Went and tried a bunch of guitars today. I liked the Highway 1 a lot too, but decided to go with a Deluxe Player Stratocaster.
It has an ash body, Rosewood fretboard, noiseless pickups. Pics to come soon...
It's always hard to decide, especially with 5 metal kids around playing their heaviest riffs all the time, but I think I got a pretty good one.
It may not be the "truest" Strat out there, but it is quite versatile and I think it looks cool and is nice to play.
More to come...