AUTOMOTIVE LOVERS

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.

BRAND EXPANDERS

Where Ferrari and Lamborghini are concerned, the rivalry is so perfect that, if it didn't exist, some Hollywood screenwriter would have to invent it.

On the one hand you have Ferrari, the legendary marque founded by a notoriously autocratic icon. The cars from Maranello have long been the exotics to love and drive, pedigreed pieces of rolling art and a testament to Enzo Ferrari's singular, glorious madness.

On the other hand you have Lamborghini, a company born of one man's dissatisfaction with his Ferrari. Unlike il Commendatore, Italian tractor magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini saw little value in racing, and he would not have gotten into the car business had his personal Ferrari not given him mechanical trouble. As legend has it, Lamborghini presented his concerns to Enzo, who told him to go soak his head, and Ferruccio stormed off, vowing to build a better car.

The iPad 3 -- if Apple actually decides to call it that -- is likely to be released in early March, according to analysts who follow the company -- and its new, higher-resolution screen, they say, will make your mouth (and your eyes) water.