Battle of the box cars

Whether it is Kia's market momentum or just the hamster commercials, the Soul has been a runaway hit, selling at twice last year's pace. By adding its own funky, extroverted variations on the box theme, it has struck a chord with young buyers -- they bought nearly 7,000 Souls in August. Also in the Soul's favor is its base price below $14,000 -- by far the lowest among the box cars. It takes more than hot looks to create a winner.

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