Sit Down When Trying on Dress Shirts for a Better Fit

Sit Down When Trying on Dress Shirts for a Better FitHave you ever purchased a button-up shirt that fit just fine in the store, but didn't look as flattering when you actually wear it around? Perhaps you should sit down.

How-to-dress website Put This On says that for the best fit, you should sit down when trying on shirts. This is particularly important when buying slimmer, more "fashionable" shirts, since they may look fine standing straight, but can have a tendency to bunch when your body's in a different position (in which case it's too slim). Make sure that the clean lines that make such a shirt appealing are just as defined when sitting down and you'll be ready to rock it wherever you go.

Sit Down in Your Shirt | Put This On

Photo by Roberto Ventre

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/-huCX8-LN2w/sit-down-when-trying-on-dress-shirts-for-a-better-fit

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Strong earthquake shakes parts of Alaska, Canada

People gather at Sitka High School early Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, in Sitka, Alaska, following a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and after a subsequent tsunami warning was declared for hundreds of miles of Alaskan and Canadian coastline. The alert was canceled when no damaging waves were generated. (AP Photo/Daily Sitka Sentinel, James Poulson)

People gather at Sitka High School early Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, in Sitka, Alaska, following a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and after a subsequent tsunami warning was declared for hundreds of miles of Alaskan and Canadian coastline. The alert was canceled when no damaging waves were generated. (AP Photo/Daily Sitka Sentinel, James Poulson)

Charles Bingham heads back home with his cats after a tsunami warning was canceled early Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013, in Sitka, Alaska, following a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. (AP Photo/Daily Sitka Sentinel, James Poulson)

(AP) ? A powerful earthquake sparked a tsunami warning for hundreds of miles of Alaskan and Canadian coastline, but the alert was canceled when no damaging waves were generated.

The magnitude 7.5 quake and tsunami warning that followed caused concern in some coastal communities, with alarms sounding and people rushing to higher ground for safety.

But the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center later said the waves were too small to pose a threat, reaching just six inches above normal sea level in places such as Sitka and Port Alexander.

"Initially, in the first 15 to 20 minutes, there might have been a bit of panic," Sitka Police Chief Sheldon Schmitt told The Associated Press in a phone interview. But he said things calmed down as the town waited for the all clear.

The temblor struck at midnight Friday (1 a.m. PST Saturday) and was centered about 60 miles west of Craig, Alaska, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

Seismologist Jana Pursley of the USGS said the quake was followed by six aftershocks, the strongest of which registered a 5.1 and came nearly four hours after the initial quake.

"Houses shook; mine had things tossed from (the) wall," Craig Police Chief Robert Ely said. But he added that there were "no reports of any injuries, no wave, no tidal movement seen."

The tsunami warning was eventually expanded to include coastal areas from Cape Fairweather, Alaska, to the northern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada ? an area extending more than 700 miles.

The center had warned that "significant widespread inundation of land is expected," adding that dangerous coastal flooding was possible.

In its cancellation statement, the center said that some areas were seeing just small sea level changes.

"A tsunami was generated during this event but no longer poses a threat," the center said.

The Alaska Earthquake Information Center said the quake was widely felt but it received no reports of any damage.

"It was the most intense earthquake I've felt in my 10 years here. I'm pretty sure there was stuff falling off of shelves," Chief Schmitt said. "There is no report of any wave activity here."

He said that an evacuation sirens and announcements came shortly after the quake, prompting the temporary rush to higher ground.

Some people in Craig also moved to safer territory.

"Several citizens elected on their own to move to higher ground. Several locations in Craig were set up for staging (and) shelter," said Chief Ely, adding that "no evacuation was ordered."

In addition to the warning, a tsunami advisory was briefly in effect for some Alaska coastal areas to the north of the warning zone, as well as to the south of the zone, from the Washington state border to the northern tip of Vancouver Island.

A tsunami warning means an area is likely to be hit by a wave, while an advisory means there may be strong currents, but that widespread inundation is not expected to occur.

