It all started back in 1979 when my dad bought a brand new Trans Am. The car was white with a large gold screaming chicken on the hood. It had the Oldsmobile 403ci, 6.6 liter engine with an automatic transmission. While many say that the older second generation Trans Am's do not compare to the modern LS1 monsters of today it felt pretty fast to the young teenager I was back then.

Once I was about to get my drivers license my dad traded the Trans Am and my thoughts of driving it went down the drain. From that point forward, I vowed to someday own a Trans Am of my own and finally after 23 years it became reality.

My cars: Past and Present

My first car was my dad's Datsun two-tone, silver/gray 200SX that he let me use to drive to school each day. It was a nice car and looked really good but it had a small 4 cylinder engine as was slower than heck. The car had a nice interior and only had 10,000 miles on the clock when I started driving it.

My next car was my grandfathers 1977 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. This was a great car and not only looked good but moved pretty well too. It was a two door, brown with a half beige vinyl top. The car had really nice interior and while the body had some some rust it was in good shape overall. The best part was the Oldsmobile 350ci Vin "R" engine. I was told that the "R" stood for rocket and for a big car it felt like rocket after moving from the little 4 cylinder Datsun. This car came equipped with a 3 speed automatic transmission on the steering column.

My next car was a 1988 Pontiac Sunbird. This was a great looking car but was all show and no go. It was black with a wide silver stripe on the bottom of both doors and the special Pontiac aluminum rims with 15 inch 60 series tires. This was my first new car and it took every bit of abuse that I could give it. If I remember correctly this car had the 94 horsepower Over-head-Cam engine with an automatic transmission.

My next car was a 1993 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. This car was also black and came equipped with the 3.1 liter V6 and 4 speed automatic transmission. This was a great looking car and drove like a dream. The interior was graphite gray cloth. While it moved okay it was far from fast but it made the Sundbird feel like it was standing still.

Can you believe that this car was 8 years old?
It looked better the day I traded it in than it did when I brought it home from the showroom.

While keeping the 93 Cutlass I went and leased a 1999 Oldsmobile Alero GLS. This was my first four door sedan with the 170 horsepower V6 and 4 speed automatic transmission. This was a quick little car and and had all the options except the sunroof. The color was metallic silver with 16" aluminum rims and 50 series tires. The stereo was good and the interior was soft, beige leather. From a straight line the car was great but the handling was another story. The car had a great deal of body roll and the tires would squeal around a corner even at slow speeds. It also liked to follow the ruts in the street and expressway unless you tightly held on to steering wheel 100% of the time. The car served its purpose but it was disappointing overall. It was fine for short trips to the store but long rides on the expressway were no fun at all.

Nice Looking and quick but handling needed help.

The performance bug bit me and hard.

Great Car. Good looks and good performance all in one package

After 8 great years of service from the 93 Cutlass, I traded it in on a 2001 Chevy Monte Carlo SS. Being that I needed a family car, I felt that the Monte would satisfy my both my performance and practical needs. It came equipped with the 200 horsepower 3800 series V6 and 4 speed automatic transmission. It is torch red with ebony leather interior and every option except the sunroof. It does handle well and moves from 0-60 in 7.58 seconds. I was and am still very happy with this car but the need for a real performance car was too hard to resist which brings me to my next car...

The time has come!

This is one of my favorite images and it has been plastered all over the interent every chance I get to show it off.

Luckily for me, the lease on the Alero was coming up and I needed to find a new car to replace it. In the mail came a special incentive from GM saying that I could turn in my lease car early if I bough another GM car. I was happy to hear this and with the great cash back offers from GM I started searching for a new car. I wanted a Trans Am but needed a practical car so I considered a Pontiac Grand Prix, Pontiac Grand Am, Chevy Malabu, another Chevy Monte SS and some other cars. Deep down, I said "forget practical, I have the Monte SS for that". I wanted a Trans Am but was considering a formula because of the lower price and since 2002 was going to be the last year for them I had no choice but to get one now. The problem was that many of the dealers around my area did not have any V8 Formula's or Trans Am's in stock and weren't sure when they would get any in. Luckily, my wife found a dealer that happened to have a navy blue metallic Trans Am in stock. I told her that I was not ready to buy it yet but we could go take a look at it over the coming weekend. I was sure that it would cost too much and I wasn't willing to spend a huge amount for a car even if it was my last chance.

I washed the Alero, made it look real pretty and we drove out to the Pontiac dealer. My wife had already talked to the salesman that we were going to meet on the phone and he had the car inside the service area all cleaned up and waiting. I walked into the area and there it was, one of the best looking cars that I had ever seen. It was all polished up and just waiting to be taken home. The salesman gave me the keys and said "go sit in it", so I did. Once I crawled into the cockpit, I did not want to get out. He gave me the keys and said " start her up" which I did and then suddenly the service area was filled with a deep low rumble that I had never heard from any of my other cars. I gave the gas a little tap and the car let out a loud growl. Of course, the salesman asked "do you want to take it for a test drive?" and in an unexcited voice I said "okay, I guess so". Make sure you use your best poker face when you go the car dealership otherwise you will be paying sticker.

Since we were in Chicagoland the winter weather was cold and rainy but I needed to drive the car to see if I even liked it. Like I wouldn't like it, yeah right. We pulled out on to one of the main streets in front of the dealership and went on a few mile ride. Once we got off the main street I hammered it, about 3/4 throttle, and the car came to life. Even though it was wet and slippery the car felt rock solid and climbed from 20 to 60 mph in a quick blink. From that point on, I knew that I had to take that car home and after about 3 hours of dealing and paper work I was the proud owner of a new 2002 Trans Am.