[Cuda340]

Some comments from the Canadian Auto Show:

Not to be outdone, Chrysler took the wraps off the Dodge Challenger SRT8, which will be manufactured in Brampton and made its world debut at the Chicago Auto Show last week.

The two-door coupe, in “Hemi” orange, is a throwback to the 1970 Challenger of the muscle car era. “This car is retro only in the way it looks,” said the car’s Canadian-born designer, Ralph Gilles. “A lot of people forget how bad those original (muscle) cars were to drive.” Promising that the powerful new Challenger would be environmentally friendly, as well as a real driving machine, Gilles said it would take 44 new Challengers to equal the exhaust emissions from just one 1970 model.

The only question now is whether Canadian pricing will be close to the $37,500 US announced in Chicago last week.

"We used the original Challenger as an inspiration for many of the features found on the all-new SRT8," said lead designer Jeff Gale. "The side mirrors actually started with a mould from the mirrors of an original Challenger. We tweaked a few details for fit and finish, then put them through our modern aerodynamic testing metrics and ended up with a body-mounted mirror that is remarkably similar visually to the original, but offers significantly better aerodynamic performance."