Earlier in the year, I was happy to read that Jaguar made some improvements to its infotainment interface for 2012. According to Jaguar's web site, one of the changes was the addition of dedicated buttons on the console to make it quicker and easier to access a few functions that previously required several screen selections or were totally buried in the system. It shortens the distraction time for some but unfortunately, it's still a bit wonky. For example, if you choose to use the touch-screen to navigate to adjust the seat heaters, you will also be able to turn on the heated steering wheel from the same screen. If you push the new button on the dash instead, an entirely different screen comes up that only allows you to adjust the heated seats. Very frustrating. The changes definitely are a step in the right direction but they also create problems of their own.

We have previously seen leaked photos, Twitter images, and Christmas-themed teasers, but now it's time to see the Jaguar XF Sportbrake in all its glory. The British automaker revealed these photos of its newest station wagon, which will make its official debut next week at the Geneva Motor Show.

From the carbon-fiber splitter at its chin to the carbon wing insert perched atop its tail, the 2012 Jaguar XKR-S convertible unmistakably declares itself special and desirable. Then it goes out of its way to back up that statement with levels of performance never known from a Jaguar convertible.

"All politics is local." So Congressman Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill, the late Democratic power broker, once famously observed. Although the legendary New England buttonholer's succinct aphorism originally concerned an election he'd lost in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the 1930s, his words continue to resonate. As they did recently when I set off by Jaguar XJ from a rock-music festival in Latvia to catch up with Toomas Hendrik Ilves, president of Estonia, the smallest, most northern, and most thriving of the three former Soviet republics on the Baltic Sea. Ilves and I once had a political connection, and while it had been some time ago, it was very local. How's that?

From previous experience, I know the Jaguar XJ to be dynamically astounding, but unfortunately I wasn't able to fully enjoy its performance prowess due to the buckets of rain that fell during my time with the car. These conditions, however, did not prevent me from appreciating the big Jag's lovely interior and abundance of luxury features.

If the only thing that kept you from placing an order for the hot 2012 Jaguar XKR-S was the fact it was offered only in hardtop form, you now have reason to fire a thank-you note off to the folks in Coventry. The automaker announced it will build a handful of 2012 XKR-S Convertibles, the first of which will be shown this week at the 2011 Los Angeles auto show.

The XF may be the most engaging offering in a segment overflowing with excellent choices. It starts with a throaty V-8, which comes in three basic flavors best summed up as fast (385 hp), faster (470 hp), and "ohmigosh" fast (510 hp). Even in its brawniest R guise, however, the XF remains refined and luxurious thanks to its sublime ride as well as its plush, modern interior. In any form, it steers and handles like a much smaller car, and yet it rides better than many of its competitors. But as enthralling as this car is to drive, the XF falls short in some areas. Finicky controls, a frustrating infotainment system, and less-than-perfect quality marred our yearlong test of an XF back in 2009. Jaguar says it has since fixed the car's early teething issues, namely, by strengthening the failure-prone rear differential. A 2012 update addresses some of our other complaints. We've not yet had a chance to see if the revised touch-screen interface is quicker, but the additional physical buttons mean you no longer have to sift through several on-screen menus to turn on your seat heater. The exterior, which had looked a bit timid and generic, now wears a face similar to that of the larger XJ, and the racy XFR enjoys more visual distinction.

The XJ broke with its staid tradition last year and rocked the luxury sedan establishment with its first radical redesign in more than four decades. Jaguar design chief Ian Callum banished virtually all traces of familiarity, including the iconic four round headlights, in favor of unusual cues like blacked-out C-pillars and a blunt snout for a grille. The new styling turns off some but makes a much stronger statement than the old design. The spirit of Sir William Lyons survives inside, where warm leather and generous wood trim soften futuristic bits like the rotary shifter and color screens that replace traditional gauges. The navigation and infotainment system includes HD Radio and satellite radio and features two USB ports. However, it lacks cutting-edge features such as Google Maps and in-car internet. The XJ shares its line of 5.0-liter V-8 engines with the XF. The Supersport tops the range with the supercharged 510-hp V-8 as well as a leather headliner and laser-engraved veneers. It can be purchased only by custom order. The long-wheelbase version adds an extra five inches of legroom and can be had in any trim level. Even with the base engine, the XJ bursts away from stoplights and threads through corners with the agility of a sports car. Much of the credit goes to the relatively light aluminum structure that, Jaguar claims, saves 300 pounds versus conventional steel. But the car has also been tuned in a way that borders on magical, from its precise, almost delicate steering to the perfect ride-and-handling balance achieved by its active dampers.