____

AP writers Bob Seavey in Phoenix and Bob Lentz in Philadelphia contributed to this article.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-05-Alaska%20Earthquake/id-b294bf223e3b4943a1f1a70edd5329e8

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Target ad campaign puts food in the spotlight

This screen grab provided by Target shows an advertisement from the company featuring a model interacting with baking products. Target is pushing its food, laundry detergent and other groceries in a national ad campaign that pokes fun at high-fashion advertising by featuring models interacting with everyday products. (AP Photo/Target)

This screen grab provided by Target shows an advertisement from the company featuring a model interacting with baking products. Target is pushing its food, laundry detergent and other groceries in a national ad campaign that pokes fun at high-fashion advertising by featuring models interacting with everyday products. (AP Photo/Target)

(AP) ? Is Target's grocery aisle ready for its close up?

Target is pushing its food, laundry detergent and other groceries in a national ad campaign that pokes fun at high-fashion advertising by featuring models interacting with everyday products.

In one ad, a model in a white dress and high heels struts by blueberry muffin and cake mix boxes that explode in different colors. Then she crushes an egg with her hand.

"Dominate that PTA bake sale," a voiceover whispers. "The Everyday Collection. By Target."

The campaign is part of a larger move by Target, better known for its cheap-chic clothing and home goods, to focus more on its grocery-store aisle. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other Target competitors also have been expanding their selection of groceries to lure more customers into stores.

For its part, Target has been expanding its grocery selection, particularly with investments in its "P-Fresh" fresh-food section. Out of its 1,782 stores, about 1100 have an expanded fresh food layout and more than 250 have a full grocery store.

With that push complete, Target decided the time was right to put the focus on its groceries, but in a way that still plays on Target's fashion know how, said chief marketing officer Jeff Jones.

Target, with ad agency Mono in Minneapolis, created the tongue-in-cheek campaign that treats groceries and home products like fashion accessories in a photo shoot. Spending is undisclosed on the ad campaign, but it will include eight TV ads that will run throughout 2013. In addition to TV spots and newspaper inserts, it will include eight TV spots, three radio ads, and digital short films that will run as banner ads online.

One TV ad shows an $11.99 bottle of Tide laundry detergent and a model in a white dress dancing fancifully.

"We all yearn for something," says a voiceover as bubbles float by the model. "And that something is the other sock."

The campaign "creates a foil for what people are used to seeing for grocery advertising," said Jones. "It combines the design ethos and fashion creditability that Target has with the idea that it also has great grocery items at a great price."

Target's ad campaign comes as the retailer faces some challenges.

On Thursday, Target reported that revenue at stores open at least one year was flat in December ? a key holiday sales period. The company, based in Minneapolis, blamed the decline in part on weakness in sales of merchandise such as furniture and electronics.

Target, which has been successful in the past by pairing up with upscale designers who create lines of products that it can sell for a limited time, also recently was dinged by bad publicity for its collaboration with posh retailer Neiman Marcus. The line debuted Dec. 1 and included 50 products from 24 designers, including a $70 Marc Jacobs scarf and a $500 Alice + Olivia bike.

But the merchandise was criticized for being too expensive, among other things, and all remaining items in that collection were marked down 70 percent off on Jan. 1. That's quite a reversal from its Missoni collection a year ago, which was so popular demand caused Target's Web site to crash.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-01-04-Target-Marketing/id-0432e5cbc33940dea657e84977d4b1f7

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Mass. Gov. proposes new compounding pharmacy rules

BOSTON (AP) ? Gov. Deval Patrick on Friday proposed tighter regulations on sterile compounding pharmacies following a deadly nationwide meningitis outbreak linked to a Massachusetts company.

The proposal comes as the New England Compounding Center is trying to place blame for the outbreak on a cleaning contractor that provided once-a-month services to NECC's cleanroom facilities.

The outbreak linked to NECC has been blamed for 39 deaths and hundreds of illnesses nationwide.

Patrick said he's filing a bill that would require compounding pharmacies to obtain a special state license that he said would make it easier for regulators to hold them accountable. The bill would also create whistleblower protections for pharmacy workers and enforce new fines and penalties for compounding pharmacies that break the rules.

"There is, of course, no action that we in government can take to prevent all abuses in all industries, but we must do what we can," Patrick said.

