I think pretty much every guy goes through a car phase growing up. I used to be able to identify almost every car on the road with just a quick glance. I could rattle off the manufacturer, make, year and lots of other useless data… especially for the “muscle cars”:1 of the 60s and early 70s. Of course, I loved car chase movies too.

One of the classic movies of this genre is “Vanishing Point”:2. I don’t really remember what the plot was all about (which just gets in the way of the car chases anyway), but I do remember that the car was fast, looked cool and could burn lots of rubber. Pretty much what any adolescent kid wanted from a car.

Well, it looks like _that_ car is coming back. After a long hiatus, the Challenger will be back in 2007 (at least that’s what the WSJ is thinking). The “Challenger concept car”:3, along with the “Camaro concept car”:4, are the big hits from this year’s Detroit Auto Show. Hopefully, these cars will help get Detroit out of its current funk.

…and, of course, it’s got a Hemi.

[4(Autoblog on the Camaro concept car)]http://www.autoblog.com/2006/01/09/debut-of-the-chevrolet-camaro-concept/

[3(Autoblog on the Challenger concept car release)]http://www.autoblog.com/2006/01/08/dodge-challenger-official-photos-and-release/

[2(IMDB on Vanishing Point)]http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067927/

[1(Wikipedia on muscle cars)]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_car