Car sales zoomed ahead in January, with many automakers reporting solid sales at the start of a year expected to show a steady gain in vehicle purchases.

Chrysler, now privately held and majority owned by Italy’s Fiat, was the notable standout for the month. It posted a 44 percent rise in U.S. auto sales, led by gains for its Jeep brand, while its larger domestic rival General Motors lost ground in a month marked by modest growth.

Chrysler’s sales blew past some analysts’ expectations of a 35 percent increase, demonstrating the remarkable comeback of the smallest U.S. automaker nearly three years after its taxpayer-funded bankruptcy restructuring. It also reported its first full-year profit since 1997.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — A Chrysler 300C once leased by President Barack Obama is for sale on eBay with the eye-popping “opening bid” of $1 million.

The opening bid, which is dictated by the seller, means that bidding for the car must start at that price.

The woman who posted the car on eBay Motors, Lisa Czibor, said she has received some criticism for the high asking price but that the current owner of the car fully expects to get that amount.

Czibor said in a phone interview with CNNMoney that she is listing the car for someone else but looks forward to getting a commission on the sale. She describes herself as a “life-long Ronald Reagan old-school conservative.”

“It’s all about the money for me,” she said

The Chevrolet Volt got a clean bill of health, last Friday, with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration closing its investigation into potential problems with the plug-in hybrid’s battery pack – but that doesn’t mean General Motors’ problems with the Volt are over, as a Congressional hearing is scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

The Volt controversy stems from a fire that occurred last spring, weeks after one of the battery cars went through a federal crash test. A second Volt battery pack caught fire after being tested in November. That triggered an investigation by the NHTSA – as well as hearings by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, California Republican and committee chairman Darryl Issa contending that the government agency initially tried to cover up the original fire.

Game Boys and backseat monitors are “so five years ago,” suggests Tom Seder, a manager at the General Motors R&D labs.

Working with the Future Lab, at Israel’s Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, GM researchers are exploring ways to turn a car’s rear windows into interactive devices that could permit backseat passengers – children in particular – to have a more interesting experience while traveling.

A two-year study looking for possible causes behind Toyota’s rash of unintended acceleration issues has put primary blame on driver error — but the review by the National Academy of Sciences also cautioned that some problems may have been caused by inadvertent interactions involving vehicle electronics — an issue frequently cited by the automaker’s critics.

Though there was no hard evidence of specific electronic defects, the 139-page report cautioned that “the absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence.” Warning electronic faults may be “untraceable,” it calls for stricter government involvement in setting standards for the use of electronic control vehicle systems.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Chrysler Group unveiled its much-needed new small car, the Dodge Dart small car at the Detroit auto show Monday. The car is expected to go on sale later this year at prices starting at about $16,000. Official fuel economy estimates aren’t available, yet.

The Dart is based on engineering shared with Italy’s Fiat, Chrysler’s parent company.

It will be built in Chrysler’s Belvidere, Ill., factory. It will go on sale with a base price of $15,995.

Chrysler Group CEO Sergio Marchionne conceded at a press conference later Monday that the company won’t make a lot of money at that price for the stripped down model. But he’s betting that buyers drawn in by the low price will add options. “You start shopping there and by the time you finish, maybe you’ll pay more,” he said.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — General Motors is recalling the Chevrolet Volt to make changes that it says will help prevent fires from coolant leaks which may follow a severe side impact.

Coolant leaks days after National Highway Traffic Safety Administration side crash tests caused several fires.

The fires were sparked when the cars were being slowly rotated as part of a post-test procedure causing the coolant to come into contact with circuit boards. The cars’ batteries were still charged at the time.

The recall applies to all of the approximately 8,000 Volts on the road today. Dealers will also make changes on cars on their lots awaiting delivery to customers.

With the filing of bankruptcy papers this week it’s all over for Saab but the funeral. Or is it?

Few automakers have existed so long and so close to the precipice — or shown the uncanny ability to come back from the seeming dead. But this week’s developments would suggest that the Swedish automaker will soon wind up on the automotive rust heap.

The news leaves a lot of folks wondering what will happen next, among them Saab car owners, the maker’s creditors and its employees. There’s relatively little in the kitty left to cover the carmaker’s debts, and a Saab spokesperson today told us warranty service has been “temporarily suspended.”

DETROIT (AP) — The Dodge Dart, a 1960s compact car that gearheads turned into street racers, is making a comeback.

Chrysler said Tuesday that it will use the Dart name for a new compact car based on Italian technology that it will introduce in the U.S. next year.

The Dart, which is expected to get 40 miles per gallon of gas on the highway, is an extremely important car for Chrysler Group LLC, which currently has outdated offerings in the fast-growing compact car market. Young buyers in the U.S. generally pick compacts as their first new cars, and research shows they’ll stick with a brand if they like their first vehicle.

FORTUNE — General Motors is nearing its long-term goal of making OnStar, its high-tech telematics service, a compelling reason for consumers to buy its cars. That means OnStar is also quickly becoming a valuable asset that could help the auto maker raise capital.

Founded in 1995, OnStar was GM’s (GM) bid to bring mobile communications to the driver’s seat. Unlike traditional in-dash GPS units, OnStar relies on a cellular network that drivers can use to contact representatives for emergency services or directions. Over the years, the company added features such as the ability to open locked doors remotely and even track stolen vehicles.

Hundreds of thousands of Honda vehicles sold the United States are being recalled or will be inspected by the company because their airbags could potentially explode causing injury or death, the company said.

In a notice posted in a PDF file on its website, the American Honda Co. said it was expanding a previously announced recall to include some 273,000 of certain 2001-2003 model Honda and Acura vehicles to replace the airbag.

“Affected driver’s airbag inflators may deploy with too much pressure, which can cause the inflator casing to rupture and could result in injury or fatality,” the message said.

It also said airbag service parts were sold for installation in an unknown number of vehicles for collision repair or other service.

If you’ve ever felt yourself nodding off when you’ve spent a little too much time behind the wheel you’re not alone. According to a recent study by the AAA Foundation more than two in five drivers admit they’ve fallen asleep, even for a moment, when driving.

While most motorists now recognize the dangers of drunk driving, AAA officials fear that there’s a more casual attitude when it comes to drowsy driving. But new technology is designed to not only alert drivers who have begun to drift off while behind the wheel but also help them avoid an accident.