The car makers in Detroit may make green noise, but they are muscle car enthusiasts at heart, and they never stop thinking of ways to produce new muscle cars to sell to nostalgic baby boomers. The smell of fuel vapors and squealing tires will always remind baby boomers of their youth. It s for these retro loving car drivers that Chrysler is introducing the powerful, and gas hogging, Dodge Challenger SRT8.

In spite of their high price tag and low fuel economy when gas prices are stuck above $3 a gallon, the new Dodge Challenger is expected to be a popular car choice among baby boomers. Dutch Mandel of AutoWeek Magazine explains the car's appeal. “These cars were loud, they slid sideways and they were driven incredibly fast by our heroes,” Madel said. “Cars like the new Challenger and the new Camaro certainly won't be mainstream. They're for a segment, the guys I want to hang with.'' Mandel added that it's not just men who are interested in the resurrected muscle cars, noting that he plans to purchase a new Camaro for his wife's 50^th birthday.

The car's have high carbon emissions thaht will likely raise the ire of environmentalists, but most muscle car fans won't be concerned by the low environmentally friendly quotient of the new Dodge Challenger. The new Challenger features an updated body that still pays homage to the early 1970 body style of the classic Challenger. It is the familiarity that Chrysler is counting on to appeal to a baby boomer's sense of nostalgia. The power is icing on the cake.

The new Dodge Challenger will feature a 6.1 liter V8 Hemi that will only get 13 miles per gallon in the city and a combined gas mileage rating of 18 miles per gallon. Those types of gas mileage numbers will firmly plant the Challenger in the niche vehicle category as a third vehicle for people to drive for pleasure.

After the initial run of 6400 Dodge Challenger SRT8s, Chrysler plans to release smaller V8 versions of the Challenger as well as V6 engines for those who need better fuel economy or that can't afford the gas cost of driving the original Hemi engine. The Challenger SRT8s will be available for $38,000.

The cars are expected to be popular among muscle car fans, but even Chrysler doesn't expect to sell many of the gas guzzlers. If gas prices fall, the cars could prove to be more popular than experts predict, but a downturn in the economy could also harm sales of all cars with such high price tags. Chrysler hopes that fans will buy the Challenger and other high powered vehicles before the new gas mileage standards take effect in 2020.