The Kia Soul and Subaru Impreza hatchback are similar in some ways, such as engine size; use of simple controls; easy access to the noisy cabin; and comparable fuel economy, cargo room, and turning circles. Yet, there are big differences in styling and performance.

Reports of an imminent invasion of Chinese cars have proved exaggerated for more than a decade. Promised introductions have failed to materialize, and those from BYD, Geely, and others that we've seen displayed at auto shows looked unready for prime time. Now I've had a chance to actually drive one, the all-electric BYD e6, at the 26th Electric Vehicle Symposium taking place this week in Los Angeles. Truthfully, it made a better impression than we would have expected.

Toyota Motor Corp. announced a service campaign to fix its brand new Prius V, a wagon-like vehicle in its wildly popular gas-electric hybrid line. Similar to the hybrid sedan, the roomier Prius V captures the "waste heat" from its exhaust system. However, flawed components in the recovery system may cause the Prius V to leak engine coolant.

As gas prices hover near $4 a gallon nationwide, there are more than 20 SUVs and trucks that cost more than $100 to fill up. But, there are almost 30 cars that cost less than $50 to refuel. We crunched the numbers and found the cheapest cars in America to fill up.

Ahead of the New York International Auto Show, Subaru has announced a restyling, engine upgrade, and new features for the 2013 Legacy sedan and Outback wagon. The front end has been restyled with new headlights, grille, front bumper, and fog lights, moving the appearance in line with the new Impreza.

German luxury car maker BMW AG is recalling about 1.3 million BMW 5 Series and BMW 6 Series vehicles worldwide due to an issue with the cars' battery cable covers. The recall affects approximately 367,000 BMW cars in the U.S.

Subaru will offer EyeSight on its 2013 Legacy and Outback, giving these midsized models a portfolio of modern safety features. The EyeSight technology suite includes adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking, and vehicle lane departure warning, all informed by two cameras mounted on the inside of the windshield.

Subaru of America is recalling 275,000 Forester vehicles. The 2009 to 2012 model years of the Subaru Forester SUVs have rear center seat belt systems which do not meet federal safety standards and could inhibit the proper installation of child safety seats, said the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Volvo Cars of North America is recalling more than 17,000 2012 Volvo S60 and Volvo S80 sedans and 2012 Volvo XC60 and Volvo XC70 wagons for issues with electrical wiring under the vehicles' front seats, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Subaru of America is recalling a small number of its 2012 Subaru Legacy sedans and 2012 Subaru Outback wagons. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the cars have side air bags that might not deploy during a collision and increase the risk of injury to drivers and passengers.

At the Chicago Auto Show this week, Hyundai unveiled a stylish Elantra coupe and this five-door Elantra GT. Based on the i30 model in Europe, the GT will be powered by the 148-hp, 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine common to the range, and teamed with a choice of six-speed automatic or manual transmission.

Aimed at car enthusiasts, Kia unveiled a high-performance concept called the Track’ster based on the Soul wagon at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show.

Toyota has expanded the coveted Prius brand by introducing this larger wagon, and it will soon flank the original Prius hatchback with the introduction of a smaller hybrid, the Prius C. The Prius V certainly seems like a good idea: Take a proven powertrain and fit it to a roomier vehicle, offering current Prius owners a step-up vehicle, well suited to growing families. But does it work? We bought a Prius V “Three Model” ($28,217) to see if Toyota got the formula right, or if it proved to, literally, be too much of a good thing.

The upcoming March 2012 issue of Consumer Reports magazine features road tests of the BMW X3, Jeep Wrangler, Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, Volkswagen Tiguan, and Toyota Prius V. These new or updated models were treated to the full battery of more than 50 tests, and the full results are available now to online subscribers.

Shopping for any used car is enough to make some buyers feel like they’ve entered the netherworld, but how about specifically shopping for a vehicle designed to take you there? On Saturday, January 21st, the Barrett-Jackson car auction company will put on the block the 1964 Cadillac Hearse (lot number 1293) that it claims transported assassinated President John F. Kennedy from the Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas to the city’s Love Field Airport, where Air Force One was waiting to take the president back to Washington, D.C.