Patrick's bill would also require that out-of-state pharmacies that deliver and dispense medications in Massachusetts also obtain a state license.

Pharmacies and pharmacists would also have to report to an overhauled 11-member state oversight board whenever they are the subject of any disciplinary action by other state or federal agency, under the bill.

The Colorado pharmacy board had complained about the New England Compounding Center in July, before the third of three batches of tainted steroids tied to the outbreak was shipped in August, but the Massachusetts pharmacy board's director and attorney didn't notify leadership at the Department of Public Health.

Patrick said the change would enable the oversight board "to know when issues arise with Massachusetts' pharmacies doing business outside of our state." Patrick also wants to hire more inspectors to keep an eye on the industry.

Patrick's recommendation came as NECC sent a letter to UniFirst Corp., demanding it take legal responsibility for claims against the compounding center related to the outbreak.

The letter was referenced in a Thursday filing by UniFirst to the Securities and Exchange Commission. In the filing, UniFirst wrote that the demand relates to the once-a-month cleaning services they provided to NECC.

UniFirst said it believes the claims are without merit.

UniFirst spokesman Adam Soreff said in a statement the company's UniClean business sent two technicians to NECC monthly for 90 minutes each. He said the cleaners used the NECC's own cleaning solution.

"UniClean was not in any way responsible for NECC's day-to-day operations, its overall facility cleanliness, or the integrity of the products they produced," he said.

A tainted steroid produced by Framingham-based NECC, and given mainly for back pain, has been tied to the fungal meningitis outbreak, which was discovered in Tennessee in September.

The company has shut down and recalled its products. Inspections at NECC's facility found various potential contaminants, including standing water and mold. Last month, the company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and said it was seeking to set up a fund to pay victims.

Messages were left for the attorney for NECC's insurance company requesting comment, including on whether letters similar to the one sent to UniFirst have or will be sent to other companies.

Patrick said the state needs to take other steps. He said he supports a bill proposed by Attorney General Martha Coakley that would raise the maximum fine for corporate manslaughter from $1,000 to $250,000.

The $1,000 penalty hasn't been updated since it was first established in state law nearly 200 years ago.

In November, Massachusetts also began requiring sterile compounding pharmacies to report the volume and distribution of their medications to state regulators for the first time. Patrick said the new rule will help alert the state when a pharmacy like NECC is acting like a manufacturer and should obtain a license from the federal Food and Drug Administration.

Compounding pharmacies custom-mix drugs in doses or forms that generally aren't commercially available.

"Taken together, these changes can ensure that the significant harms that we've seen from substandard compounding never happen again," Patrick said.

___

Associated Press reporter Jay Lindsay contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2013-01-04-Meningitis%20Outbreak/id-aae8621fb3a04657911a1a493bc5f226

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Loyola Nursing Student Fights Childhood Obesity | Your Health ...

From Your Health Journal?..?Found a great article today on Tangilena.com about some local nursing students fighting childhood obesity in Louisiana. Through the years, I have heard so much about childhood obesity (and obesity in general) being a large issue in this state, as so many children have been suffering not only from obesity, but from heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Nursing students from Loyola University received a $4,000 grant, which will be used to educate some local high school students on healthy lifestyle. Please visit the Tangilena web site (link provided below) to read the complete article. It is a great story of children (or young adults) helping other children.?

From the article?..

One nurse is setting out to change the way health care providers in New Orleans talk to patients?inspiring instead of mandating healthier lifestyles to curb childhood obesity. Loyola University New Orleans Doctor of Nursing Practice student Monica Alleman won a $4,000 grant Jan. 1 from the American Nurse Practitioner Foundation to teach health care providers at John Ehret High School health center in Marrero, La., counseling skills to help reduce the causes and effects of childhood obesity at a local level. The idea was born from Alleman?s capstone project as a part of the Loyola DNP program.

Louisiana is the ideal testing ground for solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic, according to Alleman. Louisiana has the fourth-highest statistics for childhood obesity rates in the nation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation reports.

?Monica?s passion for children and fighting obesity is contagious,? said Gwen George, DNP, APRN, FNP-BC, assistant professor and DNP program coordinator.

