By Brian Lohnes

BangShift.com

Man this is some good news! Thanks to to a tip from KNN (The Kris News Network) we got ahold of this story that confirms that pony cars are on the way to NASCAR. They’ll hit the Nationwide series first and the story seems to elude to the fact that they will work their way up to the Sprint Cup circuit.

Ford is on board with the Mustang and Chrysler seems to be bringing the Challenger into the mix but Toyota will stick with the Camry and Chevy, it seems for now anyway, to be out of the loop on the whole thing. We’re guessing Congress will now have to approve any such decision as monumental as allowing the Camaro body to be used in NASCAR. Yes, our tongue is in our cheek.

This is great stuff and perhaps a sign that the soundproof windows in the ivory tower down there in Daytona have cracked enough to allow the yearnings from the masses to return to something remotely production looking in. Pony cars beat taxi cabs all day long in our book.

Hopefully they don’t jack around with the bodies too much, there will certainly be some changes, but again, the story seems to imply that there is a definite movement to appease the grumblings of disgruntled fans with this move. Hit the link to read the story from FoxSports.

The General has just told Buick, Pontiac and GMC dealers that they can forget about getting a new Trans Am. The biggest reason cited? Those new CAFE standards which Detroit has been whining, crying and stomping its feet about since before they were even announced. Why aren’t we surprised? But the most amusing part of this announcement is that GM attempted to pacify nervous dealers by saying they’ll—get this—boost production of Buick’s Enclave’s by a whopping 41%. Doesn’t that sound like telling a roomful of toddlers you forget the ice cream—but have plenty of broccoli? What do you think, should Pontiac get a Trans Am? More at Left Lane News.

We had a ton of comments on Friday’s Pony Car Comparo post. A strong majority seemed to feel that the new Camaro is the best design of the three. I’m still waiting to see the production Camaro and Challenger up close and personal, but at the end of the day, I think Ford should get major props for keeping the pony car alive all these years. If it wasn’t for the success of the current generation Mustang, I doubt we’d see GM and Chrysler jumping back into the fray.