I was in a local guitar store today and they had a nice selection of Strats. One that I liked has a label indicating it is an "American Stratocaster" while the one next to it has a label indicating it is an "American Standard Stratocaster". There was a significant price difference between the two but the salesperson didn't know much about the differences except that the hard cases were different. I noticed a difference in the bridge saddles... Could the "American Stratocaster" be an older version? It is new... The finish was glossy so it isn't a Highway One... I'm guessing it is leftover stock from 2007 maybe...

Did some checking online and it looks like Fender brought back the "American Standard" designation in 2008 in place of just "American Stratocaster"...

Assuming the one I looked at is a 2007 model, anyone know what colors were available. The one I looked at was a deep red metallic -- not sure if this is Candy Cola or Midnight Wine. Either way, it was a good looking guitar.

The price difference between the this one and the "American Standard" is about $250.. I know what features were changed on the latest Strat but I'm not sure the changes are worth spending an additional $250... Opinions?

I believe you're right. The American Standard is a newer, upgraded version which debuted last year. It has a new bridge, new neck treatment and a thinner finish undercoat. Unfortunately, the price on this guitar (along with all new Fender guitars) went up about 30% a couple months back. The other guitar is likely leftover stock (and, IMHO a much better deal since the upgrades on the new one probably aren't worth the extra $250-300 that you would spend).

Hi oldguy101: you pretty much have it - up till last year the mainstream American model was called the American Series Strat. In 2008 they re-named it the American Standard and gave the features a tweak.

I bought an American Series in 2005: colors for the SSS model were:

three color sunburst
olympic white
black
chrome red
chrome blue
butterscotch blonde

The HSS came in:

three color sunburst
sienna sunburst (which I got)
butterscotch blonde
chrome silver
black

There was also an HH, which came in:

black
chrome silver
chrome red
chrome blue

The "deep red metallic" you refer to was certainly Chrome Red. For reference I believe it is the same as, or at any rate close to, the color of Dave Gilmour's "Red Strat".

Anything else you need to know?

Cheers - C