New Cars That Are Worth Waiting For

Chevrolet Corvette C7 (Late 2012)

The current 'Vette has looked the same for nearly 13 years. Though it's still an amazing car, delivering Ferrari-like performance for one-fifth the price, it's dated in many respects. Expect a lot from the all-new C7 Corvette, then, with cool exterior cues like a split rear window and a vastly upgraded interior that's well above the coach-class quarters of the present car. But handling, which has always been the car's strongest suit, will remain largely unaltered. Horsepower targets in the 400-450 range would be a safe bet for this $50,000 car, even as GM aims to lower displacement to shave weight and nudge up the fuel economy. There might even be forced induction of some kind, and it's perfectly reasonable to expect direct fuel injection for the newest crown jewel of the Chevy badge.

Mitsubishi Evo XI (February 2012)

With Mitsubishi scrapping its gas guzzlers and launching brand-new electric and gas-electric hybrids, all aimed at meeting ever-tighter global emissions standards, the rumor mill is suggesting that even the Lancer Evolution is going to go green. Or green-ish. The idea is to keep it high-performance and AWD, but also use some of the technology already behind the forthcoming i-MiEV electric city car and wed it to either a turbodiesel or a gas motor. The potential would still be there for exceptional output when both gas/electric power plants combine, but it's possible Mitsubishi may allow the driver to roll up to highway speeds on battery juice alone, vastly improving fuel economy. Evo XI may become both larger and more refined too, positioning it more naturally against rivals like Audi.