Did you purchase a new car this year?  Well, it’s important to note that you can deduct local sales taxes paid towards a new car purchases made before December 31, 2009.

Details

• The deduction is limited to the state and local sales and excise taxes paid on a new-car purchase of $49,500 or less.
• Individuals filers must have a  modified adjusted gross income between $125,000 and $135,000.
• Joint filers must have a modified adjusted gross income between $250,000 and $260,000.
• Tax incentives may be combined with Customer Cash, Dealer Cash or other rebates provided by manufacturers.
• Select Ford, Chevrolet, GMC and Nissan Hybrids also qualify for a tax credit.  Honda and Toyota Hybrid tax credits are no longer available.

Click here to see the complete list of Hybrids that still qualify for the tax credit. One vehicle that really stands out to us is the freshly crowned 2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year, the 2010 Ford Fusion.  The Hybrid version gets a whopping 41 mpg on the highway and 36 mpg in the city.  Purchasing one will also get you a healthy $850 federal tax credit.

There are few vehicles that have been as enthusiastically anticipated as the 2011 Chevy Volt. With the media buzzing with excitement over GM’s latest green creation, many are wondering if the Volt will indeed live up to the hype. Just over a year remains until the Volt’s proposed release date and there is still speculation regarding the car’s actual performance versus the manufacturer’s claims.  Moreover, Chevy might even release a high-performance version, aptly dubbed Chevy Volt SS.

Hopefully much of that speculation can soon be put to rest as a fleet of eight pre-production Volt models took to the road last week for a series of real world tests. Called “the 65-percent drive,” it is the first of many long-term tests that will take place over the next year.  As you’ve probably guessed, the name of the test means that the Volt is at least 65 percent complete. These tests are performed much like a ship’s shakedown cruise, and will be repeated when the vehicle is 70, 80, 90 and even 100 percent complete.

The main goal this time out is to test the prototype’s Charge Sustaining Mode so they can have a better idea of the production car’s real-world range and mileage. Things seem to be going smoothly for the team of engineers and it looks like the Volt is on track for its November 2010 release.

Hyundai is no stranger to the pages of Pricing Insider, as we’ve reported several of the manufacturer’s successful incentives and programs. That’s why it comes as no surprise to us that Advertising Age recently named the Korean automaker “Marketer of the Year.”

With perfectly timed and well-placed ads for their Assurance Program, Hyundai appealed to its American audience like no other automaker of the time.  Not satisfied with just one success, Hyundai then followed up with Gas Lock Assurance, which locked in the price of regular gas at $1.49 per gallon for a whole year.

When Cash for Clunkers landed in July, Hyundai matched the government’s trade-in values before the program officially started, meaning the company had to picked up the bill in order to offer Hyundai customers those much appreciated savings. Even after the program ended, Hyundai offered an additional $1,000 on top of the value of any trade-in, regardless of MPG. The genius of this incentive was that it could be combined with any of the many other rebate offers Hyundai had going on, resulting in bottom line prices that often matched or sometimes beat the government rebates.

Hyundai’s  sales rocketed to a remarkable 27.24 percent in the first ten months of 2009.   Look for more award wins for Hyundai in 2010.

When you think of a quick, fun-to-drive compact car, the odds are you’re not thinking of a Suzuki. That might soon change though, if recent reports about the Suzuki Swift’s imminent stateside launch are true.

A staple of fun and economical transportation in Japan and other parts of the world, the Swift has been missing from Suzuki’s North American model lineup for 15 years now. In its absence, the larger (but still tiny by U.S. standards) Suzuki SX4 was left to carry the torch as the company’s entry level model.

While the SX4 is a great car in its own right, it’s not nearly as nimble as the Swift. With the same amount of power as the SX4, but weighing considerably less thanks to a front-wheel-drive-only layout, the Swift is eager to conquer twisty back roads with fuel-saving gusto.

The current generation 2010 Swift is not available here due to stringent U.S. safety and emissions standards.   However, the next-generation 2011 Swift will bear these requirements in mind.  That being said, the next-gen Swift will show up in American showrooms some time around, you guessed it—2011.

As far as pricing goes, you can expect the Swift to be an absolute segment buster—think MINI Cooper for nearly half the price.

We did a double-take, as well.  We couldn’t believe it at first, neither, but it’s true–if you live in Colorado.  This could very well qualify as the single biggest incentive, ever. The 2010 Tesla Roadster is arguably the ultimate electric vehicle, a virtual paradox, combining sports-car performance (0-60 in 3.9 sec) with zero emissions.  And now, you can save a whopping 38% off its MSRP.

To learn more about the huge discount, check out the story at Left Lane News. To see other fuel-efficient vehicles that qualify for huge tax credits, check out the Alternative Fuel Income Tax Credits PDF here.