Nice to look at..

Only two more months until I can.. see it.

For the third time in 10 years, Chrysler has had a fresh idea, by which I mean re-hashing a classic model with modern trimmings and trotting it out as the auto giant's new saviour.

Chrysler first struck gold with this method in 2000, when it introduced the PT Cruiser, a cute compact station wagon based on the 1930s Plymouth trucks.

Despite being woefully underpowered (the standard four-banger boasted 140 asthmatic horses) and having cheap interior materials, the car sold well.

Then, in 2004, they re-introduced the classic '300' nameplate (ignoring that false start in '99 with the 300M, which was manufactured until 2004 to lukewarm reviews), giving it a 2000s 'HEMI' engine (read: not a real HEMI, but had enough ponies to keep people interested) and an attractive front fascia that made many gearheads reminisce about the classic 1957 300C.

The Dodge Charger was relaunched in the same year as a 300 clone, avec 'HEMI', but in a blasphemous turn, the car is a four-door sedan, something many Mopar loyalists will never forgive.

Both the 300 and PT Cruiser won 'North American Car of the Year' in their debut years, and while the PT will be discontinued after 2009, the 300 series still enjoys excellent sales.

In April, DaimlerChrysler will launch their newest what-was-old-is-new-again-classic, a revamped, Canadian-built Dodge Challenger.

The long-forgotten misstep of using the 'Challenger' brand name for an econobox in the early 1980s (also known as the Plymouth Sapporo, both rebadged Mitsubishi Galants) can finally be forgiven.

The new Challenger is not for the faint of heart. The third generation of the legendary ponycar boasts a 6.1-litre (now that's what I'm talking about) V8 that kicks out 425 furious horses, running a quarter-mile in less than 13 seconds. On premium fuel, no less.

Take that, carbon tax!

A base model coming in at a hair under $38,000, and it comes in three colours - bright orange (think B.C. Lions), silver or black.

My hope is Chrysler doesn't bungle the launch of the new Challenger the way GM made a mess of the re-launch of the Pontiac GTO, which was never available in Canada, sold poorly in the States, and was widely panned for being a re-badged Holden Monaro, a car manufactured by the Australian arm of GM.

It'll sure be nice to look at idling in rush hour traffic, choking down premium fuel like it was candy

But I won't be jealous. My Mustang GT runs on regular 89 octane and is easily as much fun.

OK -- maybe I'm a little jealous.