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There’s a good reason this new, seventh-generation Volkswagen GTI triggers a feeling of déjà vu: you have, in fact, seen it before. When VW rolled out its all-new Golf VII range at the Paris Motor show last September, it also unveiled an all-new GTI – but said that the hot hatch was merely a concept. No more. The new GTI returns in time for the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, but this time without the pesky concept suffix.

This is Porsche ballet. My car glides over an all-white stage, a landscape skimmed in snow and ice. It is a new, very blue Carrera 4S, one of the first 991 all-wheel-drive models in North America, and it is full of grace.

The 2013 Subaru Legacy has a revised engine with a smidge more power than the 2012 version, and a new continuously variable transmission designed to be more responsive and more efficient. The engine sometimes vocalizes the asthmatic wheezing that is typical of four-cylinder engines strained by CVTs, but overall it's a smooth powertrain that provides more than adequate acceleration. I still love the way this car drives: the Legacy is pleasant and inoffensive, yet it offers just a touch better steering and suspension balance than in typical midsize sedans, making it feel like a special choice in its class.

It has been a tough couple of months for the window sticker. An EPA investigation found that Hyundai and Kia, the two automakers most responsible for making "40 mpg highway" an industry mantra, don't hit that number at all. As of this writing, the agency may also look into whether Ford has been inflating the numbers on some of its hybrids. The embarrassing shortcomings raise some important questions, starting with, "What the hell happened?" More important, considering how much is riding on fuel-economy numbers and tougher standards, can the EPA still keep automakers in line?

There are numerous benefits to putting winter tires on your vehicle, but they can impact a car's performance since they're made more for cutting through the white stuff than for running on dry roads. Initial reviews of the Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V1 snow tires on our CX-5 have been pretty positive, despite the fact that this winter, like the last, has not seen a lot of snow.

By the time you read this, the details of the new C7 Corvette will be public knowledge. But what about the C8? You don't know about that, do you? Well, lucky for you I have sources deep inside General Motors who've agreed to tell me and only me what's in store for the next Corvette after the next Corvette. Hold onto your seats, because the 2020 Corvette is gonna be one wild ride.

You might think that $35 grand is a lot to spend on a Kia, but apparently it's not. The entire reason this new-for-2013 Limited trim level was developed for the Optima is because buyers kept telling Kia dealers that they liked the Optima but wished there was a fancier, top-of-the-line model. So, Kia obligingly created the Limited and it is indeed an attractive machine, especially with its twinkling LED running lights. In fact, with its generous equipment, comfortable cabin, and upmarket exterior design, it is in essence an entry-level luxury sedan. The existence of the Optima Limited speaks to the power of good design: If Kia hadn't hired a good design chief, Automobile Magazine's 2012 Man of the Year Peter Schreyer, who elevated the brand's designs to heights never before imagined, then they would never be able to charge $35,000 for a vehicle. But they didhire Schreyer, he did fix their designs, and now they have a product that people are willing to pay $35,000 for. It's a simple equation.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Think of the Jeep Grand Cherokee as an ant. As ant species extend from innocent little pismires in your yard to hellacious fire ants that plague ranches in central Texas, the Grand Cherokee family extends from the bargain-priced Laredo to the ravenous SRT that has now devoured the Circuit of the Americas.