The project focuses on the idea that when health care providers speak to patients in ways that illicit the patients? own solutions versus commanding solutions, it results in healthier patients. The technique is called motivational interviewing skills?borrowed from counseling practices?and Alleman is teaching health care professionals at John Ehret High School how to use it.

?We can more effectively engage patients in healthy living and I believe it?s by us the providers changing how we communicate with our patients,? Alleman said. ?Research shows the more patients talk about their own change, the more likely they are going to start to try to change.?

Using motivational interviewing techniques, a conversation with the nurse may include phrases like, ?What kinds of things worked for you in the past?? and ?How can you make that change in your life?? That kind of conversation in the clinic avoids guilt, shame and judgment surrounding what is childhood obesity, according to Alleman.

?Loyola University New Orleans DNP students are educated to embrace such research-supported interventions in behavioral health to improve the outcomes in health care delivery systems, thereby accelerating quality, reducing costs and increasing appropriate access,? said Ann H. Cary, Ph.D., MPH, RN, professor and director of the School of Nursing.

To read the full article?..Click here

Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=11222

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The Original Android Mascots Were Super Scary

Google's little green android is now a well-known tech icon. But these pictures—the original concept drawings for the Android mascot—show what could have been if Google hadn't used a talented designer to realize its ideas. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/3oX8_oXckeI/the-original-android-mascots-were-super-scary

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'Buckwild' Premiere: 'Redneck MacGyver' Turns A Dump Truck Into A Swimming Pool (VIDEO)

Before it had even premiered, West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin was calling for MTV to cancel their new reality series "Buckwild." The show follows the proud "redneck" antics of a group of 20-somethings in West Virginia, and MTV didn't cancel it.

In the premiere, the gang got up to all sorts of trouble, finding fun where they could. They set fires, got evicted, got into fights and even swam in toxic water. When they got tired of that, they got creative. They turned a dump truck into a swimming pool.

"We ain?t got much, but we have fun with what we got," castmember Shain said.

That sentiment was echoed by Cara. "Shain?s like a redneck MacGyver."

Airing in the timeslot once held by "Jersey Shore," the network is certainly hoping the antics of this "redneck" group can tap into the same zeitgeist that propelled the "Jersey" cast to the forefront of popular culture.

See what they come up with next on "Buckwild," Thursdays at 10 p.m. EST on MTV.

TV Replay scours the vast television landscape to find the most interesting, amusing, and, on a good day, amazing moments, and delivers them right to your browser.

Related on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/04/buckwild-premiere-dump-truck-pool-video_n_2406962.html

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Group Calls Wind Energy Tax Credit a "Boondoggle"

To the relief of the wind energy industry in the United States, the Production Tax Credit was extended for another year as part of the New Year's fiscal cliff deal approved by Congress. However, not everyone is happy with the extension. According to the Institute for Energy Research , the one-year extension of the tax credit for the construction of new wind farms will create "a real boondoggle at the expense of taxpayers and ratepayers." Here are the details.

* According to the Institute for Energy Research, a recent American Tradition Institute study showed that the cost of wind power is up to double the cost reported by the Energy Information Administration, with an extra $8.5 billion to $10 billion a year being spent on fossil fuel power backup, additional costs of transmission, tax benefits through accelerated depreciation and a shorter estimate lifespan of a wind turbine.

* In addition to those costs, the costs of new construction, maintenance, operation over the lifetime of the plant drive the price of wind power to 15.1 cents per kilowatt hour if natural gas is used as a back up and 19.2 cents per kilowatt hour if coal is used as the backup fuel, the institute reported. Currently, the Energy Information Administration uses an estimated cost of 9.6 cents per kilowatt hour in its models.

* According to the institute, the Production Tax Credit's one-year extension means 10 years of government subsidy for wind operators who have begun construction of their wind farms during 2013.

* The institute points to a Jan. 2 article from The Hill in which House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., referred to the extension of the Production Tax Credit as "a perverse incentive to rush production of additional facilities even when there may not be adequate demand for wind, biomass or geothermal energy."

