with a "hill holder" feature on manual transmission models. Couple this with standard AWD, a torque-rich boxer engine and superb crash test scores and you have a vehicle that should appeal to people both in and out of the snow-belt. 

Of course, the compact segment is full of competent competitors like the Ford Focus, Mazda3, Hyundai Elantra and Honda Civic. In an effort to make more consumers take notice of the sometimes overlooked Impreza, Subaru has rolled out some impressive Impreza incentives. Read about them after the jump.

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Audi's entry-level model, the 2009 A3 is a blend of sporty hatchback and luxury wagon. This combination allows the A3 to provide both entertaining handling and convenient utility. You also get all the cachet of the Audi brand, from the exterior styling to the upmarket cabin. But is the A3 worth its comparatively higher pricetag? Our just published full test drive investigates the answer.

Yesterday a U.S. District Court judge in Maryland agreed, and the two companies will now have to pay plaintiffs between $2,000 and $5,000 as compensation for replaced tires. Additionally, the companies will give plaintiffs a $110 rebate on purchases of new tire or tire repair kits, or a $300 rebate on the purchase of a new Odyssey or RL. Michelin also chipped in a 3-year/36,000 mile extended warranty on the tires.

The total cash payout to the plaintiffs will be $83,000. The total that the companies will have to pay to the attorneys for the plaintiffs? $3 million.

Manufacturers are pulling out all the stops as Cash for Clunkers (aka CARS) gets ready to go live on July 23. Suzuki is no exception, and like Hyundai, has announced a free-fuel based promo. The Suzuki "Free Gas for the Summer" event kicks off today (July 1) and runs through August 31.

The promotion will apply to the purchase of a new Suzuki SX4 sedan or crossover. Qualified buyers will get a pre-paid gas card, valued at $270 or $290, depending on the model. Suzuki estimates this fuel credit should last about three months, or until the end of the summer. In addition to the free gas, consumers who opt for a manual transmission will be eligible for a $2,000 customer cash bonus.

More details will be available at your local dealership or on Suzuki's website.

Holidays mean specials on new cars. And what could be more patriotic during Independence Day weekend than buying an American car? From today through July 6, GM is offering 0 percent financing for up to 72 months for qualified buyers on select 2009 and 2010 vehicles in dealer stock, including Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups; Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL; Chevrolet Impala; and the Pontiac models: Vibe, G3, G5, G6 and G8, Solstice and more.

Most other vehicles, such as the Chevy Malibu Hybrid, will have reduced rate financing of 0 percent for up to 60 months, instead. Note that you have to take delivery by July 6 according to the current offer. For details on all GM offers and models, see here.

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