High tech meets high power in new Dodge Challenger

The Dodge Challenger — with its memories of yesteryear and high technology of today — takes center stage at the Chrysler display at the Cleveland Auto Show.

The 2008 version carries design cues and lines that are very similar to the muscle car by the same name that was built in the 1970s. Today's version also packs a lot of punch with 420 horsepower. But it also has been updated with new technology, such as a 30-gigabyte hard drive that can store photos and music, as well as a performance gauge that provides G-force readouts and times for quarter-mile runs and zero to 60 mph starts.

"You can brag with data to your friends, not just brag," Wendy Orthman, Chrysler spokeswoman, said in a media presentation this afternoon.

The Challenger, by the way, tops out at 170 mph and hits 60 mph in 4.9 seconds. It goes on sale in limited numbers starting in May.

The auto show begins its nine-day run Saturday at the I-X Center in Cleveland.