Best of the Windy City

When GMC released the Acadia six years ago, it marked the rise of the domestic 3-row crossover. Ford and Dodge have since followed suit with the Explorer and Durango, respectively, and their higher-quality interiors have surpassed the Acadia. Now, GMC is looking to even the score. While the 2013 Acadia gets a revised look with a bolder grille, the interior changes are most important. The new Acadia adds an industry-first front center airbag and GMC's Color Touch Radio, which uses capacitive touch technology commonly found in smartphones. Perhaps more importantly, interior materials are upgraded with soft-touch surfaces and French stitching. Look for the new Acadia as well as a loaded Acadia Denali late this year.

Read:  2012 GMC Acadia Bows in Chicago

Hyundai has helped raise the bar for quality in the compact segment with its Elantra 4-door sedan, and now the company is adding a 2-door coupe. The look is only slightly more stylish because the sedan has a slick, coupelike tapered roof. The coupe rides on the same wheelbase as the sedan, uses the same 1.8-liter 148-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, and delivers the same 40 mpg on the highway. It also offers leather upholstery, heated front seats and a navigation system. The Elantra coupe will go on sale this spring, and a 5-door hatchback called the GT will follow in the summer.

Read:  Hyundai Lands a One-Two in Chicago

Just as Chevrolet is making headlines with its new 556-horsepower Camaro ZL1, Ford is one-upping its rival with a revised Shelby GT500 Mustang. We saw the coupe late last year at the Los Angeles Auto Show and now it's the convertible's turn. The heart of the GT500 is a new 5.8-liter supercharged V8 engine that pumps out 650 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque, making it the world's most powerful V8. Handling is improved thanks to adjustable Bilstein shocks, while Brembo brakes provide stronger stopping power. Also aiding performance are a carbon-fiber driveshaft and revised gear ratios for the 6-speed manual transmission. The GT500 ragtop is due early this summer.

View Pictures:  2012 Ford Shelby GT500 Convertible

The Kia Soul is a funky urban runabout, made popular by series of hip-hop hamster television ads. The Track'Ster Concept is a street and track version of the stylized box. While the Soul is a front-wheel-drive 4-door machine, the Track'Ster is a 2-door with all-wheel drive. Power is provided by a 2.0-liter turbocharged 250-horsepower 4-cylinder engine, and performance is enhanced by a 5-inch wider track, Brembo brakes and 19-inch wheels with sticky Michelin rubber. Inside, the rear seat is removed in favor of storage and a custom quick-release strut brace that holds the spare tire. Don't expect a production Track'Ster any time soon, but a less extreme performance Soul could be in the cards.

View Pictures:  Kia Track'Ster Concept

Nissan's classic 2-seat sports car receives a slight midcycle update for 2013, mostly minor cosmetic tweaks and a brake upgrade. Up front, the Z adds vertical running lights and a new grille. Gone is the aftermarket look, as the grille's underbite is replaced by a pronounced lower grille surround. Cars equipped with the Sport package get a new 19-inch wheel design, red brake calipers and Euro-inspired shock tuning. Coupes also have new 18-inch wheels. Inside, the Z is offered with a new Bose premium audio system. Brake upgrades consist of high-rigidity brake hoses from the GT-R and performance brake fluid. The 2013 Nissan 370Z will go on sale in June.

Read:  Chicago: 2013 Nissan 370Z

Chevrolet is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Corvette this year. It's marking the occasion here at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show by unveiling a special Anniversary Edition of its 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible. The 427 is essentially a concoction of parts from other 'Vettes, including a bunch of bits and pieces sourced from the heralded Corvette ZR1. While it's not the most powerful Corvette ever produced — that distinction goes to the ZR1 — the 427 is propelled by a 7.0-liter 505-horsepower V-8 LS7 engine, making it the most powerful Corvette convertible ever produced. But the Anniversary Options Package is what makes this machine special.

View Slideshow:  The Corvette Turns 60

Available for any model, the package comes with Arctic White paint, and Pearl Silver Blue stripes are optional. Other exterior features include a rear spoiler inspired by the ZR1, gray brake calipers and 60th anniversary logos on the wheel center caps. Inside, it gets Blue Diamond leather upholstery with suede accents. The anniversary package will be available when the 2013 model is released this summer.

With the release of the Laramie Limited, Ram is offering a less conspicuous alternative to the Southwestern-themed Ram Laramie Longhorn at the top of its model lineup. Available for the 1500 and the heavy-duty 2500 and 3500 models, it comes with leather upholstery, piano-black trim and premium Berber-carpet floor mats. The exterior features include body-color bumpers and 20-inch wheels (17-inchers for the HD models). Additional standard equipment includes a navigation system, remote engine starting, heated and ventilated front seats, heated steering wheel and power adjustable pedals. The Laramie Limited will go on sale in the second quarter of the year.

Read:  Meet Ram's New Flagship

The Land Cruiser, Toyota's luxurious 8-passenger off-roader, gets even more luxurious with this 2013 midcycle update. The exterior changes are minor, consisting of revisions to the grille, headlights and taillights, and the addition of chrome side moldings and LED driving lights. Inside, it adds such standard features as a heated steering wheel, ventilated front seats, a Multi-Terrain Monitor, rear DVD entertainment, Bluetooth, JBL audio and a navigation system with Toyota's Entune multimedia system. New performance and safety features include radar cruise control, crawl control, a Multi-Terrain Select system and a pre-collision system. The Land Cruiser also gets a retuned suspension as it goes on sale this month.

Read:  2013 Land Cruiser Makes U.S. Debut

The Acura TSX has grown too big and powerful, so Acura is introducing a smaller car called the ILX to become its entry-level offering. We saw the concept a month ago in Detroit, and Acura unveiled the production version here in Chi Town. The Honda Civic-based sedan will be offered with three engines: a 2.0-liter 150-horsepower 4-cylinder, a 2.4-liter 201-horsepower four and the brand's first hybrid, which pairs a 1.5-liter four with an electric motor. The interior design and materials befit an Acura, and unique features include Pandora Internet radio streaming and SMS text messaging. The ILX will go on sale this spring with a starting price in the mid $20,000s.

Bing Images: 2013 Acura ILX

The Dart GTS 210 Tribute highlights what customers can do with Mopar's line of factory-backed aftermarket parts. It features a Stage 1 appearance package and a Stage 2 performance package. The appearance package features include matte-black trim, a carbon-fiber hood and titanium-colored 18-inch wheels on the outside, and Katzkin leather seats, black chrome trim and bright pedals on the inside. The performance package comes with an adjustable anti-sway bar to improve handling, more aggressive brake rotors and pads, and a cold-air intake and cat-back exhaust kit that boost the 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine to 210 horsepower. Buyers can order any or all of these parts for their Darts.

Read:  Red, Black and Mopar All Over

Limited to 450 examples, the 2012 Mazda Miata Special Edition sports a unique look and every feature imaginable. It is based on the top-end Grand Touring version of Mazda's 2-seat roadster, but also comes standard with the power-retractable hardtop and the equipment in the Premium and Suspension packages. Available in Victory Red or Crystal Pearl White, each car has black outside mirrors, black trim around the grille and fog lights, a black hardtop, black leather upholstery with gray stitching, and Piano Black interior trim. The 2012 Miata Special Edition will go on sale at the end of February for a starting price of $31,225.

Read:  Special Mazda Miata for Chicago

Kirk Bell has served as the associate publisher for Consumer Guide Automotive and editor of Scale Auto Enthusiast magazine. A Midwest native, Bell brings 18 years of automotive journalism experience to MSN, and currently contributes to JDPower.com and Kelley Blue Book's kbb.com.