Driver's Seat: Latter-day muscle cars face off in sit-tests

A Driver's Seat muscle-off: 2012 Camaro 2SS Coupe vs. 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT8 392 vs. 2012 Ford Mustang Boss 302.

Prices: Camaro - $37,725 ($35,450 base price). A $1,375 45th-anniversary package that adds accent stripes, HID headlamps, interior accent stitching, and more.

Challenger - $49,005 (base price $43,995). Options included premium sound group for $1,995; five-speed automatic for $995; and $1,000 gas-guzzler tax.

Mustang - $42,990 ($40,145 base price, and more about options later).

All I want for Christmas: With the holidays upon us, I thought I'd have myself a merry little Christmas and compare three ridiculously fast cars. Unfortunately, Mrs. Passenger Seat and Sturgis Kids 1.0 through 4.0 won't know which one to get me until the new year. (As if my life were some Lexus commercial. Cue rolling eyes here.)

We'll get to know the contestants, and a follow-up column will talk about horsepower and driving excitement.

An uphill battle: Even before Sturgis Kids were added to the mix, this was really not my car segment. Growing up in the hinterlands of Schuylkill County, every tween and teenage boy except me wanted a muscle car to fix up.

And I confess from the moment I first saw one, I was less than thrilled with the new Camaro. It looks like a modern Hot Wheels car. It's too long, too wide, too low, and the tires are too big.

The Challenger SRT8, on the other hand, really recaptures the spirit of the original. I might even have a hard time telling a 1970 and a 2012 apart.

Ford, though, drew a winner when it made the 2012 Mustang. This takes the original design - which was a beauty - and pays beautiful homage.

Inside track: Once I sat down, it didn't get much better for the Camaro. Everything about the interior brought back memories, not of the sharp little Camaro that debuted in 1967, but the big tank from the mid-1970s that resembled TV detective Jim Rockford's Firebird.

The Challenger felt a whole lot like the Mopar experiences I'd had as a teen. Roomy and comfortable. Big without the overbearing fatness of the Camaro.

The Mustang was the leanest of the three, and the interior somehow has "the look." It's a nice classic look, with the beveled dash, round and square vents, a round speedometer and tachometer, and a round, stylish steering wheel with three spokes.

And the Recaro seats? Wow. Worth the $1,995 option package they came in.