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"  CHICAGO \u2014 With its long-awaited return here, the Dodge Challenger was the undisputed king of the 2008 Chicago Auto Show. But it was the trucks that made up the bulk of important reveals, with automakers presenting an awesome combination of machinery\u2014from fuel-sipping, load-hauling hybrid pickups to an over-the-top, over-the-road tractor.  And that stands in stark contrast to the heavy fuel-economy buzz that&amp;#039;s dominated the the last few shows\u2014green was practically all you could see from Frankfurt to Los Angeles and Detroit. With so many debuts heavy on efficiency across the globe these past two years, have the big manufacturers decided we need a break from all their prognosticating on our alt-fuel future? Could be. The producers in the Windy City certainly saved the biggest of those debuts for last: The LoneStar big rig, a truck that looked like the Tasmanian Devil rendered in steel, was one of the smash hits of the show. Its creators at Navistar are Chicago locals, and may have peppered the crowd with cheering employees, but the cheers from the media were just as loud. Hey, gearheads tend to dig just about anything with wheels\u2014even if it happens to have 10 of them and weigh nearly 35,000 pounds.  In light-duty truck news, Ford blew everyone else into Lake Michigan with its truck trifecta. Most significant, at least to us, was their new suite of Work Solutions for the F-Series pickup, with options ranging from an onboard laptop with Sprint network connectivity and an optional printer, to navigation with fleet tracking, plus tool inventory control and bed security for contents and tools\u2014whew. It&amp;#039;s this kind of practical, tech-savvy innovation we really appreciate these days, and we can&amp;#039;t wait to test some of this digital gear ASAP.  Ford also opened up a new category of small-business delivery work vehicles with its Transit Connect front-drive box truck. It&amp;#039;s smaller than most work trucks\u2014and that might be its most appealing feature, though it&amp;#039;ll probably get better fuel economy than any other delivery vehicle, too. The new Edge Sport\u2014tricked out with an 8-piece body kit, 22-in. wheels and tires, and a slick interior package\u2014was cool, but it was overshadowed by Ford&amp;#039;s bigger work-trucks news.  Trucks, though, come in all varieties. And Porsche&amp;#039;s Cayenne GTS, which made its North American debut here this week, certainly can&amp;#039;t qualify as a &amp;quot;work&amp;quot; truck. That is, unless your definition of &amp;quot;work&amp;quot; has the word racetrack in front of it. In fact, Porsche is hailing the GTS as &amp;quot;the best-handling on-road SUV in the world.&amp;quot; And with giant 21-in. tires and fully computerized air suspension, who are we to argue? This is a Porsche, after all. The best thing about the GTS is that the 400-hp, 4.8-liter V8 is paired to a 6-speed manual transmission.  After years in the motorcycle, ATV and small SUV business, Suzuki finally has a pickup truck. They went the low-risk, low cost-route by badging the current Nissan Frontier pickup truck as the new Equator. Still, those are good bones to begin with, and the Equator should do well for Suzuki.  In other platform-sharing news, Volkswagen got into the traditional American minivan business by creating an alliance with Chrysler LLC, who will build a very un-VW-like clone of the Dodge Caravan. The VW Routan minivan actually looks pretty good in person, and it may make the American public forget the rather unsuccessful Eurovan that preceded it. Still, we would have preferred a hip, German-built retro Microbus on our roadways instead of another conventional minivan. General Motors showed four new trucks, including the Chevy Traverse, the last GM crossover to be built on the Lambda platform shared by the Saturn Outlook, GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave. The Traverse&amp;#039;s front end looks very Malibu-esque to our eye. And judging by the success and accolades of that vehicle, sharing a look may not be a bad idea. The General followed with the GMC Sierra Hybrid pickup, the Hummer H3T pickup and the bodacious GMC Denali XT Concept unibody pickup truck. We particularly dug that last concept, and it could someday join the Honda Ridgeline, Ford Explorer America SUV Concept, and Toyota A-BAT Concept in the unibody truck club. The ultralight-duty truck is a trend we&amp;#039;re likely to see in future showrooms very soon. Of course, Chicago wasn&amp;#039;t all trucks this year. We were particularly enamored with the new Dodge Challenger SRT8 muscle car\u2014just like the rest of the automotive enthusiast world. But for sheer car excitement, the only thing here this week that came close to the Challenger was the million-dollar, you-can&amp;#039;t-have-one-even-if-you-want-one BMW M3 racecar that Rahal Letterman Racing will campaign later this year in the American Le Mans Series Absolutely gorgeous from every angle and ready to go out and mix it up with the established GT2 players, this M3 is hot stuff. Can we drive it just once before you race it, Mr. Rahal? Please? \u2014Jim McCraw  RELATED STORIES \u2022 CHICAGO CENTRAL: First-Look Photos, Specs and Analysis   "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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