* Issa, who said the incentive's renewal falls under the committee's "ongoing oversight of the federal government's excessive and wasteful spending" has created a new energy subcommittee and has pledged that his committee will be more involved in energy issues in the next congress, The Hill reported.

* According to the Institute for Energy Research, the EIA lists the levelized cost of an advanced natural gas-fired combined cycle plant as 6.3 cents per kilowatt hour and that of an advanced coal-fired or nuclear plant at 11.1 cents per kilowatt hour, making wind energy up to 140 percent costlier than other energy sources.

* The institute reported that a power company in South Carolina is investing about $11 billion to construct 2 1,100-megawatt nuclear reactors on about 1,000 acres. To get the same amount of electricity from a wind farm that operates at 30 to 40 percent capacity due to intermittency, the institute stated, more than 1,700 turbines on 200,000 acres, for an upfront investment of $8.8 billion would be required.

* According to the institute, taxpayers will pay more than $12 billion in the subsidy provided by the Production Tax Credit one-year extension, in addition to the $8.5 billion to $10 billion in hidden costs from wind energy.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/group-calls-wind-energy-tax-credit-boondoggle-215600908.html

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Car sales surge -- and that may be bad for buyers

13 hrs.

Automakers have closed the books on 2012 and appear to be carrying enough momentum to continue their recovery in the year ahead.? That is likely to mean record profits for both Detroit and foreign manufacturers, according to industry experts ? but it could mean fewer discounts and notably higher transaction prices for consumers.

While a few makers have yet to report their final numbers, December appears on track to have yielded a low double-digit gain for the U.S. auto industry, perhaps as much as 15% compared to the final month of 2011.? That will likely mean that the past year, as a whole, was the industry?s best since 2006, just before the automotive market ? and the economy as a whole ? began sliding into recession.

The annualized rate of sales in December came 15.3 million units basically the same as in November. Nonetheless, the year was a good one for the industry as most carmakers posted solid sales gains ? and giving credence to recent forecasts that sales should reach the mid-15 million range for all of 2013.

Meanwhile, average transaction prices soared to an all-time record high last month of $31,228, according to data analyzed by TrueCar.com.

?Pricing and incentives spending in December were almost ideal for manufacturers as the industry spent less money on incentives while attaining higher net transaction prices in the market place compared to year ago levels," said Jesse Toprak, Senior Analyst for TrueCar. "The resurgence of the trucks segment in December helped contribute to the some of the highest average transaction prices we have ever recorded.??

The Detroit Bureau:?Chevy Volt Sales Set Record - But Still Miss Target

Going into December, industry observers picked up signs of strong momentum, The J.D. Power and Associates? Power Information Network and LMC Automotive both forecasting a 15% year-over-year gain.? But as Washington lawmakers gridlocked over how to resolve the tax and spend issues dubbed the fiscal cliff, there was concern the pace of demand might slow drastically as buyers reined in spending.? In the end, shoppers appeared to either ignore the crisis or tough it out.

A slew of manufacturers and individual brands reported record sales for the month including Nissan, Porsche, Hyundai and Jeep. Chrysler delivered its 33rd consecutive monthly gain, and Chevrolet boasted that with a final December surge it tripled sales of the Volt plug-in hybrid for the full year.

BMW emerged as the luxury car leader for the second year in a row while the Camry was the best-selling passenger car in the U.S. despite some stiff challenges from other carmakers eager to claim the crown, notably including all-new versions of the Honda Accord, Ford Fusion and Nissan Altima ? Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn specifically declaring his goal of making Altima the best-seller.

On the whole, Toyota Motor Sales, USA gained 13.2% for December.? The Japanese giant reported full-year sales of 2,082,504 ? including both the Scion brand and Lexus, which fell to third in the luxury segment? -- a collective gain of 26.6% over last year.

?We have a lot of momentum that should carry over into 2013,? said Toyota Motor Sales president Jim Lentz.?

The Detroit Bureau:?German Stylist Schreyer Becomes 1st Foreign Pres. in Korean Auto Industry

Meanwhile, BMW posted a 39% sales increase in December to again nose out Mercedes-Benz, which held a small lead at the end of December but posted only an 11% sales increase for the month. The two makers have been battling ? along with Lexus ? for luxury supremacy in recent years. But early last month, Mercedes? US CEO Steve Cannon told TheDetroitBureau.com the maker was not going to make another all-out push to topple BMW.

