The Death of Pontiac

The death of Pontiac has only served to remind me of one of my most pressing obsessions.

Muscle cars.

The ’73 Firebird,

The ’67 GTO,

The ’69 Dodge Charger,

and the '71 Hemi ‘Cuda.

Because of my own preference for fast cars, I will judge you on what you classify as cool. If you think BMW or Mercedes Benz counts as American Muscle I will never take you seriously and I may stop talking to you.

I will judge you based on the cars you would love to have (because, let's face it, few of us will ever actually drive our dream car farther than the dealership lot).

I realize that admitting to such a blue collar, hillbilly, redneck, love may label me in a class below those BMW loving yuppies ;) but really, who would pick a shiny little foreign car over the 455 Rocket?

Driving the Beemer may say classy but driving the Smokey and the Bandit Firebird or The Dukes of Hazzard Charger says trouble and fun.

I can't seem to help the way I feel when I hear the engines of my favorite cars roar to life, or the way I grin when I see the smoke rising off the track from burned tires.

Yes, I realize the way my cars burn gas is bad for the environment and I do know that a cloud of black smoke rising into the air says pollution.

But I just don't care.

For some reason people have equated muscle cars with beer drinking old men but that is hardly the truth. That would be like saying all businessmen look like Donald Trump.

If I had to choose I would go for the man with grease on his hands before going anywhere near the guy with a suit and briefcase.

If you are uninformed you may think something never clicked in my brain to identify Beemer and briefcase with fast cash. However, if you’ve ever seen the price of one of the originals you’d know ripped jeans and a t-shirt hide a lot more than workingman hands.

When talking about old cars it isn’t that parts can be hard to find, even when they kill off a brand like Pontiac or Plymouth. It isn’t even that finding a spot in a crowded garage for a car in pieces is difficult. It’s more the complete commitment to the project that shows the true character of the people who love and maintain the cars that spell cop chase and speeding ticket.

What would you rather drive?