The people have spoken: Toyota, Ford, Honda, and Chevrolet excel over other brands in the minds of adult car owners, though the brand’s advantages are less this year than in the past. These are among the findings of the 2012 Car-Brand Perception Survey, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

Subaru has a long and rich history of enthusiast cars through their rally racing heritage. But the Subaru BRZ sports coupe goes in a different direction.

Ford, Honda and Subaru all announced partnerships with Internet radio providers this week at CES, promising digital and custom user-created radio stations and other web content into their vehicles by leveraging the user’s smart phone and a free downloadable app.

As I made my last tour of the Cobo Center show floor in Detroit, it struck me how few new models stood out to me this year. I love that most unveilings were practical, or at least skewed toward the practical, from traditional mainstream models edging upscale to prestige brands reaching down toward mainstream budgets. The cars that etch themselves into my memory are distinctive in appearance, function, and/or mission, leaving so many others anonymous in an army of clones.

As the end of 2011 draws near, we decided to take a look and see which new and used vehicles were most popular on ConsumerReports.org for the year. Every day potential buyers seek our independent test scores and reliability ratings to aid their research and help determine the best vehicle to buy for their needs. While we maintain a list of the most popular searches of the month on the main Cars landing page, it is time to reflect on the year in review. For this, we looked at visits to our model overview pages to compile a list of the top 10 most popular new and used cars.

A total of 115 vehicles have earned the 2012 Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) including 69 cars, 38 SUVs, 5 minivans and 3 pickups. Eighteen new models make the list this year including the Acura MDX, Acura TL, Acura TSX, BMW X3, Buick Verano, Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Honda CR-Z, Honda Fit, Honda Insight, Honda Pilot, Honda Ridgeline, Mercedes-Benz M-Class, Scion xD, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Camry, Toyota Prius V, and Toyota Yaris.

Subaru of America announced a major recall for the 2012 model year versions of its Legacy, Outback and Impreza cars. The company has received hundreds of reports of "greater than usual" brake pedal travel in the vehicles.

Subaru has released a sneak peak and some details of their new BRZ concept sports car, which will be shown in two weeks at the 2011 LA Auto Show.

Subaru has never been afraid to “zig” when the competition “zags.” Many things about Subaru are, well, different. With their “boxer” horizontally-opposed engines, standard all-wheel drive, and lineup of station wagons, they don’t have a history of just copying the competition. This is why it was not such a shock when Subaru first announced their new and improved Impreza with a smaller and less powerful engine, while most manufacturers boast about having more power with each redesign.

With the long-weekend fast approaching, the Consumer Reports’ Cars team has been talking about the joys of the open road and what is the best car to experience it. With the Auto Test Center overflowing with dozens of vehicles in various stages of testing, this is a very real, and common, discussion for us. We’ve gathered up our personal picks for the best road-trip car in hopes that their considerations and selections point you in the right direction when choosing a car with true vacationing potential.

Some days are better than others, especially if they are spent at a private test track with dozens of new cars. Several members of the Consumer Reports Cars team went to the Monticello Motor Club last week for the annual International Motor Press Association (IMPA) track days, sampling the latest cars on a 3.6-mile race track. Naturally, the staff found some favorites from among these high-speed first impressions.

Subaru has recalled 69,590 2011 Outback and Legacy vehicles because the glass of the sunroof can become loose or come off altogether. If the sunroof came off while the vehicle was on the road it would be a potential hazard to other vehicles, increasing the risk of a crash.

Subaru unveiled a concept car that may be the latest addition to its redesigned Impreza lineup at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Taller and bolder than the Impreza hatchback, the XV represents the likely replacement for the outgoing Impreza Outback Sport. In fact, our Outback Sport used to be called XV in other markets.

Subaru is recalling 295,123 2002 to 2007 Impreza, 2003 to 2008 Forester, and 2005 to 2006 Saab 9-2X vehicles due to corrosion, which could cause the front lower control arm in affected vehicles to break.

Subaru is recalling 195,080 Legacy and Outback vehicles from model year 2010 to 2011 because the bottom cover of the windshield wiper can overheat, causing the wiper to malfunction.