So, you’re in the market for a new car. You’ve skimmed through our extensive collection of news and reviews, and you’re ready to hit the showroom. What should you expect? If you’re a man, you might negotiate a slightly sweeter deal, however, your female friends will probably pay less because they’ve configured a more cost-efficient ride. That’s according to new data from CarWoo.

We first mentioned CarWoo a little over a year ago. It’s a website that allows shoppers to solicit competing offers from auto dealers, a little like Lending Tree does for home loans. So, you tell CarWoo what sort of vehicle you’re looking for, and CarWoo asks dealerships in your area to make their best offer. (Interestingly, when CarWoo debuted, there was a fee to use it, which made us somewhat skeptical about its prospects. Now, that fee seems to have been removed, or it’s been pushed deep into the sale transaction.)

Back in November, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Transportation announced new fuel-efficiency regulations affecting vehicles built through 2025. Many automakers and environmental groups have praised the guidelines, but dealers warn that they could boost the cost of new cars by as much as $5,000. We’ll try to cut through the spin so you know what to expect down the road.

What are the new guidelines?

If you’re planning to buy a new Toyota or Lexus in the near future, pay attention. The automaker just announced pricing on a range of vehicles, and several popular models — including the 2012 Toyota Corolla, Highlander, and Tundra — are due for a price increase. Others, like the 2012 Matrix, will drop. And the 2012 Venza is a little bit of both. Here’s a breakdown:

GOING UP

Thanksgiving’s schedule includes three NFL games and one other major contact sport: Black Friday sales busting the doors earlier than ever.  For diehards it’s all about the deals, mashed up (sometimes literally) with the rush from conquest.

There is a way to save thousands more than even the most intense Black Friday shopper–without sacrificing civility or personal safety.  TrueCar.com suggests you and your dignity sleep in, pass up the retail stores and head for new car dealers the day after Thanksgiving.  However counterintuitive, it reports this single day beats every other with predicted MSRP average savings of 9.5 percent and often more.

While U.S. economic news is hardly good, somehow auto sales again proved to be a bright spot in October.

As the housing sector remains on a downward slide in much of the country, manufacturing growth slowed, and economists wondered how Greece’s nearing economic meltdown will affect the global economy, Americans are buying cars at a surprisingly hot rate. At early tallies, industry-wide auto sales this past month looked about ten percent higher than last October.

Monthly sales numbers for September 2011 are being reported today by car makers, and the slight progress made in August seems to be continuing with upticks at all the major brands except for the two most affected by the Japanese earthquake earlier this year.

According to market analysts at J.D. Power, September retail new-vehicle sales could check in at a seasonally adjusted annualized rate (SAAR) of 10.3 million unit, which would be the first time the SAAR was above 10 million units since April. With fleet sales counted in, the SAAR could reach 12.9 million units.

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Although we’ve been covering electric and fuel-efficient green vehicles here at Green Car Reports  for a long time now, a lot of first-time readers are completely new to the idea of buying an electric car.  

Exploring electric cars for the first time, these readers are looking for a simple primer to the world of plug-in vehicles before they visit our more in-depth Ultimate Guides to various models, including the Nissan Leaf, Chevrolet Volt, Ford Focus Electric, Mitsubishi i, and Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid.

So we’ve been on the lookout for a way of helping explain the basics in a simple way. And now we’ve just found the video that we think will help. 

If you’re in the market to buy or lease a new car, TrueCar says there’s no time like this weekend. In fact, the vehicle-transaction-price tracking website estimates that this Saturday, September 24, will be your best shot at getting a good deal in the month of  September.

If you’re looking to buy a full size pickup or SUV, the 2011 Nissan Titan can be had for $22,497, thanks to incentives totaling $5,888 (which represents a discount of 20.7 percent from list). The 2011 Ford Expedition is selling for $36,502, thanks to $6,208 worth of available incentives, which saves you 14.5 percent from sticker price.

It’s taken a long time to arrive, but Ford’s fuel-efficient 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine is now available as an option on both the 2012 Ford Explorer and the 2012 Ford Edge crossover utility.

It’s the first time any Ford Explorer has been offered with a four in the model’s 22-year history; previously, the mid-size sport-utility vehicle was offered with a variety of V-6s and even a V-8.

The Ford Edge, similarly, has had only V-6 engines since its launch as a 2007 model. The EcoBoost model was unveiled way back in February 2010, but is finally on sale for the 2012 model year.

Hyundai has just announced that its funky new hatchback can be yours for the price of $17,300, plus a $760 destination charge.

That price includes the 1.6-liter GDI inline four-cylinder and a six-speed manual transmission.

If rowing your own gears isn’t your style, you can add another $1,250 for Hyundai’s new EcoShift dual clutch transmission.