Regardless of the model year it's hard not to drool a little over a Corvette. The 2008 Chevrolet Corvette, the LS3, has an all-aluminum, 6.2-liter, V8 under the hood thrumming out 430 horsepower and 424 lb.-ft. of torque with the standard exhaust. Stick the optional dual-mode exhaust on that baby and you're looking at 436 hp and a jump to 428 lb.-ft.

Expect to top out at 190 mph. This Corvette has a drag coefficient of only 0.286. It will fly -- and handle smoothly even at top flight thanks to a silky six-speed transmission. (You can get an automatic, but would you really want one?) Zero to sixty disappears in about 4.3 seconds, not quite a blink of the eye, but close enough.

Inside the accents of brushed aluminum speak to the heart of the sports car lover. Go for the optional leather upholstery and kick back to enjoy both XM and On-Star -- they're standard features now. On the models without a navigation unit you'll have a jack for your iPod and every model has mirrors that auto-dim.

The wheels for 2008 are cast aluminum (split-spoke) and there are two new body colors for the model year, Jetstream Blue Metallic Tincoat and Crystal Red Metallic Tincoat. Otherwise the exterior is a carry-over from 2007, but why mess with what looked great already?

Available as both a coupe and a convertible, expect an MSRP range on the 2008 Chevrolet Corvette of approximately $46,000 to $54,000. Fuel efficiency, depending on the transmission, will run around 17 to 18 in town and 27 to 28 on the open road. (Estimated CO2 emissions on the vehicle are 0.90 to 0.95 lb/mile.) Overall, expect the Corvette to be a more precise vehicle for the model year, with a better engine and engineering and design refinements throughout. It's more than worthy of the sports car moniker and closing the performance gap quickly with its pricier cousins.