Amid dramatic changes in the Jaguar lineup, the traditional-looking XK offers the clearest link to the brand's past. Its sonorous 5.0-liter V-8 engine, available with power outputs ranging from 385 to a mind-blowing 550 hp, responds instantly to the tap of the gas pedal, with much of the credit going to the six-speed automatic transmission, which reacts almost as if it could read the driver's mind. Although the XK's styling harks back to the 1998 XK8, the car has benefited from several recent updates. Last year it received a line of direct-injection V-8 engines. At that time the interior was restyled to more closely match the newer XF and XJ, replacing the controversial J-gate shifter with the new, also controversial, rotary shifter. The front and rear fascias, updated last year, evolve further this year with a more aggressive lower grille and slimmer headlights that resemble Jaguar's recent sports car concepts. The new-for-2012 XJR-S is the most powerful Jaguar you can buy, and it handily outguns the likes of the Porsche 911 Turbo S. But the XK, regardless of trim, is not as sharp as the best sports cars and, in convertible form, doesn't always feel rigid enough. Like the sporting Jags of old, though, the XK expertly blends brutal performance with a helping of refinement. Pretty soon it will lose its monopoly on Jaguar sports car enthusiasts. A less expensive two-door based on the 2011 Frankfurt motor show's C-X16 will arrive sometime in 2013, and a production version of the wild C-X75 -- sans turbine power -- is on the way.

Jaguar will use the Los Angeles auto show to unveil two new options packages for the XJ luxury sedan: the Sport appearance package, and the Speed performance package.

Eric Tingwall found great delight in chucking an XKR-S around a racetrack, but my short time behind the wheel of this uber-Jag was spent in the Detroit suburbs and a brief jaunt on the highways back to Ann Arbor. It was a journey where I could easily forget just how much power lay under my right foot. Under normal driving, the XKR-S is tame and luxurious, like any other modern Jaguar. The suspension may be slightly stiffer than your run-of-the-mill XKR, but it's not something that you notice over most road surfaces. That extra "-S" makes itself known, however, once the go-pedal goes down. Then the 550-hp, supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 sings. The aural delights that come from the tailpipes rival those found in Carnegie Hall in New York and La Scala in Milan. Push the accelerator and you can't help but to let the rocket-like propulsion push you back in the sculpted performance seats and pull your face into a wide smile.

Is there any auto company more right brained than Jaguar? How else to explain the absolute mastery of sensual details - how leather should smell, how a V-8 should sound and respond, how the steering should feel - and the absolute neglect of more logical areas like interior ergonomics and exterior panel gaps? Seriously, the panel gaps on this $82,075 XJ are about on par with the ten-year-old Pontiac sitting in my garage (don't judge). And three years after I first experienced Jaguar's climate, radio, and navigation interface, I find it as pokey as ever. Only now it's lost all novelty since even Kia Rios have touchscreens these days.

I really love the way Jaguar products drive. I really hate the touch-screen infotainment system and pretty much any other electrical item on the car. The problem is with so much traffic clogging up the roads I'm forced to drive most days, I end up spending more time fiddling with the stereo than I do really driving. So I walk away less than thrilled.

With carbon-fiber components, an aluminum chassis, a hybrid drivetrain, and stunning aluminum body work, the Jaguar C-X16 concept is one of the most dramatic debuts at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show. The official word is that the C-X16 is simply a way for Jaguar to demonstrate its future design and technology plans, but there are strong hints this car may make it to production. "The C-X16 is our compelling vision for a 21st century Jaguar sports car," said Jaguar global brand director Adrian Hallmark. "It delivers an irresistible proposition on both emotional and rational levels."

It's a challenge for anyone to keep up with the constantly changing roster of cars on dealership lots. For car lovers it's an even tougher task, because beyond knowing that a certain model exists, you need to know where it fits in the automotive firmament. That's why we've gathered every new model due by the first half of 2012 and categorized them, not alphabetically or by some government-defined size class, but by their relevance to buyers, enthusiasts, and the companies that build them. Some cars thrust automakers into new segments, while others drive just like last year's model. Some cars protect the sanctity of the manual transmission, while others advance performance with the latest technology. Some cars address rising fuel-economy standards, while others disguise obscene speed in stealthy sheetmetal. Here are the 85 new arrivals shaping the automotive world for 2012.

