EARLY 2013: BMW i3 Electric City Car

BMW claim that it's new $35,000 Chevy Volt-beater will have 99 miles of range from its rear-mounted electric motor and floor-mounted batteries. BMW (being BMW) is also claiming 100 mph for the car's top speed, and the i3 could bring the equivalent of 150 horsepower. Cargo will be divided between the rear seats and in the front trunk (a la the original, rear-engine VW Beetle). Much of the body will be made of carbon-reinforced plastic.

Wireless charging is one intriguing concepts we hope makes it to market. In conjunction with industrial giant Siemens, BMW is working on a magnetic field charging system, like those used in wireless laptop and cell phone charging pads, where a car would parked above a charging station. At that point, a coil in both the ground and the vehicle would recognize each other and begin the charge. This beats having your Volt or Prius PHV plugged in via wire at a garage or mall for a few hours, where vandalism or other hazards exist.

LATE 2012: Corvette C7

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.

FALL 2012: Ford Fiesta ST

The Fiesta ST will have an altered body for improved cooling, but may be available only as a three-door hatch. It will have better suspension tuning, possibly Recaro racing seats, some unique trim, 17-inch wheels, speed-rated performance tires and dual exhaust. Ford reportedly experimented with cramming the 2.0-liter engine from the Focus ST into this car. Unfortunately, that won't be coming to the showroom, partly because Ford is working hard to differentiate its two hot hatches. The automaker is launching them at least six months apart and trying to give the Fiesta as much of a sport focus as possible, while selling the Focus with more of an upscale feel. So expect the Fiesta to carry a directly injected, turbocharged 1.6-liter four.

We don't know the Fiesta ST's price yet, but one would think it couldn't go much higher than $23,000, with rivals like the Nissan Sentra SE-R coming in at $20,000 and the Civic Si smack at $23,000.