Nissan North America, Inc. reported record U.S. calendar year sales of 1,141,656 units versus 1,042,534 in 2011, an increase of 9.5% and the first time that the Nissan brand sold more than 1 million units in a calendar year.

After its best December sales since 1994, Mazda reported a 10% sales increase for the year. ?Honda saw sales rise 24% for the year and Subaru posted a 26% sales gain in 2012.??

The holiday season appears to have been particularly good for Detroit?s automakers. With Chrysler in the lead with a 10% December increase, they collectively enjoyed their best December in five years.

?Chrysler Group ended 2012 (with) our best December sales since 2007,? said Reid Bigland, President and CEO ? Dodge Brand and Head of U.S. Sales. ?Looking back on 2012, we were again one of the fastest growing automakers in the country with total sales up 21%.??

The Detroit Bureau:?First Look: 202 MPH Bentley Continental GT Speed Convertible

?The Jeep brand, in particular, reported a 13% sales increase in the U.S. and saw its global sales climb to an all-time record in 2012. Jeep is one of a select number of brands the Fiat/Chrysler alliance now plans to market worldwide.

Cross-town rival Ford Motor Co. also had reason to crow. Though its sales were up just a modest 1.9% year-over-year, it nonetheless said that yielded its strongest December since 2006. The Ford brand, in particular, ended 2012 with 2,168,015 vehicles sold ? the only brand to top 2 million U.S. sales.

?Ford finished 2012 strong, with retail sales showing improved strength as more customers returned to dealer showrooms,? said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service. ?Ford?s fuel-efficient cars and hybrid vehicles showed the most dramatic growth for the year, and we achieved our best year for commercial vehicle sales since 2008.?

Analysts have been watching the industry?s inventory numbers of late to see if unsold vehicles were beginning to pile up on dealer lots, which would indicate the growth of new vehicle sales was beginning to slow. There were signs of that in November, especially at General Motors, where dealers were saddled with more than a 150-day supply of full-size Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.?

The Detroit Bureau:?Clear of the Cliff, Automakers See Boom Coming

?Mark Reuss, GM?s president for North American operations, acknowledged the maker had ?misread? the competition and was forced to increase incentives in the hotly competitive pickup segment last month, but the move appears to have paid off.

General Motors Co.?s dealers delivered the company?s highest December sales in five years, with deliveries up 5% year-over-year to 245,733 vehicles. December was also GM?s best retail sales month of 2012. Incentive spending was ?competitive? with industry-wide levels, the maker contended.

?All four GM brands increased their sales year over year in December and we were strong across the board in cars, crossovers and pickup trucks,? said Kurt McNeil, vice president of U.S. sales operations.

The Chevrolet brand also reported that it had set a new record for its Volt plug-in hybrid, but while the full-year total was triple 2011 volume it still came to barely half the 45,000 target Chevy had originally set.

Most observers anticipate that with Washington finding ways to work around its gridlock and with new signs of an improved economy, such as housing starts on the rise, 2013 should be a good year for the auto industry.

A new forecast from R.L. Polk, a Detroit consultancy that closely tracks vehicle registrations, sees overall demand for 2013 reaching the 15.3 million market, with the number likely to grow to 16 million by 2015.

Significantly, that would be well short of the 17.5 million vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2005 but Polk senior analyst Tom Libby called that an ?artificial? high created by give-away incentives that sharply reduced industry profitability and nearly destroyed the Detroit Big Three. With capacity trimmed sharply during the recession, he says makers are now in a position to post record earnings on lower, but more natural, sales levels.

Data from TrueCar.com seem to support that. The auto tracking service found the average transaction price for a new vehicle purchased in December surged to $31,228, a $542, or 1.8%, increase year-over-year and a $396, or 1.3%, jump from November 2012. ?Incentives for the month, meanwhile, dropped 9.0% industry-wide, to an average $2,409 compared to December 2011.

Paul A. Eisenstein contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/car-sales-surge-may-be-bad-buyers-1B7812450

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