Playboy picks its 2012 Cars of the Year

Playboy has been around since 1953 for a reason: It's an arbiter of good taste in the arena of male interests. Sure, that includes naked ladies, but it also encompasses fashion, movies, music and any other consumable that tugs at the heart strings of a man's billfold. The fashionable male of the modern era also consumes cars, and so Playboy has an opinion about which ones are worthy of their hard-earned dollars. Each year the magazine's resident four-wheel expert, Ken Gross, and its editors pick their cars of the year, and this year's list is out in the January/February issue hitting newsstands now.

We'll spoil the surprise between the pages and tell you that the magazine's overall 2012 Car of the Year is the Jaguar XKR-S. A solid pick to be sure, and an impressive win for Jag considering its company on Playboy's short list.

The Lamborghini Aventador and Bentley Continental GTC occupy the six-figure side of the list's price spectrum, while solid luxury sedans choices like the Audi A7 and Mercedes-Benz CLS63 AMG offer room for some family and friends. If a sports car is what you're after, Playboy recommends the BMW 1 Series M and Ford Mustang Boss 302, while the budget-conscious among its readership should look at the Fiat 500 and Hyundai Veloster. While the list contains no serious off-roader, one could venture off your tree-lined driveway with the magazine's choice of the Land Rover Range Rover Evoque, and last but not least is the Lexus CT 200h for those looking for luxury, performance, practicality and fuel efficiency in one gloriously compromised package.

You can check out the full list for yourself over at Playboy.com (yes, the page – but not the whole site – is Safe For Work), as well as vote for which vehicle you think should be Heff's Car of the Year.