This is one special kitty. The moment you take a seat behind the wheel, it is obvious that the old-world charm and attention to detail of classic Jaguars is still alive and well in 2011. The starter button glows red, pulsating like a heartbeat, and the interior comes to life in tandem with the growl of the 5.0-liter V-8 -- vents rotating, gauge needles sweeping, and rotary shift knob rising in a perfectly choreographed ballet. Twist the knob to "D" and pull away reveling in the delicious burble that the four-pipe exhaust emits. Hit the turn signal, and the blinker sounds similar to a finely-crafted English clock, ticking the time until you can make the turn and listen again to the sonorous V-8. All of the lighting coordinates together: the crisp blue-white of the xenon headlamps complements the ice-blue interior LEDs, the same blue used as an accent color on the multifunction touch screen. The XFR bathes its passengers in luxury and in the finesse found only in something very special; it is a precious item you never want to let go.

There’s no shortage of performance in the Jaguar lineup. With the XFR sedan, the XKR two-door, and the XJ Super Sport sedan, the British automaker has a trio of 510-hp supercharged brutes that are plenty competent around a track. But what Jaguar doesn’t have is performance with cachet. The R subbrand carries little emotional weight compared with BMW M, Mercedes-Benz AMG, and Audi RS badges.

In the ever-changing automotive market, there are a few evergreen nameplates that sell massive volumes year after year. The Toyota Corolla and Honda Accord are the traditional volume winners, last year selling a combined 639,185 vehicles , to put that in perspective, there are more Corollas and Accords sold each year than there are residents in the state of Vermont.

It's not that we are offended by it or against it -- it is just not for us." So said Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar's recently recruited global brand director, referring to the Bertone B99 concept shown at Geneva in March. Big mistake, in my opinion. The B99 looks more like an archetypal Jaguar than do current production Jaguar sedans, and it does so without being retro. The XJ sedan, our Design of the Year, still retains vestiges of Sir William Lyons' double-bump headlamp nacelles from the 1960s, a more overtly retro detail than anything on Bertone's concept, and it suffers from those goofy black C-pillars and cribbed Lancia taillights.

At board meetings, on test tracks, and in design studios, decisions are being made today that will influence what you drive tomorrow. Automakers are hard at work creating the next generation of automobiles -- cars that are faster, sexier, more efficient -- while trying to keep their development secret. Like you, we are nosy as hell. Unlike you, we have a vast network of snoops, gossips, and disgruntled former employees who have helped us uncover the information we present here. Our annual Sneak Preview feature contains the industry's future products -- as far out as 2019 -- that are worth saving your milk money for.

The Jaguar XF debuted for the 2009 model year, and we fell in love with it immediately. We named it to our 2009 and 2010 All-Star teams and we adored our silver Four Seasons test car, even though it was extremely sketchy in the reliability department. Since the XF's debut, it has received upgraded powertrains across the board, including the awesome 470-hp, 5.0-liter V-8 in the XF Supercharged.

When it debuted in 2008, the Ian Callum-penned Jaguar XF represented a radical styling departure from its predecessor, the retro-themed S-Type. The new XJ that followed in 2010 was likewise iconoclastic in its complete departure from its forebear. While from the looks of things, the 2012 XF won't be as big a leap as the original, the refresh looks like it will continue Jaguar's fully modern styling theme into the next model year, when it's revealed at the upcoming 2011 New York International Auto Show.

Italian design house Bertone has released few details of its new Jaguar B99 concept, but some images of the new concept, destined for a Geneva debut - are leaking out ahead of schedule.

Three years after Jaguar launched a performance-tuned XKR-S model at the Geneva Motor Show, the automaker revealed it will be bringing an all-new, more powerful XKR-S to this year's Geneva extravaganza. Deja vu? Perhaps, but the latest XKR-S promises to be a much more intimidating cat than the last.

Jaguar scaled back its big-volume ambitions after the Premiere Auto Group years, but now, under Tata, is scaling them back up again. Together with Land Rover, Jaguar's unofficial long- term plan is to build 750,000 vehicles by 2018. This is a dramatic threefold increase in production. New executives John Edwards at Land Rover and Adrian Hallmark at Jaguar have, together with Carl-Peter Forster and Ralph Speth, agreed to jointly conceive more efficient, universally applicable drivetrains, vehicle architectures, and production processes.