The five new cars that matter at the Detroit Auto Show — mashable.com

The making and selling of cars is game theory on a grand scale—an ongoing exercise in executive brinkmanship based on two questions: What kinds of vehicles are all the other companies making and what kind should we make next? The answers aren't trivial. Launching a new car requires the kind of investment that makes starting, say, a social network seem like a cheap date. This week, in frigid Detroit, is the annual unveiling of the car companies' biggest bets. They'll reveal their strategies in sleek, shiny new vehicles that the world—and their competitors—have never seen. Some will change a company’s fortunes for decades. Others hint at where the entire industry is heading. Not every car on display is equally portentous: The duds, and there are many, never even make it to the assembly line. When the official press "events" begin tomorrow, these are the five vehicles that will matter most.

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