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MSNBC comments that this weeks New York Auto Show "with its focus on muscle and power, signified nothing less than the end of an era for some who attended its preview days last week." The centerpiece of the show was the 2009 Dodge Challenger, "a reinvention of Dodge’s iconic muscle car meant to appeal to baby boomers with the cash to indulge their nostalgic fantasies." The Challenger will compete against other retro muscle cars in the 2010 Chevrolet Camaro and a refreshed 2009 Ford Mustang. "These historic cars may make auto enthusiasts’ hearts flutter, but they’re entering a dying market for muscle cars," according to John Wolkonowicz, a senior automotive analyst with Global Insight Group. New fuel economy regulations have automakers "struggling to find ways to squeeze more mileage out of their biggest, least fuel-efficient vehicles," and killing off many sporty offerings altogether. "Twelve sport coupes have been killed off in the last six years, including the Honda Prelude, the Toyota Celica and the Acura RSX.&quot.

Analysts have been predicting the death of the muscle car for some time, but automakers continue to roll out V8 offerings like Pontiac’s new Sport Truck and G8 sedan.

In presentations in New York, leading automakers predicted a radically different future for the industry, with high horsepower models giving way to high-mileage cars. According to Canada’s Globe and Mail, GM Chairman Bob Lutz told an audience of journalists, "Ultimately by 2020 we figure that 80 per cent of vehicles will require some sort of hybridization. We cannot get to 35 miles per gallon with anything resembling the current product portfolio with anything resembling current technology."

See the last of the muscle cars, and the fuel-sippers that are replacing them, with U.S. news’ car rankings and reviews.