12 New Cars That Are Worth Waiting For
It’s a distinctly American trait to want what’s next—even before it’s here. Yes, Americans are spoiled, with too many choices in every genre of product, especially cars. But so what? This is the place where cars blossomed, where the first (and arguably best) car culture still exists. And where we haven’t stopped loving—and lusting after—the cool car around the next bend. With that in mind, here’s PM’s calendar of 12 cool cars under $50,000 that will go on sale in the next 18 months. Note that the exact dates may not be 100 percent accurate: The timetable is based on what the notoriously vague car flacks told us. So we’ve pried free what info we could, and we share it with you here.
SEPTEMBER: 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8
While we’ve heard reports that the SRT (or SRT8, depending on whom you trust) will get as much as 500 hp from its new 6.4-liter Hemi V8, we’re at least certain that the SRT is actually coming, and likely to arrive late this summer. If it’s anything like the already deeply impressive Grand, the SRT8 is going to be both refined and scary fast, with a predicted eight-speed transmission and at a price (roughly $45,000) that deeply undercuts the likes of the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and other performance crossovers.
ALSO: In 2012 we’ll see a Maserati 4×4 based on this Jeep’s platform, with a Ferrari-designed V8 under the hood. How come? Because Fiat owns both Chrysler (Jeep’s parent) and Maserati/Ferrari. If you have a deeper philosophical question, like, “Does the world need a Jeeperati?,” we’ll advise that you sit back and let the market decide.